This is an interesting editorial that Hitesh Raj Bhagat wrote in the November 2007 issue of Living Digital.
Hitesh Raj Bhagat, Issue Editor
Living Digital, November 2007 — The movie industry has been up in arms over the ‘menace’ of piracy. Illegal downloading of movies and copyrighted content is something they want to stop at all costs, since it results in losses running into millions. On TV, we watch advertisements without batting an eyelid. We don’t get anything out of it except the information. A new advertisement is repeated on most popular channels about 15 times a day, maybe more. More repeats happen during primetime. So you’ll be seeing the same ad again and again and again …
Similarly, while sitting in a movie theatre, we are subjected to 10, 15, sometimes even 20 minutes of commercials before the movie starts. I wouldn’t be complaining if I got to watch the movie for free, but I paid Rs 150 for that ticket and I came to watch the movie, not commercials. And unlike TV, I can’t mute the volume, turn it off, or switch to another channel. Now if someone downloads a movie to watch at home, devoid of ads and interruptions, can you really blame him?
In fact, revenue sharing with the customer is a model that is increasingly being adopted in the tech world. It started with the sites offering to pay you to read advertisements on your phone. Now, we also have value added services provided on your phone for free. Take CellSerf for example. You download a simple Java app to your phone, and using GPRS you can access your mail, send/receive video, voice and text or login to Yahoo, Google & MSN messenger. In return, you only have to view occasional adverts. (Get CellSerf from www.cellserf.com/app)
Speaking about piracy, there has been in the few months leading up to Diwali, what seems like a mass appearance of Chinese phones. Now these include Chinese brands (like Konka, Legend, Amoisonic, Eastcom and Keijan) and the Noklas, Sunny Eriksuns, and Mootrolas. The latter of course, are the pirated versions of popular brands. The apple iPhone has also been the ’source of inspiration’ for several knock-offs. Interestingly, there are little or no fakes available for Korean brands like LG and Samsung. Now here comes the concept of what I like to call ‘the opportunity to clone’. By releasing the desirable product in limited quanties and in limited markets, manufacturers are almost giving pirates the license to sell cloned products. LG and Samsung have for a long time now, been releasing devices simultaneously in Korea and China. So, if you are planning to buy a phone this festive season, make sure you get the real thing.
