MUMBAI: The Indian entertainment industry has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the US India Business Alliance (USIBA) to promote the interests of India's entertainment industries in the US markets.
As per the agreement, the Film & TV Producers Guild of India and USIBA will work jointly to increase opportunities and the market for Indian films and entertainment in the US.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Yash Chopra, Amit Khanna, Raj Tilak, Mukesh Bhatt, Manmohan Shetty, and office bearers of the Guild, Supran Sen and Anindya Sen, while USIBA was represented by Sanjay Puri, Robinder Sachdev, Dolly Kapoor and Nirav Choksi.
Virginia governor Mark Warner lead the US delegation which met the prominent personalities of the Indian film industry. Warner discussed the state of Virginia's value proposition for Bollywood during an event organised by USIBA in Mumbai on 27 April.
The Film & TV Producers Guild of India president Amit Khanna stated, "we are glad to partner with USIBA in the US to ensure that our members avail of the growing clout of the Indian diasporas in the US market. The Guild, in partnership with the USIBA, is taking a leadership role to ensure that piracy of Indian cultural products is eliminated in the US markets, as well as opening newer distribution channels for our members."
Yash Chopra, lamenting the lack of intellectual property protection in the US for Indian movies, called upon USIBA to work with US leadership to ensure that the interests of India's entertainment industry were treated at par with American productions.
Responding to the concerns of the leaders of the entertainment industry in India, the CEO of USIBA, Sanjay Puri, said, "it is our endeavor to work with US law makers and industry to highlight the issues of concern, and also to enable strategic partnerships for India's fast growing entertainment industry." Initial steps in this partnership will include arranging for Congressional hearings on piracy on Capitol Hill, and advancing discussions for larger distribution channels in the US for the Indian entertainment industry.
The Washington DC based USIBA is a business advocacy group promoting US and India trade relations.
