• No results found

MADE IN INDIA, FOR THE WORLD

N/A
N/A
Protected

Academic year: 2022

Share "MADE IN INDIA, FOR THE WORLD"

Copied!
45
0
0

Loading.... (view fulltext now)

Full text

(1)

SERVICES EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL

3rd Floor, 6A/6, NCHF Building,Siri Fort Institutional Area, August Kranti Marg, New Delhi-110049

Phone: +91 11-41046327-28-29, +91 11-41734632 Email: info@servicesepc.org

Website: www.servicesepc.org, www.indiaservices.in

MADE IN INDIA, FOR THE WORLD

of IP creation with a catalogue of Indian IPs

India Service Guide_Catalogue_Cover_2019.indd 1-3 07-10-2019 PM 02:39:55

(2)

of Idea

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 1 08-10-2019 22:38:19

(3)

SEPC Push to Indian IPs

M

ake in India, Show the World. Creative and business minds (both domes- tic and overseas) in the media and entertainment industry have a great opportunity to collaborate to create new media products and services out of India. One of the areas currently getting traction is the Intellectual Property (IP) creation in the media and entertainment space.

The rise of the innovation and digital transformation has opened up new plat- forms and avenues of growth to the media and entertainment sector. IP is the most important asset for many economies as well as companies. The creation of content (live action, animation, films, digital, OTT) and protection of IP has never been important before. The idea behind this India Intellectual Property (IP) Guide is to present a reality picture on the resur- gence of Intellectual Property creation in the Indian animation sector. This is the first of its kind initiative by SEPC and our major objective is to hand hold small and medium entertainment companies to thrive, excel and expand global footprint.

The guide collectively positions India’s strength and di- versity in the IP creation across the country. It also of- fers some practical, business-focused perspectives on IP.

In addition to the fresh perspectives of thought leaders and creative professionals on IP Creation, the guide presents completed Indian IP animation properties that can be made available to global buyers, distribu- tors and sales agents. The guide also lists IPs in development and production stage for companies to scout for co-production partners and distributors.

India provides a window of opportunity to position itself as a digital hub for the glob- al media and entertainment industry. There is enormous opportunity for Indian M&E companies to scale, open doors for collaboration between creative minds to work across various platforms and create demand for Make In India content.

THE GUIDE COLLECTIVELY POSITIONS INDIA’S STRENGTH AND DIVERSITY IN THE IP CREATION ACROSS THE COUNTRY

FROM THE DESK OF SEPC CHAIRMAN

Vivek Nair

Chairman, Services Export Promotion Council

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 3 08-10-2019 22:38:19

India’s IP Strength in M&E Space

The GovernmenT of IndIa Is commITTed To safeGuard aGaInsT InfrInGemenT of orIGInalITy and creaTIvITy of The makers, To GIve a boosT To servIces exporTs foreWord by dr anup WadhaWan, commerce secreTary

Dr Anup Wadhawan, IAS

Commerce Secretary,

Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt of India

I

am happy to present the Indian Intellectual Property (IP) Guide to delegates at the 36th MIPCOM, the world’s entertainment content market at Cannes, France. This IP Guide for the media & entertainment sector with a catalogue of completed original animation IPs and properties that are under development is being brought out for the first time by Services Exports Promotion Council (set- up by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India) to showcase India’s strengths in the IP creation space.

One of the key objectives is to help and handhold small and medium media &

entertainment companies to navigate critical aspects of IP creation and to pres- ent IPs from India to the buyers and distributors from across the globe. The IP Guide is to illustrate strengths of the Indian content creators.

The Indian audio visual sector is recognized as a priority sector for support by Government of India under its Champion Service Sector initiative. With over 900 television channels, more than 600 million Internet users, 175 million Pay TV households, 500 million smart phone users, 100,000 + newspapers, over 1,500 films produced annually and multiple delivery platforms, India’s vibrant media and enter- tainment industry provides exciting growth oppor- tunities to global and domestic companies.

With the growth of broadband, mobile technologies and emergence of digital media, the sector is wit- nessing rapid transformation in a converging world.

IP is the most important asset for its creators in the media and entertainment sector. We firmly believe

the significance of IPR as the centerpiece of the industry’s future growth. The Government of India is committed to safeguard against infringement of origi- nality and creativity of the makers, to give a boost to services exports.

(4)

O

ne of the key objectives at Services Export Promotion Council (set-up by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry) is to facilitate Services exporters of India and handhold medium and small enterprises to expand their global footprint. In this context, Intellectual Property (IP), especially in the innovation economy of today, is vital to a large number of SEPC’s stakeholders.

The Indian media and entertainment sector is growing e x p o n e n t i a l l y.

SEPC acts to encourage small companies find a foot-hold in the

global market as also larger companies to spread and deepen their global footprint. It is with this vision that SEPC works in the M&E and all other Services sectors.

In fact, Indian Media and Entertainment Sector is a prime example of value creation in the IP arena.

Intellectual Property (IP) is the most important asset for many economies as well as companies.

Experts point out that IP accounts for more than 80 per cent of companies’ value. Intellectual Property is intangible property, which you cannot see, but can value and build over a period of time.

IP gets legal protection which can be harnessed for value in perpetuity. Any transgression of the intellectual property lends itself to legal action.

SEPC’s firm belief in the value and protection of IP has given shape to this India IP Guide.

Supporting Indian IP to Create a Stronger Global Footprint

MAKING IP ASSETS GROW

Indian media, entertainment and technology companies are growing at an accelerated pace on the back of growing acceptance of our content, especially in animation, VFX, gaming and AR/VR. SEPC firmly believes that creation, protection and expansion of IP in the media and entertainment sector alone will bring huge returns, says Sangeeta Godbole, DG, SEPC. Actioning this belief, we proudly present this first effort of a catalogue of IP products as a tool to facilitate trade in creative goods and services

Sangeeta Godbole

Director General, SEPC

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 4 08-10-2019 22:38:19

For the creative and business minds in the M&E sector, an IP portfolio is a matter of both pride and business sustainability. IP creation is also vital for creation of new jobs, investment and growth.

To accelerate growth, M&E organisations must rebuild their IP strategies to conquer the emerging digital landscape. The world of online and new OTT platforms have opened up mind boggling avenues of distribution for content creation.

Digital platforms have opened up tremendous opportunity that never existed before – for creators, storytellers -- to reach out to the world.

While we have been deliberating on this, we proudly present, for the first time, a compendium of best practices and narratives which dominate the Indian M&E IP scenario. This catalogue is only representative of what is being created out

of India. It gives a glimpse of readily available IP creations for distribution and products in development. Over the next editions, we will present updates of properties across media and entertainment verticals.

The creative and business minds have captured a set of mega trends that are emerging in the IP creation. There are a number of examples of how companies are handling their IP and penetrate new markets. Every idea or a product needs an innovative approach and these suggestions are examples that will power to create fresh success stories.

Indian media, entertainment and technology companies are growing at an accelerated pace on the back of growing acceptance of our content, especially in animation, VFX, gaming and AR/

VR. The Indian animation and VFX have gained a lot of traction among the international producers and production houses. Top Indian companies have attained leadership to create content and distribute them in new markets.

