Indian Politicians Caught Watching Unauthorized Copy Of Film About Politics

from the obscurity-or-piracy? dept

Tue, Jun 22nd 2010 6:21pm — Mike Masnick

Apparently there's a popular political thriller movie that recently was released in India, called Politics (or Raajneeti). It's doing quite well, but apparently a group of actual politicians from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wanted to watch the movie and didn't want to go to a theater to do so. So they had a recent screening for dozens of elected officials from the party at a hotel. Of course, since the movie wasn't available on DVD or elsewhere besides movie theaters, apparently they found an unauthorized copy elsewhere. The only reason this got out was due to news reports on the screening, and the director of the movie is upset, though he admits that if they had just asked him for a copy of the movie he would have given it to them for free.

This raises two points. First, it's always amusing to me to see politicians, who often are among the most sanctimonious when it comes to the supposed importance of copyright law, quite frequently feel no need to obey copyright law themselves. Second, it seems like the director of the movie is overreacting -- perhaps in an attempt to get more publicity for the movie. If he admits that he would have handed over a free copy anyway, what is he complaining about? He didn't "lose" anything. In fact, he saved time and effort by not having to approve this and not having to send out a copy of the movie. This way, it was actually a lot more efficient.

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Filed Under: copyright, india, politics

32 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 22 Jun 2010 @ 6:27pm

umm, mike, india, you know, the place that doesnt protect pharma except their home grown and pretty much wants to get out of every trade, copyright, or patent agreement possible. it is sort of a no brainer.
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- Anonymous Coward, 22 Jun 2010 @ 6:39pm
  
  Re:
  What exactly are you calling Indians here? Is that racist?
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- abc gum, 22 Jun 2010 @ 7:08pm
  
  Re:
  So - you're ok with it then ...
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  - Anonymous Coward, 22 Jun 2010 @ 7:15pm
    
    Re: Re:
    okay isnt the issue. the issue is location. it wouldnt be any different from it happening in china, example. both countries are strong opponents to ip law, they are both trying to get away from acta, and they both widely encourage piracy and violation of ip rights. so expecting their politicians to do anything different is laughable.
    
    for me, its just another massive mike reach. if it was in the white house in washington, he might have a story. that it happened in india isnt exactly news.
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    - Anonymous Coward, 22 Jun 2010 @ 7:38pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Pft, if it was in the White House, you'd just brush it off.
      
      After all, things like this happen all the time in the UK, and you've always found a way to weasel around those.
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    - Anonymous Coward, 22 Jun 2010 @ 7:41pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Are you saying that just because this (supposedly) happens a lot in India and China, it's not relevant? Hum...then maybe enforcing copyright laws in there isn't so relevant either.
      
      And do I notice a bit of xenophobia/racism in your remarks?
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      - Anonymous Coward, 22 Jun 2010 @ 7:44pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re:
        "And do I notice a bit of xenophobia/racism in your remarks?" - troll much?
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        Anonymous Coward, 22 Jun 2010 @ 7:55pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        You are the one claiming that copyright infringement among the Indians and the Chinese is so prevalent that it is hardly news. How's about the rest of the world? It is just as prevalent there. Should we not report on the news of the rest of the world too since it's irrelevant?
        
        Yes, in case you didn't notice, bad stuff happens in your neighborhood too. Your country is just as screwed up as any other. You don't live in some special place where everything is fine. I suggest you open your eyes and look around you. I also suggest you pay attention to what happens in the rest of the world, because that world mirrors your own and your world mirrors theirs. You don't live alone out here...
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        Anonymous Coward, 22 Jun 2010 @ 10:23pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        I am not claiming anyway, merely stating a fact that (a) piracy is widespread in some countries, and (b)some countries are actively trying to get out of agreements like acta because it would force them to deal with that ongoing situations.
        
        it isnt racial or racist, it is about a country, it's laws, and it legal systems, not a people. the only one being racist here is you. i take it as another attempt to shout down my ideas, and it borders on tasteless and moronic. i would figure mike would hire smarter people to do the job.
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        abc gum, 23 Jun 2010 @ 5:01am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        "some countries are actively trying to get out of agreements like acta "
        
        I must have missed that part where an agreement occurred.
        Last I heard, ACTA was still being negotiated in secret.
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        Anonymous Coward, 23 Jun 2010 @ 7:57am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        "(a) piracy is widespread in some countries"
        
        Piracy is widespread everywhere. Not just in India or China.
        
