Adlabs is first facility in Asia to be awarded

Adlabs, a part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group and India’s leading entertainment conglomerate, has become the first motion picture services facility in India and all of Asia to be awarded certification by the UK’s- industry body FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft).

A large number of film service companies in the UK and Europe are now accredited by FACT, making it easier for studios and film makers to know they are dealing with a secure facility. However, this is the first time in FACT’s 25-year history that it has accredited a company outside the UK or Europe.

The certification is a major recognition of the efforts by Adlabs to protect and safeguard the films that it handles from piracy.

The certification applies to Adlabs’ film processing and print lab, Digital Lab, Digital Cinema Mastering facility as well as Adlabs’ preview theatre, all housed within its Film City premises in Mumbai.

The accreditation comes at a time when Adlabs has significantly grown its portfolio of film-related services, expanding from its long tradition of motion picture lab processing and replication to include post-production and grading with its 4K DI-lab and the Digital Cinema Mastering facility.

Anil Arjun, Chief Executive Officer, Adlabs Films said, “Security is a serious issue for the filmed entertainment business with conservative estimates of revenue loss due to piracy in Asia-Pacific amounting to US $1.2 billion annually. Protection of software is film makers’ key concern and the facility has been planned from the ground up to put security first. We are happy that our efforts in this direction have been acknowledged by a prestigious industry body.”

Speaking on behalf of FACT, Accreditation Manager Jackie Lover said, “Having examined its operation in great detail, FACT is pleased to award Adlabs membership of its accreditation scheme.” She also pointed out that “the fight against piracy and film theft is increasingly an international effort and we welcome the inclusion of more international film businesses such as Adlabs that have demonstrated that they are taking copyright protection seriously.”

“We are extremely proud to have won this recognition for our efforts to protect our clients’ films at all times,” said Shankar Dutta, President – Motion Picture Processing & Allied Services of Adlabs, adding, “but we will not rest on our laurels. Instead we will continue to improve and strengthen our defense of the films and work carried out on our premises.”

Adlabs has made security a cornerstone of its expansion of film services and introduced world-class technical safeguards for internal digital content movement and access, plus additional security implementations.

These measures and FACT’s recognition, place Adlabs as one of the most protected and safe environments for motion picture handling. These efforts have already been recognized by the Indian film industry in making Adlabs the country’s largest film processing lab and now also the preferred destination for post-production and DI grading work, as well as digital cinema mastering and distribution services.

About Adlabs Films Ltd:

Adlabs Films Limited (www.adlabsfilms.com), a member of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, is India’s fastest growing film entertainment company with a dominant position in Film Processing and DI services, television content and is India’s largest cinema chain with over 390 screens across US, India and Malaysia. Adlabs is a growing player in the film distribution space with a nationwide presence across India as well as offices in London, New York and San Jose.

About FACT:

The Federation Against Copyright Theft is the UK’s leading trade organisation established to protect and represent the interests of the film and broadcasting industry against copyright and trademark infringements.

Established in 1983, FACT works closely with statutory law enforcement agencies to combat the growth of pirate DVDs, film and other forms of broadcast material including the increasing threat from online/internet based piracy. FACT has been accepted as a prosecution authority and engages in criminal prosecutions in its own right.

The maximum penalty for offences of film piracy is 10 years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. Proceeds of Crime Act legislation now also enables confiscation of assets and goods obtained through criminal activity.

The loss from piracy to the UK audio-visual sector was £459m in 2006.

More information:

www.fact-uk.org.uk
www.copyrightaware.co.uk

For more information, please contact:
Anjali Malhotra
Manager – Brand Communications
Adlabs Films Ltd.
Ph: +91 9323021484
Email: anjali.malhotra@adlabsfilms.com
Eddy Leviten, Head of Communications
FACT
Ph: +44 (0)20 8568 6646
Email: eddy.leviten@fact-uk.org.uk