To encourage this growing trend, in the coming months, SEPC plans to launch an online IP helpline, so that anybody who has plain simple question can get feedback on IP related queries.

SEPC will also create a committee which will help small and medium entertainment companies to navigate critical aspects of IP creation. The aim is to assist companies and content creators to maximise the value that IPs can provide.

If you would like to contribute to this small but significant effort in any way, feel free to mail your suggestions and comments on this India IP Guide at dg@ servicesepc.org.

SEPC PLANS TO LAUNCH AN ONLINE IP HELPLINE, SO THAT ANYBODY WHO HAS PLAIN SIMPLE QUESTION CAN GET FEEDBACK ON IP RELATED QUERIES.

SEPC WILL ALSO CREATE A COMMITTEE WHICH WILL HELP SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERTAINMENT COMPANIES TO NAVIGATE CRITICAL ASPECTS OF IP CREATION

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 5 08-10-2019 22:38:19

(5)

C

hhota Bheem’s journey to the small screen was by no means an easy one. I realised the huge opportunity in our country for original Indian Kids IP content. Chhota Bheem was an idea conceptualized in 2004 itself. The industry at that time was not open to many ideas and the scope of an indigenous IP was minimal. But the potential was there to be tapped into. I truly believed that kids would connect with and love a character that they could relate to and thus decided to focus

on creating IP content for Indian audience.

Multiple pitches and numerous iterations later, we finally got the green signal from Pogo to create the Chhota Bheem show in 2007.

Looking back today, the amazing

love and acceptance shown by kids towards Bheem makes the arduous journey worth every moment.

The love for the show ensured that Chhota Bheem never went off air in India since its pilot episode.

It resulted in a decade of Bheem entertaining kids in different avatars, the latest of which is Mighty Little Bheem. The franchise today has an audience of over 100 million and growing.

I have always believed that the love for Bheem is universal but Mighty Little Bheem was the litmus test. We put our heart and soul in creating Mighty Little Bheem. It was a departure for us as well from our conventional projects as it was our first preschool show. The entire creation process has been a brilliant rollercoaster and an eye opener for us. Creating a non-dialogue music driven show that transcended cultural and geographical boundaries has been a revelation. Little Bheem became the top pre-school title globally on Netflix.

It is performing well in US, Canada, Brazil, Mexico and other territories. Bheem today is a loving part of homes across 190 countries.

Chhota Bheem - A Journey Worth Every Moment

TRANSCENDING GEOGRAPHICAL BOUNDARIES

Beginning its journey in 2008 on Pogo, Chhota Bheem and its different avatars have transcended cultural and geographical boundaries to gain love and acceptance from an audience of over 100 million and growing

Rajiv Chilaka

Founder & CEO, Green Gold Animation

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 6 08-10-2019 22:38:20 sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 7 08-10-2019 22:38:21

(6)

Chhota Bheem, the brand, has been growing for the last decade. When we realized the popularity of Bheem, we also realized that kids wanted to have a personal Bheem, thus started our merchandising journey. From a few comics and products, we have grown our presence to exclusive retail, modern trade, ecommerce as well as licensing. With over 100 brands partnering with us over the last decade, Chhota Bheem has consistently been among the most recognized and recalled kids brand in India.

And it all started in Hyderabad. The city is the hub for visual arts and animation, and it will soon have its IMAGE tower, a beautiful amalgamation of history, modern design and technology. Animation, Gaming and Visual Fx industries thrive on creative and technology ecosystems. The world-class tower provides a vibrant environment for the AVGC industry. The Telangana Government dedicated IMAGE policy on the industry will empower young and talented entrepreneurs to foray further and compete with the best projects worldwide.

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 8 08-10-2019 22:38:22

The animation and the VFX segment witnessed a strong growth of 18.7% in FY19, to reach a size of Rs.  87.7 billion. The sector will grow at a CAGR of 16% between FY19 and FY24 and reach Rs. 184 billion. What is extremely heartening to know is that the Indian Animation IP production (excluding animation services) has a year-on-year double digit growth: almost double of what it was in 2012. With a population of 373 million between ages of 1-14 in India itself, this trend will only improve upon in the coming years.

Even though 70-80% of animation revenue in India comes from international projects, India’s share in the global industry is less than 1%. Immense potential is here. With the advent of OTT, the average content consumption in India has gone up from 450 hours a year, to almost 6000+ hours a year in the last 5 years. Animation has had a big role to play here. The success of Mighty Little Bheem and other Indian IPs globally has proven the importance of region agnostic content and the caliber of home grown IPs. I believe this is the right time to move forward and take our rightful place in the global animation industry.

The ease of access to global content has evolved the audiences taste and raised the standards for all creators. The quality and the ability of it to connect across regions is paramount. Keeping this in mind, we have set up our offices in Los Angeles to focus on and create IPs with global potential and appeal. The team, led by Mr. Marc Lumer, a veteran of the industry and illustrator extraordinaire, is creating IPs which are presently in various stages of production. The world is becoming a smaller place. And there is so much potential to do stories which are from India, of Indian stories.

LITTLE BHEEM BECAME THE TOP PRESCHOOL TITLE GLOBALLY ON NETFLIX. IT IS PERFORMING WELL IN US, CANADA, BRAZIL, MEXICO AND OTHER TERRITORIES.

BHEEM TODAY IS A LOVING PART OF HOMES ACROSS 190 COUNTRIES

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 9 08-10-2019 22:38:22

(7)

I

ntellectual Property (IP) is the talk of the town today. Infact it has been so for the last few years and quite understandably so. The coming of new-age technologies and their stupendous growth have opened up entirely new possibilities for all stakeholders, be it the government and their agencies, distributors, exhibitors, satellite channels, OTT platforms and other key participants in this continually expanding arena.

But most impor- tantly, what does it mean for the cre- ators themselves!

IPs we create is an important aspect of our art and cul- ture. We as a na- tion are known for our extraordinary art in the form of sculpture, paint- ing, architecture, literature, cinema,

music, etc. It is the murals at Ajanta, sculptures at Kailash temple, Kangra miniatures, Mughal architecture, Hindustani and the Carnatic mu- sic, and so many other vibrant renditions in various art forms that define us as a nation, as a culture.

We are after all, what we create and we are after all what we like to see. What we create today as IP should not only reflect our culture, but it should also influence and construct it. It is up to us, the creators, to choose the way forward. What kind of a nation do we want to build? How do we want the rest of the world to see us?

There are three fundamental entities that contribute towards making of any IP: the funders, the creative personnel and the audiences. These three could sometimes have different interests and it is for all three to strike a balance so that the IPs we create have high standards and that these standards keep increasing. A synergy between the three is vital for us to build, promote and nurture creativity and innovation.

What we create today as IP should not only reflect our culture, but it should also influence and construct it. It is up to us, the creators, to choose the way forward.

From Ajanta Frescoes to Digital Screens

Soumitra Ranade

Creative Head & CEO Paperboat DesignStudios

REFLECTING DREAMS OF INDIA

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 10 08-10-2019 22:38:23

Our IPs need to be rooted in our land, in its diverse fragrances and its distinct shades. We must tell our

extraordinary stories through our extraordinary audiovisual traditions.