        "b)some countries are actively trying to get out of agreements like acta because it would force them to deal with that ongoing situations.
        "
        
        1: Like somebody else pointed out, ACTA has not been enacted yet.
        
        2: Other countries don't have to enact stupid laws just to make your county (actually, the content industry) happy.
        
        "it isnt racial or racist, it is about a country, it's laws, and it legal systems, not a people."
        
        It might not be racist, but it certainly is discrimination. What you did was something in the lines of:
        
        News Headline: "Italian mob boss arrested today."
        
        You: "Pff. Another one. Is this still news? We all know Italians are gangsters."
        
        "the only one being racist here is you. i take it as another attempt to shout down my ideas, and it borders on tasteless and moronic. i would figure mike would hire smarter people to do the job."
        
        I did not discriminate anyone. I even pointed out that the world does not revolve around you or anyone. We are all human beings. We all screw up.
        
        Oh and I think Mike doesn't need to hire anyone to give you an intelectual beating. Most people will do it for free.
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        Anonymous Coward, 23 Jun 2010 @ 12:10pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        ""Pff. Another one. Is this still news? We all know Italians are gangsters."" - you see, that is a racist comment, which i did not make. i stated only that india and china are countries who are well known for not protecting copyrights, not protecting patents, and generally not being friendly to ip law, at least in application.
        
        if you want to make racist comments, that is up to you, but please dont try to attribute to me what is not at all true. if you see racism in my comments, perhaps it is you who is racist to be thinking about it.
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        Anonymous Coward, 22 Jun 2010 @ 9:43pm
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        Racist much?
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    - Hephaestus (profile), 22 Jun 2010 @ 8:04pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      dude the only people who care about ip law are the ones who make money off it, the one being prevented from saving lives, and people like the readers of techdirt who know that expanding the range and influence wont make any difference to the outcome.
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    - Richard (profile), 23 Jun 2010 @ 4:08am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      okay isnt the issue. the issue is location. it wouldnt be any different from it happening in china, example. both countries are strong opponents to ip law, they are both trying to get away from acta, and they both widely encourage piracy and violation of ip rights. so expecting their politicians to do anything different is laughable.
      
      I suggest you go live in one of these countries for a year - on a median local wage before you start knocking them.
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    - abc gum, 23 Jun 2010 @ 5:09am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      "okay isnt the issue. the issue is location."
      
      Having read the article, I thought the issue was availability.
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- Mike Masnick (profile), 22 Jun 2010 @ 11:00pm
  
  Re:
  india, you know, the place that doesnt protect pharma except their home grown and pretty much wants to get out of every trade, copyright, or patent agreement possible.
  
  Weird. Considering that India has, in just the past few years, signed on to new treaties and passed new patent and copyright laws to align its IP laws with the US... none of what you state above appears to be true.
  
  What happened to you? You used to actually make a legitimate point. These days, it seems like you just make stuff up.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 22 Jun 2010 @ 11:04pm
    
    Re: Re:
    gee, didnt you just post recently that india was actively against acta? dont you hold india up as an example of what happens without strict pantent laws? or what that on some other blog?
    
    "What happened to you? You used to actually make a legitimate point. These days, it seems like you just make stuff up." - your standard answer, "you lie". at least you are learning to use nicer words when you want to discredit someone without addressing the issues.
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    - Mike Masnick (profile), 22 Jun 2010 @ 11:36pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      gee, didnt you just post recently that india was actively against acta? dont you hold india up as an example of what happens without strict pantent laws? or what that on some other blog?
      
      India is against ACTA, but joined TRIPS, so I'm not sure what your point is. The fact that it doesn't like one treaty, but signed on for the much, much bigger one pretty clearly proves that you were wrong. Either that or you don't seem to know your history (perhaps a more likely story) and you pretend that you know all of Indian IP law history based on one thing that happened in the last month.
      
      your standard answer
      
      Funny that you don't actually defend yourself here. You just retort with an insult. Seriously. If you have a point to make, make it. But stop with posting blatantly factually incorrect stuff. It's a waste of everyone's time. I have no problem with you representing yourself as the loyal opposition. But, you're discrediting that position by posting things that are blatantly false and uninformed. Step up.
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      - Anonymous Coward, 23 Jun 2010 @ 5:18am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re:
        "Funny that you don't actually defend yourself here. You just retort with an insult. " - i just follow your example mike. dont go there, and i wont either.
        
