(28 January 2006 2:00 pm)

MUMBAI: In the age of video search, Hindi filmmakers and distributors would do well to keep an eye out for pirated products available online.

Until recently illegal copies of films from the Yash Raj banner could be viewed on Google Video. However, the world's most valuable media company removed the videos after being served with a legal notice. Before that films like Bunty Aur Babli, Paheli, Neal ’N’ Nikki could be found on Google video. Some downloads offered an hour's worth of viewing. Others were for anywhere from eight minutes to half an hour.

Media reports indicate that Google is supportive towards filmmakers and it has said that it will remove illegal content as soon as it is made aware of the same. Google Video offers different kinds of content for viewing. The only requirement is that videos are not sexually explicit.