For this to happen, we first need to be proud of the immense wealth that we

have. Instead of looking constantly towards the west, we must look within

ourselves, within our own souls and that’s where the real Indian IPs exist

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 11 08-10-2019 22:38:23

(8)

Throughout history whenever there was complete synergy between the three, a high level of art was achieved; from as diverse periods as the Renaissance or the Chola period. Whenever there have been gaps between the three, the art of that period has suffered.

For a country that has such an enormous treasure of stories; of images and sounds, of colors and textures, of melodies and rhythms, very few Indian IPs have crossed the shores and gone global. Many have tried for several years and yet only a few have succeeded. What makes our IPs mostly confined within our borders?

What we create here in our country – not just as a geographical unit but as a composite culture, must I feel, reflect our stories, our dreams, our images and our sounds. Our IPs need to be rooted in our

land, in its diverse fragrances and its distinct shades. We must tell our extraordinary stories through our extraordinary audiovisual traditions.

For this to happen, we first need to be proud of the immense wealth that we have. Instead of looking c o n s t a n t l y

towards the west, we must look within o u r s e l v e s , within our own souls and that’s where the real Indian IPs exist.

Only those artists who

THERE ARE THREE FUNDAMENTAL ENTITIES THAT CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS MAKING OF ANY IP: THE FUNDERS, THE CREATIVE PERSONNEL AND THE AUDIENCES

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 12 08-10-2019 22:38:25

have truly been rooted in the culture of our land have gone global in the real sense of the word, be it Satyajit Ray, Pt. Ravi Shankar or M.F.Hussain amongst others. It is always the most local that eventually becomes global; there are enough examples from all over the world to substantiate this. Even Superman, probably one of the most popular global icons has perhaps the most American soul. The Disney collection and the Manga art and animation are some of the other examples that come immediately to mind.

In recent times, the two animation films from India—Goopi Gawaiyaa Bagha Bajaiyaa and Bombay Rose—have crossed the boarders and have gone international in a big way. Both these films are rooted in the Indian aesthetic not only thematically but also stylistically.

There is however a catch here! If we go back to our roots without innovation, we will only be repeating ourselves. If we render the same stories in the same ol’ ways we will become irrelevant for the newer generations. We need to rethink and reinterpret. While we do this, we must bring in that edge, that zeitgeist of our times, the spirit of our era.

This is where I think the government can play a key role. The Services Exports Promotion Council, set up by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, is a great initiative in this direction. The government stands alone, away from the other three entities and has the power and capital to give direction to things to come and I anticipate exciting times ahead.

We can’t repaint the Ajanta frescoes all over again.

There’s no point in doing that or even attempting to do that. But ignoring them would only be a colossal tragedy. What we must do is to reimagine Ajanta that will be represented in a form that is modern. That is contemporary.

And we must be on our toes because who knows as early as tomorrow morning the medium might change. Today it’s the digital screen but tomorrow it may be something else. One thing however will remain constant, always, for eternity – the Bodhisattva Padmapani!

We must embrace it.

IT IS THE MURALS AT AJANTA, SCULPTURES AT KAILASH TEMPLE, KANGRA MINIATURES, MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE, HINDUSTANI AND THE CARNATIC MUSIC, AND SO MANY OTHER VIBRANT RENDITIONS IN VARIOUS ART FORMS THAT DEFINE US AS A NATION, AS A CULTURE

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 13 08-10-2019 22:38:25

(9)

O

ne of the most important considerations while communicating with a large section of nation’s population, especially kids, is to look within while looking forward.

The communication patterns that are trusted upon at that ten- der age play a critical role in shaping their future. In thins digital era kids are exposed to all sorts of informa- tion from across the globe. Thus, the responsibili- ty of the creative content creators and programming directors is to en-

sure that a balanced content is fed particularly to this category of audiences.

As efforts are made to develop the future genera- tions into truly global citizens, the understanding of the regional heritage, culture, history and sto- ries is also extremely important.

Animation story telling in India is skewed towards kids’ genre. Hence we have a limitation in many ways. It all started through television as a medium in mid-nineties. Most of the content creators then understood live action creations.

India as a dominant live action country with over 100 years of cinema history took little time to understand the grammar of animation story telling. However, animation story telling being a long drawn creation process requires patience, which was hard to find back then as television medium was growing at a rapid speed after liberalisation process was rolled out in early 1990s. Therefore, the global content took a strong

IP Creation: The Great India Opportunity

LOOKING WITHIN, LOOKING FORWARD

While the formula of Indian animation IPs doing well for Indian kids has succeeded greatly, the next logical step for the original Indian animation IP creators is to get opportunities to create the global Indian animation character brands

Ashish S K

Founder-Chairman Punnaryug Artvision Pvt Ltd, & Founder-CEO Screenyug Creations Pvt Ltd.

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 14 08-10-2019 22:38:25

position in this segment and the kids in India were found growing up on all sorts of foreign kids’ animation content.

This was followed by an era when foreign animation content was getting dubbed in local Indian languages, which was marked by a growth in viewership as kids gradually started understanding the stories with a little more clarity.

It was almost after a decade that this era ended when few Indian animation creators took a plunge to create original Indian IPs, a step replete with risks. But when the television programming teams decided to air these shows, the viewership went through the roof. It provided the impetus for the kids’ category to grow multi-fold, and the percentage viewership of kids gained a bigger pie in the total viewership universe.

Properties like Hanuman, Little Krishna, Chotta Bheem, Tenalirama, Pancha tantra, Shaktimaan, Gatotkutch, etc, proved successful enough to compel the kids’ networks to invest more in original Indian animation shows.

However, at this stage the supporting eco-system for character licensing, merchandising, brand associations, character events and school contact programs was absent in India. It was against this backdrop that the creators of Chotta Bheem took a bold step to self-distribute the content internationally; create own character licensing and merchandising; forge brand associations;

organise character events; open Chotta Bheem stores at airports, events and malls, etc. The creators went on to produce and successfully release a series of theatrical animated feature film in the last six years. Eventually, Chotta Bheem emerged as the biggest animated character brand out of India.

While the original animation IP story was beginning to unfold in India, the co-production of animation IPs also existed in the business modules of several studios. That was another way of partially holding the rights of global original animation IPs.

We have many shows produced under the co- productions, but the positioning of Indian studios was way lower in the value-chain as India was initially positioned as the animation production services destination. Hence it sometimes became very difficult for the Indian original animation IP’s / ideas to move up and become the co-productions. It was always the ideas or IPs originating from other countries that were translated into the co-production shows.

Nevertheless Indian animation studios did not give up. Some of the global IPs co-produced by the Indian studios include Jungle Book, Peter Pan, Davincibles, Casper, The Little Princes, Animated World Tales etc.