        "you pretend that you know all of Indian IP law history based on one thing that happened in the last month" - not true, and you know it. would you care to explain for the class india's history of respecting patents and copyright, particularly in the fields of pharma and street corner movie sales?
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        Anonymous Coward, 23 Jun 2010 @ 10:58am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        Street corner movie sales, like in New York? And every other large city on the planet? Fucking Indians.
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    - Modplan (profile), 22 Jun 2010 @ 11:42pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Perhaps the fact that ACTA is fundamentally wrong in various aspects has something to do with that.
      
      And you lie. All the damn time. It's all you ever do, and it will never change. Your entire existence is based around creating baseless memes about Techdirt you can endlessly repeat so as to never deal with the facts of any issue that's ever presented. Your entire presence revolves around essentially nothing except feeble attempts at trolling and misrepresentation.
      
      Until you actually make a point worth considering, peoples attitude and posts towards you will never change. But you won't, because that's not why you're here.
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      - Anonymous Coward, 23 Jun 2010 @ 9:07am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re:
        almost everything i post is on point and relevant. i dont always stick to the limited space that mike provides in the posts, because i find his views often myopic, standing too close to a given tree to see the forest around it. sometimes someone has to point out the forest. other times, mike takes the good old "30,000 foot view", and as a result skimps over details and points. that is sort of what happened here.
        
        the story is a nice piece of "gotchya" politics, but it comes from a country where piracy is wide spread, and where the government has aided and abetted local drug manufacting companies to ignore patents and copyrights from around the world. my only point in the end is that this story would be much more revealing if it happened in a country with stricter application of copyright and patent law, say like the uk. if lord mendelson had been caught doing this, it might be a better story, no?
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        Dom S, 23 Jun 2010 @ 9:20am
        
        Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
        Lord Scandelson pretty much has been caught doing this... how about the election campaign posters which they *borrowed* from a copyrighted TV show. or music taken from some crappy pop band used without permission.
        
        it DOES happen in the UK (and everywhere else). the fact that this article is about a country where piracy may be *more* prevelant is neither here nor there. im sure a fly-on-the-wall at a vast amount of UK or US politicians houses/offices would show that they are as guilty of potentially infringing someones copyrights as anyone else out there. they just have the power to shrug it off and treat us all like the criminals.
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RD, 22 Jun 2010 @ 6:31pm

Cant wait
Cant wait for TAM and the shills to swing in to the vigorous defense of the Indian politicians. We will hear obfuscating strawmen arguments about how THIS situation is different and doesnt apply in some way. Completely and utterly missing the principle, of course, but thats how these uber-copyright-zealots roll.
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Keven Sutton, 22 Jun 2010 @ 7:22pm

The director
I'm not under the impression that the director was upset over them "pirating" the movie. More that he was upset that they didn't come to him. Chances are he is the type of artist who like talking about his craft to those who are interested. I know several people who would be thrilled to talk about their artistic projects with politicians of any level, and I can certainly see them getting upset over losing that chance.
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RD, 22 Jun 2010 @ 8:19pm

One, two, three...
One comment to arrive at the TAMtroll.

5 comments in to charge to the defense, to take the opposite side of the argument from usual (because THIS one is DIFFERENT!)

10 comments in to the strawman.

Definitely on pace for ShillTard of the Year.
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- Anonymous Coward, 22 Jun 2010 @ 10:24pm
  
  Re: One, two, three...
  keep going, you will win the award.
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slaphipo, 22 Jun 2010 @ 8:35pm

so just fyi for anyone who doesn't know the BJP are the radical right wing hindu extremist party (in behaviour if not in name), so that's why I find this really funny
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Anonymous Coward, 22 Jun 2010 @ 11:07pm

well, if he makes things up without any relevant proof, doesn't that make him a journalist??
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Anonymous Coward, 23 Jun 2010 @ 6:17am

First, it's always amusing to me to see politicians, who often are among the most sanctimonious when it comes to the supposed importance of the law, quite frequently feel no need to obey the law themselves.

FTFY
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poor and hungry, 19 Aug 2010 @ 11:58pm

THIS IS AN APPEAL TO THE INTERNATIONAL GOVERNMENTS EXCEPT USA AND SIMILIAR INVADING COUNTRIES AND ESPECIALLY TO GOOD EUROPEAN COUNTRIES TO SAVE THE INDIAN PEOPLE FROM THEIR GOVERMENT.

PLEASE SAVE US FROM OUR GOVERNMENT, THEY ARE THE MOST THICK SKINNNED AND INSENSTIVIE MOST CORRUPT AND SHAMELESS.

ONLY ONE AGENDA OF THE GOVERMENT - TO LOOT THE PUBLIC AND THE COUNTRY.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE SAVE US FROM THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT.
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