Motion Picture Distributors Association released two separate studies in Mumbai on Tuesday that disclosed peer-to-peer (P2P) infringements, or illegal file sharing, in India is among the highest in the world.

The first report, “Internet Piracy in India: Responding to the Growing P2P Threat”, shows that India was among the top 10 countries in the world with the highest P2P file sharing. P2P networks account for most part of illegal downloads.

Also See | Countrywise distribution of downloaders, Hindi film downloads and Western TV program downloads (Graphics)

The US topped the list with the highest P2P file sharing volumes of 45,350,427 while India came eighth in the list with 9,658,357 in volumes.

The study tracked P2P networks during April-September, and was conducted by Internet research firm DtecNet. The second report, “Internet Piracy Landscape Audit” by Envisional Ltd, found that most illegal downloads take place through file-sharing networks such as BitTorrent or Web-based file hosts such as RapidShare.

Graphics by Yohesh Kumar / Mint