THE NEW AVENUES OF CREATION AND MONETISATION OF ORIGINAL INDIAN ANIMATION IPS SHOW A LOT OF PROMISE IN THE UN-EXPLORED AREAS OF PRE-SCHOOL ANIMATION CONTENT AND DIGITAL PLATFORMS FOR ORIGINAL ANIMATION CREATIONS

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 15 08-10-2019 22:38:25

(10)

Since 2011-2012, few Indian animation studios focused on co-productions of international animated feature films. However, they have succeeded in setting up world-class 3D character animation pipelines and are delivering international features through co-productions continuously. Some of these theatrical features and DVD shows include Iron Man, Norm Of the North series, The Swan Princes Series, ALpha and Omega, Artic Dogs, Blinky Bill, Little NICK, Robin Hood, etc.

Post 2014, the Indian animation entered a new evolution phase as now the networks wanted to move over 60% original Indian animation content to even a new kids’ network.

By now original Indian animation had grown to over 100 animation character brands. While some of these character brands were produced in several seasons, some of them made a great start. For example, IPs like Motu Patlu, Shiva, Little Singham, Krishna, Aryan, Dabang Girls, Krish Trish and Batliboy, Jr. Gol Mall, My Bhoot Friends, icko & Super Speedo, Sab Jholmaal, Honey Bunny, Pakdam Pakdai, Rudra, Keymon Ache, Roll No 21, Super Bheem, Andy Pirki, Oye Golu, Gattu Battu, Mighty Raju,Kalari Kids, Kumbha karan, Chotti Anandi, etc, rose as the original Indian animation brands to reckon with.

While all the stakeholders recognise that creating the original Indian animation IPs is the way to go forward, the sole dependency on the television network is making it difficult for a self-sustaining business module to run as the cost of production made available is very low.

Although the percentage of kids’ universe is very large in terms of total viewership base, there is a mismatch in terms of advertising revenues.

Hence the pressure on production costs doesn’t

allow the creators to enhance the quality of the shows. The frustration of the creators can be gauged by the fact that they are delivering higher quality production values in the outsourcing animation services projects while unable to do it for Indian projects though the talent pool remains the same for both.

While the formula of Indian animation IPs doing well for Indian kids has succeeded greatly, the next logical step for the original Indian animation IP creators is to get opportunities to create the global Indian animation character brands. Secondly, the independent animation studios creating original Indian animation must get a chance to retain the IP of the characters and shows, as in the present format they lose all the rights in the first green lighting stage itself.

The new avenues of creation and monetisation of original Indian animation IPs show a lot of promise in the un-explored areas of pre-school animation content and digital platforms for original animation creations.

While BARC has included the kids’ content from 2 years to 14 years now, the advertising and network marketing teams will require a viewership data break up for 2 to 5 years, 6 to 10 years, and 11 to 14 years separately, as the content subject interests are fast changing in kids as they are growing up this age profiles.

Presently, the pre-school category has substantial viewership base but no advertising revenues.

Hence we do not get shows green lit in pre-school animation. This is a very high potential content creation growth area for near future.

Secondly, so far we have seen only one big success for an Indian original animation created for a well known digital platform, i.e. Might Little Bheem.

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 16 08-10-2019 22:38:25

The second example of success of the re-run of the original Indian animation content for television, but now placed on a famous international digital content platform dubbed in several languages doing well is Krish, Trish and Baltiboy.

Few steps that will further consolidate promising growth of the original animation IP’s will be as follows:

1. Expand the genre from only kids to family entertainment

2. Create local co-production and original IP funding mechanism.

3 Create and establish a free to air kids public broadcasting networks with focused funding for creation original Indian animation content.

4 Establish a Co-production & finished content market in India and get buyers for the animation content from all over the world.

5 Funding for promotion of Indian original animation content globally thru several content markets

6 Create a special animated kids feature film distribution mechanism.

7 Pre-school viewership data to be measured and made available to the advertising and kids network, in order to ensure infusion of production funds for pre-school animation programming.

The original Indian animation characters are in a nascent stage and require a right attention as 27% population of India is between 0 to 14 years of age. The highest loyalty and stickiness for the television network or an animation character brand is displayed by this age profile. More over the kids who were born in India in 90’s and 2000, who grew up watching animation content, will soon become parents.

That gives a great opportunity to Indian original animation content creators to widen the animation viewers’ genre from kids to family in next 5 to 10 years. Hence the potential to take the original Indian animation creation to the global heights is certain.

IPS LIKE MOTU PATLU, SHIVA, LITTLE SINGHAM, KRISHNA, ARYAN, DABANG GIRLS, KRISH TRISH AND BATLIBOY, JR.

GOL MALL, MY BHOOT FRIENDS, ICKO & SUPER SPEEDO, HONEY BUNNY, PAKDAM PAKDAI, RUDRA, ROLL NO 21, SUPER BHEEM, GATTU BATTU, MIGHTY RAJU, KUMBHA KARAN, CHOTTI ANANDI, ETC, ROSE AS THE ORIGINAL INDIAN ANIMATION BRANDS TO RECKON WITH

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 17 08-10-2019 22:38:25

(11)

I

ndian animation studios are increasingly realizing the need and the potential of 360 degree monetization by creating their own IPS.

The Indian animation industry has proved its mettle in the global markets.

We are now experi- encing a global phe- nomenon of huge consumption in animated content, one of the reasons being that people are realizing that animation travels better.

With the way our live action Indian movies have been

doing globally, it is only a matter of time that we develop truly Indian animated IPs based on our own stories with potential to go global.

There is a demand for stories which are Indian but need to be presented to the global audience in a way that any kid living anywhere in the world could easily identify with it.

The kids’ animation sector has shown tremendous growth potential of original domestic content.

From storytelling strategies to presentation and consumption of content, the distribution platforms are now providing such rich variety of content that

Producers are now spoilt for choice. The animation industry, both locally and globally, has come to love and adopt OTT platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc.

It’s High Time OTT

Platforms be Leveraged to Gain Global Scale

DEVELOPING TRULY INDIAN IPS

The shows being created by the Indian studios presently are focussed more on the Indian market, and hence fail to strike a chord on a worldwide scale.

Manoj Mishra

COO, DQ Entertainment

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 18 08-10-2019 22:38:25

Given the kind of liberty and exposure animated content can enjoy if consumed through OTT platforms, Indian producers need to leverage this opportunity and take some calculated risks in creating content that is in essence Indian but having global appeal.

The future clearly is digital and content is now being tailor-made to cater to digital platforms first. There seems to be a lot of clarity now among the young audience on what belongs on Television and what belongs on digital platforms such as SVOD, YouTube and social media. More

and more producers now need to come forward to develop original Indian content to address each of these platforms and leverage its potential to reach out to millions of viewers.

For example, Jungle Book, which is essentially an Indian story based on the Seonee Jungle, we have already produced three season of the series with multiple spin offs based on it. The Jungle Book is a complete kids and family entertainer. The fun series is filled with humour, action combined with great story telling, and has been successful in entertaining kids from across the globe.

Recognising the power of digital platforms for their reach and also the medium’s potential to earn substantial revenues over a sustained period of time in addition to the traditional broadcast way, we launched our You Tube channel – called Powerkids TV few months. The Powerkids TV channel on YouTube has witnessed tremendous viewership and watch time for our high quality global shows. We have observed that our animated show Jungle Book has millions of views on each of its episodes and our four million strong and growing subscribers have been consuming our content in huge volumes on a daily basis.

