Recently in India, Great Grand Masti  crashed at the box office as it was leaked on line 17 days before release. Even while submitting a film for certification to the censors, movie makers now submit an encrypted copy. Dishoom is the first film to use encryption while making submission  for certification.

There are organisations which help the movie makers to tackle online piracy. Aiplex, Bangalore-based organisation, helps some of the largest studios in the country, e.g. Yash Raj Films and Eros International. It also works with studios such as universal, Italia Films and Sony pictures in 25 other countries.

Aiplex uses a multi-pronged approach. It set as DMCA or Digital Millennium Copyright Act notifications to infringers, protected domain providers, registrars and to the infringing website’s hosting service providers. DMCA does not apply to some countries who are not signatory to the Bern Convention. However, most traffic to such countries originate from India. It is crippled due to John Doe orders or Ashok Kumar orders. Basically theses are injunctions sought against someone whose identity is not known at the time they are issued. Aiplex has a database of 30 million infringers documented over the years. It is supported by evidence such as screenshots, notices dispatched, email addresses and contact numbers. The evidence is given to the legal team to facilitate the securing of Joe Doe or Ashok Kumar orders.

They also attempt to educate the viewers before the release of the movie. They upload thousands of decoys on popular websites with a message to illegal viewers stating  ‘piracy kills and please watch the movie in theatres.’

They partner with trusted websites to delete pirated content. They partner with hosting websites to enable a take down programme. They partner with payment gateways, advertising brokers to withdraw support to infringing websites.

ISPs do not co-operate immediately in blocking a websites since it is a non-billable process.