Warner Bros launch global anti-piracy campaign to protect Chandni Chowk to China Warner Bros Worldwide Anti-Piracy Group has meanwhile mounted a targeted campaign to protect the worldwide release of the film Chandni Chowk to China.

The film is set to open simultaneously in the US, the UK, Canada, India, Hong Kong, Australia, Germany and Malaysia. A recent study by the Motion Picture Association showed that in 2005, the major US Studios lost $120 million, while piracy cost the local Indian film industry $171 million.

"We know that audience excitement and anticipation for Chandni Chow to China is high, especially in the North American Hindi and UK community," said Lucia Rangel, Vice President, Latin America and Asia Pacific, Worldwide Anti-Piracy Operations, Warner Bros Entertainment.

"Unfortunately, this means that pirate demand for the film will be high as well. But anyone trying to illegally camcord, selling or distributing our film on the Internet should be aware that we will be very, very vigilant in our efforts to protect this film.

We have many ways of preventing and identifying those perpetrators who would steal our content. They have proven successful in the past and we will take action against those who are caught."

Warner Bros Anti-Piracy plans include monitoring screenings to catch possible camcorders, scanning the Internet to identify illegal uploading of the film and files and raiding stores and markets to ensure that they are not offering illegal copies of the film.

Rangel said their personnel would be equipped with even night vision goggles to spot anyone who might illegally try to record the film in the theaters. "While the film is still in theaters, sellers and consumers should not that any DVDs of the film are not legally authorized, and if found, retailers may face the legal action," she added.