By: Francis Gurry
What’s new in Indian cinema? A lot — and not just the latest releases. According to the latest figures, the Indian movie industry is now the world’s largest. At the same time, new technologies and global streaming platforms can help Indian films reach an increasingly global audience.
That’s great news for India’s creators and their fans across the globe. However, these developments are also throwing up fresh challenges for Indian cineastes and others in India’s creative sector, such as artists, musicians and writers.
The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) seeks to help its member countries harness these kinds of fast-moving trends and find innovative ways to promote the creativity of their populations in an increasingly transnational market for creative goods. According to a March 2018 report by Deloitte and the Motion Picture Distribution Association (MPA), India, ‘Economic Contribution of the Film and Television Industry in India, 2017’ (goo.gl/jqrNf9), India’s media and entertainment industry was estimated at $19.4 billion (Rs 1,26,000 crore) in 2017.
The report notes that India has the world’s largest film industry, in terms of number of films, with 1,986 films produced annually across 20 languages. And the sector has further growth potential. This kind of creativity is a driver for jobs, economic growth and development. Intellectual property (IP) rights — patents, trademarks, designs and copyright — capture the value of this creativity, as well the value in the wider innovative network for which India is equally renowned.
If there was any doubt about the growing importance of IP in the global economy, we can see that the worldwide increase in demand for IP rights is far outpacing the rate of global growth. And one only needs to open a newspaper to see that the treatment of IP rights in overseas markets is one element of trade tensions at the international level.
An investment in knowledge creation, supported by a robust and balanced IP system, is critical to any innovation strategy aimed at creating sustainable economic growth. But this investment must coexist with other policy objectives, while safeguarding the interests of all IP stakeholders — creators and users, alike. Achieving the right balance is a constant challenge for WIPO’s 191 member countries.
The WIPO secretariat provides a neutral forum where its members, in consultation with a wide range of other stakeholders, decide policy on the future of the international IP system, including WIPO’s global services for patents, trademarks and industrial designs that make it easier and cheaper to protect and promote products around the world. WIPO’s member country negotiators seek to ensure that these systems deliver tangible benefit to all countries, no matter where they fall on the development spectrum.
But the world turns quickly, with new technologies and business models emerging each day, posing new challenges for policymakers around the world. For example, copyright, which is the central mechanism to ensure that we continue to enjoy a vibrant culture, has been undergoing a process of reform to align itself with the realities of the digital age that has caused great disruption to the creative industries.
The global music sector saw 8.1% year-on-year growth in 2017, ending two decades of declining revenues. The global film sector also experienced growth. Market forces are, clearly, steering this sort of realignment.
Equally indisputable is the fact that there is no single, successful policy response to the challenges facing copyright in the digital age. It requires a combination of law, infrastructure, cultural change, institutional collaboration and better business models.
India is a regional leader in the creationand distribution of creative content and it has embarked on a digital transformation of its economy that has already begun to drive growth and investments. So, it is apt that the second Global Digital Content Market Conference is being held in New Delhi over the next three days starting today.
India’s globally renowned film, music, publishing and other creative sectors are adapting to the opportunities offered by new digital products, such as high-speed mobile networks, and channels, like Netflix, Amazon Prime and others. So, it is no surprise that India is taking a leadership role in ensuring that the digital revolution works for consumers and creators alike.
Source >> https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/blogs/et-commentary/create-consume-own/