The IP has been broadcast in more than 165 countries and has over 500 product categories ranging from books , apparels, toys, plush, bags, stationary, pencils, inflatables, walkie- talkies, lollipops, playing cards, beach toys, stickers, puzzles, etc, in terms of merchandize.

Jungle Book is one approach in leveraging and expanding the monetization venues of an IP.

However, every producer needs to strategize their approach for their respective IPs based on the strengths and weaknesses of the show they are producing.

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 19 08-10-2019 22:38:26

19

SEPC | INDIA IP GUIDE

Given the kind of liberty and exposure animated content can enjoy if consumed through OTT

platforms, Indian producers need to leverage this opportunity and take some calculated risks in creating content that is in essence Indian but having global appeal. The future clearly is digital and content is now being tailor-made to cater to digital platforms

first. There seems to be a lot of clarity now among the young audience on what belongs on Television and what belongs on digital platforms such as SVOD, YouTube and social media. More and more producers now need to come forward to develop original Indian content to address each of these platforms and leverage its potential to reach out to millions of viewers.

For example, Jungle Book, which is essentially an Indian story based on the Seonee Jungle, we have already produced three season of the series with multiple spin offs based on it. The Jungle Book is a complete kids and family entertainer. The fun series is filled with humour, action combined

with great story telling, and has been successful in entertaining kids from across the globe.

Recognising the power of digital platforms for their reach and also the medium’s potential to earn substantial revenues over a sustained period of time in addition to the traditional broadcast

way, we launched our You Tube channel – called Powerkids TV few months. The Powerkids TV channel on YouTube has witnessed tremendous viewership and watch time for our high quality global shows. We have observed that our animated show Jungle Book has millions of views on each

of its episodes and our four million strong and growing subscribers have been consuming our content in huge volumes on a daily basis.

The IP has been broadcast in more than 165 countries and has over 500 product categories

ranging from books , apparels, toys, plush, bags, stationary, pencils, inflatables, walkie- talkies, lollipops, playing cards, beach toys, stickers, puzzles, etc, in terms of merchandize.

Jungle Book is one approach in leveraging and expanding the monetization venues of an IP.

However, every producer needs to strategize their approach for their respective IPs based on the strengths and weaknesses of the show they are producing.

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 19 08-10-2019 22:38:26

(12)

Why should we partner with Indian Animation Studios? That’s the most obvious question many international producers interested in partnering with Indian studios would ask themselves. Indian animation studios have already established their credentials as a strong production partner with proven track record, but there is a lot more to Indian animation industry then just cost arbitrage.

Let’s scratch the surface and look closely at some of the other factors that underscore Indian

animation studios as a very strong partner to develop and co-produce original IPs.

Animation in In- dia started with the first Indian animated short film, Aagkadyan- chi Mouj (Match- stick’s Fun), pro- duced in 1915 by Dadasaheb Phal-

ke! This was barely two years after he produced India’s first feature film in 1913, Raja Harish- chandra. Phalke is considered as the Father of Indian Cinema.

Origin of animation in India can be traced further back as far as 5th century BC where scroll paintings and later shadow puppets were used to narrate stories. In fact, in the ancient times storytelling was a well-established profession.

India has a very rich literature with thousands of stories, mythologies and epics beyond the Mahabharata and Ramayana. Apart from stories, there are hundreds of rich and diverse schools of paintings, graphics folk arts and even varied puppet styles as well. Stories and art are in the DNA of Indian artist.

At India’s premiere animation studio Graphiti, we are passionate about our rich artistic heritage.

We decided very early to tap into our rich heritage to develop our own shows-our IP. We chose to bring alive the world of colour, art and stories through our unique movie series Krish, Trish and Baltiboy, recipient of the Audience Choice Award

SERVING INDIAN CONTENT TO GLOBAL AUDIENCE

Munjal Shroff

Director & COO, Graphiti Multimedia

OTT platforms like Netflix are already working with Indian producers to develop original IPs and acquire content which have strong Indian connect. Graphiti’s shows Krish, Trish and Baltiboy and Yom have been acquired by Netflix and released not just in English but also in Chinese, Korean, Turkish and Polish language.

Partnering with Indian Studio

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 20 08-10-2019 22:38:26

at 2011’s CMS Children’s Film Festival. Our 40+

million viewers on Cartoon Network India just love the show.

India has a very rich mythology with well- renowned epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana. The challenge with these epics is that they have a religious context which may not have a global appeal as buyers refrain from buying kids’ content with any religious tones. The key is to filter that out, develop fun characters and engaging stories with a lot of playfulness, drama and some intrigue and create something fresh which the global audience can enjoy even without having any cultural context.

In 2009, Cartoon Network shorts program SNAPTOONS cherry picked three Indian

studios—Miditech, Famous and Graphiti—to co-develop three shows: Sulochana and Nature Detectives, Johnny Goes to Bollywood and Kul Veera. The shorts produced were then screened across all the Cartoon Network Channels in Asia Pacific to gauge the audience reaction. Graphiti’s Kul Veera was the top rated shorts out of the 15 shorts produced by various studios of APAC.

Kul Veera is a gripping fast paced, original story with characters from the Mahabharata and some new ones as well. The action, the choreography, the 3D animation is fabulous and featured great performancesas well, it is tightly scripted and has a global appeal.Kul Veera was packaged for the international market, it featured top voice talent from Hollwood including Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: The Last Jedi).

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 21 08-10-2019 22:38:27

(13)

Yoga is India’s biggest gift to the world and a global trend, and yet it still not been explored enough in the kids’ space. So Graphiti tapped into Yoga and gave it a unique superhero spin to create Yom. Yom follows the adventures of a brash young boy who gets animal-based superpowers by performing…yoga poses. Yom was developed in close association with Disney and was released on Disney Channel India in 2018, garnering high ratings and critical acclaim.

Bollywood films have been gaining global audiences and Indian producers are capitalizing on this trend and producing shows inspired and based on characters from hit Bollywood films. In 2004 Graphiti co-produced with Nickelodeon the award winning live action cum animated series J Bole Toh Jadoo, based on the licensed character Jadoo from the hit Bollywood film Koi Mil Gaya.

In fact Nick re-launched the channel in India with this show. The trend continues today with Fukkrey Boyzz and Little Singham on Discovery Kid and Golmaal Jr on Nick’s Channel Sonic.

OTT platforms like Netflix are already working with Indian producers to develop original IPs and acquire content which have strong Indian connect.

Graphiti’s shows Krish, Trish and Baltiboy and Yom have been acquired by Netflix and released not just in English but also in Chinese, Korean, Turkish and Polish language. This clearly shows that these shows are being also served to a global audience and not just English language audience.

Recently, the Indian show Mighty Little Bheem produced by Green Gold Animation became the second most popular Netflix Kids Original.

