Geneva, July 19, 2011
[To be checked against delivery]
The Virtues of a Virtual World
I have had several opportunities to address different groups at WIPO in the past. I am passionate about Cinema. Francis Ford Coppola once said that while he was passionate about cinema, he made his money growing and selling wine. I am passionate about cinema and I make my living from it.
It is my passion for all creativity that brings me here time after time with an impassioned plea to protect the rights of creators - not because I want them to become rich - but because we owe it to ourselves and our children that we continue to live in a world that offers us not just a sustainable living, but a sustainable living enriched with knowledge, art and a high aesthetic.
On one visit I described my world as "A Utopia Called Hell". On another I said that my job was "Selling Dreams, Not living nightmares".
Today I come more happily, extolling "The Virtues of a Virtual World".
I am sure that normally your worlds are full of wars, terrorism, economics and politics so I will quickly explain my world with a special focus on the impact that digital technology has had on it, and it's relationship with your world.
Today we write our scripts on computers and create our budgets, schedules and plans using special softwares that have eliminated the need for thousands of reams of paper for each film. We shoot using digital recording media, thus eliminating the use of tons of silver oxide, celluloids and plastics, thereby reducing the creation of toxic waste. We create may of our sets virtually - using Computer Generated Images and Set Extension techniques that massively reduce the use of building materials. We use energy conserving LED lighting.
We have begun to distribute our films to cinemas through satellite transmission which beams the film directly to digital projectors. We sell and rent to homes through cable and the Internet. The positive impact on the environment is massive. No creation and subsequent destruction of film prints, no creation of plastic CDs and DVDs, no cardboard boxes and minimal transport, warehousing and storage.
It is not just in practical production and operations that digital technology plays a role, it is also in the creation of the art itself. Avatar and Jurassic Park are examples. We can take our audiences into realms of fantasy, defying time and space.
Even painters have been impacted and even as we speak, David Hockney has a massive exhibit of paintings done on the iPad at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Copenhagen.
Again, while my focus is on cinema, I must mention the impact that digital technology has had in the world of books and publishing. We can easily look forward to a world without physical books, text books, newspapers and even school bags. The impact on our environment is there for all of us to see. Properly handled, this can revolutionize the world of education in a cost effective and environmentally friendly way helping countries like India realize thesis dream of making education a fundamental right and new nations like South Sudan convert armies of teenage soldiers to a youthful, happy and productive workforce.
Hopefully the virtues of the virtual world will soon be a reality.
So now it is time for a reality check. Virtual theft is easier. Stealing intellectual property in its digital form is just not perceived the same as stealing a book or a CD. You don't need Somalian Pirates to pirate a film and in any case the world doesn't send out it's navy to catch film pirates. It's sad because it's not just one consignment that's under threat but the entire future of creativity and art.
Also, if we believe that one form of theft is acceptable, we risk the ethical integrity of future generations. What's worse is that piracy of intellectual property has created a parallel cash ecosystem that is the backbone of the drugs and terror business and Governments know this.
While I am not going deep into the economics of piracy, I will give one example to give you a sense of the scale.
The total official turnover of the ringtone and caller back tune business in mobile phones, a mere by product of Indian films, exceeds the cumulative box office of all Indian cinema and the figure exceeds a billion dollars. Why? Because the payment gateway of the phone system is secure and each product paid for. Can you estimate the true value of the film business and therefore the real loss?
So now let's look at some solutions.
- We have to be convinced of the need. This is the most critical aspect because this conviction will drive the solutions. This can only be achieved through education. We need to disseminate hard and soft information about ethics, law, penalties etc. Over the net. Dominant players need to be co opted into this effort. I have heard arguments justifying that intellectual property should be free, or somewhat more rationally, that exceptions need to be carved out for certain sections - students below the poverty line, people with restricted abilities etc. I do understand the need for these exceptions but we must be careful that they are not abused these exceptions should follow the same rules as free public healthcare. The needy recipient should benefit but the doctor should get paid.
- We have to legislate appropriately. This in fact is one area where significant progress had been made. Many countries have good copyright legislation. India has a good draft copyright act awaiting parliament approval. I am aware that there is continuous debate on IPR issues relating to patents, especially in the area of medicines but we must not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
- We have to enforce the law. At present only the US takes this seriously and it pays dividends. Of course it matters that Cinema is their largest civilian export. One of the biggest problems is that of jurisdiction. The digital world is bereft of boundaries so pirates just shift base. It's important to establish protocols on this which are no less stringent than Interpol notices. Countries must respect each others intellectual properties in letter and in spirit.
So the Mantra is simple -
EDUCATE
LEGISLATE
ENFORCE
Not rocket science. I am not a rocket scientist but I suspect that it's easier to build rockets.
Thank you.