Cyber crime cell files FIR against K Sera Sera for piracy

Move follows Viacom18 Motion Pictures' complaint concerning piracy of John Abraham-starrer Force 2

The Cyber Crime Investigation Cell, Mumbai, has registered an FIR (first information report) against K Sera Sera Digital Cinema Ltd after a complaint filed by Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd (Viacom18) in relation to online piracy of its film Force-2.

The film starring John Abraham, Sonakshi Sinha and Tahir Raj Bhasin released on November 18 last year and the pirated print of the film was found online on the day of release. Viacom18 alleged in the complaint that the film had been leaked online by K Sera Sera, thereby infringing Viacom18’s copyright in the film along with other offences committed by K Sera Sera under Information Technology Act, Copyright Act and Indian Penal Code.

The film’s performance was understandably impacted because of piracy, especially considering it released in the cash crunch environment that followed the demonetisation move announced on November 8. As a result, Force 2 ended its campaign at the box office with an estimated lifetime collection of Rs 38 crore. Force 2 is the sequel to 2011 film Force, also starring Abraham in the lead.

K Sera Sera was one of the firms hired by Viacom18 for digital integration of its film ‘Force 2’, wherein the digital content package (DCP) was sent to K Sera Sera before the release of the film. In order to tackle the menace of online piracy and identify the leak at source, Viacom18 had employed an internal security mechanism, involving the integration of unique identifiers in each copy of the film before the DCPs were distributed to the digital integrators.

Upon the release of the film, it was found that Force-2 was available in full length on various websites, for both unauthorized download and streaming, in a blatant act of movie piracy. Investigations by the Viacom18 team revealed that pirated copies originated from the one that was sent to K Sera Sera for digital integration.

A Viacom18 spokesperson said in a press statement, “It is really frustrating to suffer a loss due to online piracy as tremendous amount of money is invested in production, promotion and distribution of a film. This mechanism developed by us can trace the source of piracy and further strengthens our commitment to battle movie piracy. I believe that a concerted effort from the Indian film industry and support from the general public will go a long way in eradicating this illegal act. The Cyber Cell is presently investigating the offences complained of and it is likely to bust the nexus involved in this illegal activity. We hope the culprits are caught and brought to justice.”