GRAPHITI’S SHOWS KRISH, TRISH AND BALTIBOY AND YOM HAVE BEEN ACQUIRED BY NETFLIX AND RELEASED NOT JUST IN ENGLISH BUT ALSO IN CHINESE, KOREAN, TURKISH AND POLISH LANGUAGE. THIS CLEARLY SHOWS THAT THESE SHOWS ARE BEING ALSO SERVED TO A GLOBAL AUDIENCE AND NOT JUST ENGLISH LANGUAGE AUDIENCE

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 22 08-10-2019 22:38:28

Some of the Indian studios have been producing high-end animated TV commercials for global brands such as Kellogg’s, Pepsi, Coke, Pillsbury Doughboy and Cheetos. Veteran American producer Joanna Ferrone, creator of iconic characters such as Angela Anaconda and Fido Dido, partnered with Graphiti to give Fido a contemporary make over. We worked closely to re-imagine Fido as a 3D character and produce a series of shorts—Fido Xtreme Shorts. This rejuvenated the brand and boosted the character licensing of Fido.

The domestic Indian market is massive and growing rapidly. Even the licensing market in India is growing rapidly as expendable income is increasing across the spectrum of the population.

The Government is now working closely with the

animation, VFX and the gaming industry, and is planning various schemes such as co-production funds, signing co-production treaties and launching a public kids broadcasting channel. All these factors will benefit any co-production that is done with Indian Studios.

Studios like Technicolor have already setup captive facilities to tap into the Indian talent pool. Indian studios growing breed of talented artists, animators, directors, writers, designers and storytellers are exploring the plethora of unique Indian art, culture and stories, this certainly makes the future of Indian animation and storytelling even brighter. This is what the international producers needs to and partner with Indian studios and develop original IP for the global market.

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 23 08-10-2019 22:38:29

(14)

Indian motion pictures are increasingly popular around the world. Movies either made in India or featuring Indian characters have been doing excellently at the box office. To be competitive, movies from the subcontinent need to be marketed using the latest and most effective marketing systems—and that means online.

Today, the potential market for any idea or Intellectual Property is almost unlimited and easier to reach than at any time in history. For example, the potential global motion picture market has never been larger.

The marketing methods, distribution systems, and media of the past are no longer effective. In

just a few years into this millennium, systems for the development of entertainment media have taken a quantum leap thanks to brilliant digital applications that serve to globally aggregate audiences online.

Targeted audiences can now be contacted with the single push of a computer key. There are 4.33 billion active, intelligent, media literate, aware internet users (56% of the people on the planet) who have expanding horizons and discretionary income.

IP MANAGEMENT BEST PRACTICES

Omar Kaczmarczyk

Motion Picture Producer Sharecroppers Media

Hilary Clay Hicks

Trans-Media Producer Sharecroppers Media

Understanding Intellectual Property Asset Management begins as “Trans Media”, wherein multiple media products are manifested as individual brands that cross promote each other while providing multiple income streams.

Understanding IP Asset

Management in 21st Century

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 24 08-10-2019 22:38:29

Simply put, the Intellectual Property Asset is the Brand Name, Identity,

and Logo. Think Star Wars, The Simpsons and Steam Boat Willy

(also known as Mickey Mouse) now over a hundred years old and

still growing across all media. Next, think the Mahabharata, the great history of the human race and the stories therein.Trans Media provides

a library of copyrights that can be extended with each adaptation

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 25 08-10-2019 22:38:29

(15)

The internet is the ecosystem for proactive promotional efforts and reiteration to create awareness. Today’s tools include websites, social media, and net-friendly content. Personalized online branding is built on a solid foundation that multiplies relationships and expands exponentially around the world.

Understanding Intellectual Property Asset Management begins as “Trans Media”, wherein multiple media products are manifested as individual brands that cross promote each other while providing multiple income streams.

This bears a superficial resemblance to the legacy model of vertical integration, but rather than consist of separate divisions operating within one business structure, multiple income streams are manifested as individual brands created to exploit a master intellectual property (IP) brand.

Psychographics is the study of personality, values, opinions, attitudes, interests and lifestyles (not be confused with demographics, which are statistical data relating to the population and particular socio-economic strata). Today, target audiences can be identified psychographically thanks to the abundance of personal interest online communities found throughout social media and websites in all languages.

Simply put, the Intellectual Property Asset is the Brand Name, Identity, and Logo. Trans Media Marketing is the multi-platform exploitation and development of the Master Brand Name, Identity, and or Logo. Think Star Wars, Marvel Comics, The Simpsons (the first adult animation on TV), and Steam Boat Willy (also known as Mickey Mouse) now over a hundred years old and still growing across all media. Next, think

the Mahabharata, the great history of the human race and the stories therein.Trans Media provides a library of copyrights that can be extended with each adaptation.

A Trans Media/Multi Platform Constellation consists of hard and/or soft cover book or books, movie(s), a TV broadcast series, video streaming media, original music, graphic novel(s), comic books, serialization online or in print media, special events, licensing, merchandising of sportswear and souvenirs, and whatever else the imagination provides for which an audience can be identified.

The purpose of the Trans Media/Multi Platform model is to provide a cascade of products, publicity, sales, and revenue. A Multi Platform Cascade results when an IP’s Trans Media brands on various platforms with individual interactive websites are marketed via social media, streaming media, electronic news and information media, print news and information media, and cable news and information media all work together producing multiple revenue streams and cross- promotion.These are synergistic systems that adapt to current and evolving media platforms to assure a Master Brand identity that lives forever.

Trans Media audiovisual properties may be distributed to the seven screens: theatrical motion picture, broadcast TV, streaming platforms (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, etc.), cable and satellite TV, Pay-Per-View, DVDs (retail and rental), and hand-held devices including smart phones and tablets.

Social media campaigns for most IP brands are a

“blue ocean,” that is, there is no competition. The purpose of a social media campaign is to create

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 26 08-10-2019 22:38:29

online brand awareness for “sales” of trans- media value. It also serves as a public relations/

publicity vehicle. Social Media Distribution includes social media channels with visual assets and copy (content) connecting psychographically consonant affinity groups.

The base effort includes establishing and promoting personalized channels (groups), niche email marketing, central blogs, and social communities. These efforts foster optimization of organic content, that is, user created content as opposed to the IP owner’s content: These efforts are more about volume than quality, in that they foster interactivity and metadata growth.

The process is aided by expert or even celebrity participation or “social proof” and the support of influencer marketing (referrals to social media audiences), the “low hanging fruit” of social media marketing. Special attention is paid to ongoing management (“hand to hand combat”) interacting with groups and communities. PR contacts are “scraped” or data mined for application to templates and then automated. Special software exists for performing these tasks. IP managers, on behalf of the content creators, are tasked with

“hearing the market” (tracking) in order to create

momentum to estimate and adjust to reach goals.

We are to be scientists experimenting in the lab to come up with the special formula to implement our goals.

To be certain, everything mentioned in this article is a beginning for Intellectual Property Asset Management as a script becomes a motion picture. This is preliminary work, organizing and planning every aspect to enhance the story’s impact. Every language and every culture will embrace a powerful story. A perfect example is Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali, the beginning of the ApuTrilogy, which is still seen in cinemas and on television in almost every country on the planet. Proper IP Asset Management will make certain that all showings of this wonderful work of art are still providing global revenue to the copyright holders.

It is the science and complex omni-experiencing of 21st Century communication processes with which we can simplify and co-create a vibrant experience of storytelling in a way never possible previous to this moment.

