The MMX licence offers legitimate partnership opportunity with shopkeepers, he said, adding: 'IMI is the first enforcement agency in the world to acknowledge this new format of piracy.'

The licence can be acquired for one to three years at a cost ranging from Rs.1,500 to Rs.5,000.

MMX was first launched in Andhra Pradesh in March and more than 650 shopkeepers have opted for the licence.

'The size of the legitimate music market on mobile phones is estimated to be around Rs.300 crore and products include ring tones, full songs and music videos,' D'Souza said.

According to IMI, nearly 45-50 percent of mobile phone models in the market are capable of music transfer that facilitates music piracy.

India has about 495 million mobile subscribers, according to the latest figures released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).