Abstract
AbstractThe chapter traces the stance that Indian copyright law has adopted on the issue of royalty payments to authors of literary and musical works, through the years. It delineates the court judgments that have exerted a significant impact on the subject, the development of the law, and the practical realities and application of the law. The first part of the chapter details the structuring of music production deals in India. The next section explores the relevant judicial precedents and the issues with the copyright societies in India. The third section traces the amendments introduced in 2012, thereby changing the royalties landscape, and the last part assesses the aftermath of these amendments.The chapter is specific to the Indian law on the subject of royalties and the significance of royalties given the massive scale at which content, i.e., movies, television programs, and now web-based content, is produced and exploited in India. Music production has continued to play an important role in the realm of content production and distribution in India (“In its 103-year-old history, songs have been an integral part of Hindi movies ever since the first talkie, Alam Ara, released in 1931. Over the years, apart from their cultural and aesthetic significance, songs have added tremendous business value to films. …. The industry believes that songs become the identity of films in India, especially due to a marketing culture that relies on film stars and little else.” Is Bollywood still wary of ‘song-less’ films? Mint (April 21, 2016).), and music production, as detailed in the chapter, assumed immense significance in the context of the statutory royalties introduced vide the amendments to the Indian copyright law in 2012.
Highlights
IntroductionOne of the plain objectives of the proposed legislation is to ensure that the authors of the works, in particular authors of songs included in cinematograph films or sound recordings, receive royalty for the commercial exploitation of such works
The chapter traces the stance that Indian copyright law has adopted on the issue of royalty payments to authors of literary and musical works, through the years
There is some ambiguity surrounding what is intended by the “equal share” of royalties mandated by the proviso to Section 18. While ostensibly this would entail a one-third share to each author, i.e., the authors of the literary and musical works, forming part of the cinematograph film or sound recording, and the remaining one-third share to the assignee of the works, contractually the provision has been interpreted to mean the relegation of 50% of the share to the assignee of the works and the apportionment of the remaining 50% between the authors of the literary and musical works
Summary
One of the plain objectives of the proposed legislation is to ensure that the authors of the works, in particular authors of songs included in cinematograph films or sound recordings, receive royalty for the commercial exploitation of such works.. The equal right to royalties accruing from exploitation of literary and musical works arose in the context of the rampant monetization of music by producers of films and music companies and the concomitant exclusion of music composers and lyricists, from a share in this commercialization. The amendments introduced in 2012 to the Act attempted to address three interrelated concerns of authors of literary and musical works incorporated in cinematograph films and sound recordings: 1. Since the proviso referred to an “assignment,” contracts have employed a “license” from the author to such future modes and mediums
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