(Sharecroppers Media, LA-Based Intellectual Property Asset Management firm)

TODAY, THE POTENTIAL MARKET FOR ANY IDEA OR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IS ALMOST UNLIMITED AND EASIER TO REACH THAN AT ANY TIME IN HISTORY.

TARGETED AUDIENCES CAN NOW BE CONTACTED WITH THE SINGLE PUSH OF A COMPUTER KEY. THERE ARE 4.33 BILLION ACTIVE, INTELLIGENT, MEDIA LITERATE, AWARE INTERNET USERS (56% OF THE PEOPLE ON THE PLANET) WHO HAVE EXPANDING HORIZONS AND DISCRETIONARY INCOME

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 27 08-10-2019 22:38:29

(16)

Questions have been asked numerous times about IP—a subject near and dear to its developer—to find a suitable home for it or make it worthy in the eyes of the beholder. Unfortunately, this effort is many a times a last ditch effort to salvage the IP, much later in its development and after spending substantial amount of time and money. And then the only alternative left is to redesign and repack-

age it. When an under development IP is presented, its journey can be vi- sualised as to how the IP’s building blocks were built and brought togeth- er. Where the efforts took a different turn as the thoughts and people changed.

The net result is really not what was intended.

Important aspect needed on behalf of primary creators/storyteller, while developing an IP is the ability of detaching oneself from it and viewing it from third point of view of its “consumption”.

In the real world the consumption props up questions every IP developer struggles to finding suitable answers to. What is the USP of IP, can you explain in one line? What is the Series Synopsis in 500 words? What is the Target Age group? What is the Genre it represents? Who are the protagonists? How many protagonists? Does the story propagate through one protagonist or there are others? Does it preach? Does it have any violence and bloodletting? Is the story in continuation or can it be watched stand alone?

And so on and so forth.

The target age group is divided into categories such as Infant (0-2), Toddlers (2-4), Pre-School (4-6), Pre-Teen (6-9), Teen (9-11) and Teen adults (11-14).

Stories, Storytelling, Audio and Visual treatments differ significantly for each age group.

How to Avoid Pitfalls During IP Development

FROM THE POINT OF CONSUMPTION

Today’s markets offer the benefits of new digital world. The streaming platforms give a wide array of marketing and revenue options. To renew confidence in own IP, a quick litmus test is to release the first pilot on You Tube

Shambhoo Phalke

Animation Consultant with leading Indian animation companies

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 28 08-10-2019 22:38:30

TODAY’S MARKETS OFFER THE BENEFITS OF NEW DIGITAL

WORLD. THE STREAMING PLATFORMS GIVE A WIDE ARRAY

OF MARKETING AND REVENUE OPTIONS. TO RENEW CONFIDENCE

IN OWN IP, A QUICK LITMUS TEST IS TO RELEASE THE FIRST PILOT ON YOUTUBE AND SEE IF YOU GET 3,000 VIEWS IN THE FIRST MONTH.

IF YOU DO, THE IP IS SOLID AND SELLABLE

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 29 08-10-2019 22:38:30

(17)

The genre is the classification of feelings, the IP entices. These would be Romance, Action, Chase, Comedy, Horror, Drama, Dark Comedy, History, Sci-fi, etc.

In India currently the 6-9 age group is active in Genre of Action, Comedy, and Chase with a boy hero.

The unattended age groups and genres are an

ocean of opportunity. There is a wide market available here. Sooner or later domestic kid space channels would enter these age groups with different genres.

So, how should the development process of IP be designed in such a way as to avoid the pitfall.

A strong IP usually is a result of years of BROODING in the minds of its creator, which then one fine day suddenly transforms itself into an IDEA. It can be called a EUREKA moment for the creator. This is an exciting stage. The IDEA then expands into million threads and grows exponentially. This period is quite short and is following natural progression lasting for a few months. Both these processes occur in the deep and upper sub conscious.

While the IDEA is still at its infancy, the CONCEPT work is undertaken. This is the first mistake. This is where we find clashing designs, characters, stories and plots. What is strongly recommended here is that the developer should take a firm STOP after the ideation and resist the urge to pen down a CONCEPT. It’s way too early.

The physical CONCEPT creation, in itself works like a radioactive material and starts multiplying and propagating. And then a lot of money and time is engaged and before you know it the IP starts getting diluted due to opinions expressed mid-way during its incubation.

What is generally seen is a rush to deploy a script writer almost instantaneously, while even the characters are at their early design stage. This early desire “to feel the product” is one of the biggest hindrances in IP development.

The solution is simple. At this stage, the IP creator

IMPORTANT ASPECT NEEDED ON BEHALF OF PRIMARY CREATORS/

STORYTELLER, WHILE DEVELOPING AN IP IS THE ABILITY OF DETACHING ONESELF FROM IT AND VIEWING IT FROM THIRD POINT OF VIEW OF ITS

“CONSUMPTION”

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 30 08-10-2019 22:38:30

should invest a few months in the process of THOUGHT, an extremely important point of development. The sum total of IDEAS should get channelized into a THOUGHT. This is where wild imagination pours downs into its first moulds of loosely formed words and sentences. It takes shape and forms a loose boundary. The boundary then further develops into compartments.

At this juncture it is important to find a couple of people who would brainstorm and ideate and pose some real world questions. The day you Pen down a CONCEPTS, IP’s Physical avatar, it more or less gets locked down and there is very little one can change from there on. Hence the time spent of THOUGHT of at least 3 to 6 monthsis well spent and proves rewarding in time and cost savings.

A simple analogy is with development of baby.

BROODING is fertilization, IDEA is a prenatal development or the germinal stage of embryonic development, THOUGHT is fetal development and birth is CONCEPT.

Some of the other obvious pitfalls in creation of IP is its character development, bible, teaser/pilots and point of sales and marketing.

The Character development is a first step in building the bible. The design must convey at least 4 to 6 primary behavioural attributes of the character.

The next step of location should set the mood of the storytelling and build up extended visualisation of the tales happening in the minds of reader.

The TEASERS keep a way open to amend the treatment based on extensive feedbacks from the markets. The Teaser should aptly convey what the series is all about and cover the USP in flat two to max three minutes. This stage sometimes is quite frustrating and the generally acceptable routes

results in no significant development initially. Be Patient! Note down all the feedbacks. See what is liked and what is appreciated and what needs to adapt. Episodic pilot should be developed only upon getting the nod from the industry.

Today’s markets offer the benefits of new digital world. The streaming platforms give a wide array of marketing and revenue options. To renew confidence in own IP, a quick litmus test is to release the first pilot on You Tube and see if you get 3,000 views in the first month. If you do, the IP is solid and sellable.

IP’s do have a golden period approaching very fast. It is a question of time. A slight push from Government of India laying down minimum percent of daily original content would certainly bring the dawn of golden era way earlier.

About the Author

The author has worked extensively in the field of animation and VFX for the last 25 years and has completed six theatrical animated features and 30,000 minutes of TV series content. He has held senior key positions in Anibrain, Reliance Media Works Limited, Maya Entertainment Ltd and Pentamedia Graphics Limited.

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 31 08-10-2019 22:38:30

(18)

I

ndia is a relatively new entrant in the IPR game.

Just over two decades ago, India believed that IPR should be free. I remember an Indian diplomat talking at a WIPO event in Geneva and she was rabidly opposed to the protection of IPR.

It was a time when we felt that as a developing na- tion, India should not have to pay royalties for soft- ware; new medi- cines and expensive textbooks. Apart from software, med- icines and books, there was rampant theft of internation- al music and some- times international films too. But no one cared. Some years ago, we made a film called Mango which was based on

a Korean story called Couples. We paid substantial royalties for the rights. However, it didn’t help be- cause someone else copied it first and released their film. We sued and got the money, but the film could not find a release.

Fortunately, such conundrum is now a thing of the past and our IT industry is the catalyzing force behind this change. India has become a creator of IP and this has led to the realisation that we need to protect our Intellectual Property. Laws have been changed and tweaked to match the new reality and today it is difficult to violate copyrights. I suppose that it is natural that your desire to protect your property is driven by the fact that you now own property.

The entertainment sector, too, has witnessed a major change in the way it perceives IP. This has been driven by two factors.

Firstly, the Western world has realized that India is a much larger market for films than it was.

Intellectual Property in India is Coming of Age

PREVENTING PIRACY, CURBING COPYING

India has become a creator of IP and this has led to the realisation that we need to protect our Intellectual Property. Laws have been changed and tweaked to match the new reality and today it is difficult to violate copyrights

Bobby Bedi

CEO & Producer, Contentflow Studios

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 32 08-10-2019 22:38:30

This growth has been driven by the dubbing of big Hollywood films into local languages. The big ones now compete with the biggest of Bollywood.

This has propelled the American studios to tie up with big Indian producers to attack piracy at all levels.

Secondly, for the first time India is realizing the international value of its property. This has been driven by the advent of the streamers or Apps, as we call them. Netflix, Amazon and the studios have finally brought in international quality to India. This has affected the Indian producer in two ways—they may either compete or perish—and many are perishing.

Fortunately, some are competing too. They have also completely changed the budgetary landscape of Indian content. Series that were made for hundreds of thousands of rupees are now being made for tens of millions. All those participating in the creation of IP—writers, actors, directors and producers—are benefiting. Finally, as our IP is being protected we are creating high quality, innovative content that the world is likely to consume. That is a great change.

It would seem that this is becoming a great story with a happy ending. But sadly, this is not entirely true. This story has a serious twist in the

tail. A danger lurks, and it lurks in the space of Intellectual Property Creation.

Very briefly, I want to talk about the nature of property, real or intellectual. A film or show is no different from a piece of real estate. It has a capital value and it has a revenue generating capability. So far, we lived of the revenue generating capability of our virtual assets. Our films and shows made money for us at release and then gave us a steady stream of revenue from various re-sales thereafter.

I have lived off the licensing revenues of my films for decades.

Today’s buyer is much more inclined to purchase your property outright. This means money up front but nothing thereafter. It’s a good recipe for good times but sadly, good times don’t last forever.

Now that our intellectual property has value, someone else gets to own it.

As we mature as producers, we will have to find sustainable hybrids wherein we get to keep some of our IP and with it, future earnings from our content. Some people with financial strength are trying out models where they get to retain their IP, but for most it is a one way street.

There’s no such thing as a free lunch.

INDIA HAS BECOME A CREATOR OF IP AND THIS HAS LED TO THE REALISATION THAT WE NEED TO PROTECT OUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. LAWS HAVE BEEN CHANGED AND TWEAKED TO MATCH THE NEW REALITY AND TODAY IT IS DIFFICULT TO VIOLATE COPYRIGHTS

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 33 08-10-2019 22:38:30

(19)

* The views and comments expressed by media and entertainment industry leaders in their respective columns are their own and not either of SEPC or Department of Commerce.

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 34 08-10-2019 22:38:30

for Distribution, Digital Rights, L & M

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 35 08-10-2019 22:38:30

(20)

BEO n PENO

BEO n’ PENO is a 39 episodes x 7 minutes animated series of fast paced action, slap- stick comedy and adventure for kids of age group between 4 to 12 years. The fun run happening between an idiosyncratic BEO , the Polar Bear and PENO, the quirky Penguin. They are friends who never get along with each other. BEO is twice the size of Peno. He is sweet but extremely short tempered. PENO on the other hand is a thinker. Each episode will witness the everyday lives of Beo and Peno with a lot of brawls, pranks, chases, cuddles and love. Basically Fun !

DETAILS

Producer/s: Prabakar Thirunavukarasu

Director/s: A K Sudhakar Writer/s: A K Sudhakar, Prabakar Thirunavukarasu Budget: 325,000 USD Sales Rights: China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Israel, Korea.

You Tube and Amazon rights worldwide.

Website:

www.animantz.com Phone: +91 9840929191 Email:

prabakar@animantz.com ANIMANTZ

39 episodes x 7 minutes | Animation | Completed

Director/s: V Murugan Sales Rights:

All Rights Available Website:

www.musicandchants.

com

Phone: +91 9841081118 Email: superaudioma- dras@gmail.com SUPER AUDIO MADRAS PVT LTD

90 Minutes | Animation | Completed |

Broadcast, OTT & L&M

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

Ali Baba finds a cave of treasures belonging to a gang of bandits. the bandits realise there have been intruders, they seek revenge. Ali Baba must try to out- wit his pursuers before he gets killed.

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 36 08-10-2019 22:38:31

DETAILS

Producer/s: DVV Entertainments Director/s: Koratala Siva Writer/s: Koratala Siva Sales Rights: SVOD, TVOD

Phone/Whatsapp: +91 9100038389 Email:

vamshi@mangomassmedia.com MANGO MASS MEDIA PVT LTD

Bharath Ane Nenu

Synopsis: Bharat, a graduate from Oxford, is forced to take up his father’s position as the Chief Minister after his sudden death. He tries to reform the corrupt society but faces ob- stacles from his enemies.

2 Hours 54 Minutes

| Drama

| Completed

sepc final IP_inner pages_081019_09.52pm.indd 37 08-10-2019 22:38:31

References

Related documents

Capacity development for environment (CDE) can contribute to some of the key changes that need to occur in the agricultural sector, including: a) developing an appreciation

In a slightly advanced 2.04 mm stage although the gut remains tubular,.the yent has shifted anteriorly and opens below the 11th myomere (Kuthalingam, 1959). In leptocephali of

and livin g phytoplankt.on. The problems of qu"n lHative sa mpling of zoo- plankton are extremely diflicnlt an d so a thoHnigh prograllllueof research ill~O

This would require a thorough understanding not only of economic factors (e.g., investment risks and implementation costs) but also of non-economic factors (e.g., political and

Based on the assumption that revenue from additional carbon pricing would be transferred back to households as lump-sum payments, we estimate that the level of real GDP in 2030

Businesses can play their part by decarbonising their operations and supply chains through continuously improving energy efficiency, reducing the carbon footprint of

Angola Benin Burkina Faso Burundi Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Gambia Guinea Guinea-Bissau Haiti Lesotho

3.6., which is a Smith Predictor based NCS (SPNCS). The plant model is considered in the minor feedback loop with a virtual time delay to compensate for networked induced