Indian Copyright Research Articles

Protection of Digital Contents under Indian Copyright Law in the Lights of International Conventions

Protection of Digital Contents under Indian Copyright Law in the Lights of International Conventions

The Doctrine of Copyright Exhaustion in Software Under Indian Copyright Act: A Cursory Glance

The Doctrine of Copyright Exhaustion in Software Under Indian Copyright Act: A Cursory Glance

Protection of Digital Contents under Indian Copyright Law in the Lights of International Conventions

Protection of Digital Contents under Indian Copyright Law in the Lights of International Conventions

Fair Use Provisions under the Indian Copyright Act: Awareness Among Librarians of Colleges and Universities in Maharashtra

Indian Copyright Act, 1957 provides a private right in copyright which extensively deals with provisions that guarantee access to knowledge as well. Copyright is an exclusive and assignable legal right given to the author for a particular period for original literary, dramatic, artistic works, and musical work whether published or unpublished. These rights are not absolute but subject to restrictions and limitations imposed by law. Section 52 of the Copyright Act, 1957 is one such provision that restraints the exclusive enjoyment of rights given to the copyright holder. As per Section 52 (1)(o) of the Copyright Act, 1957 a non-commercial library is permitted/allowed to make three copies of a book for library use, provided such books are not available for sale in India. The present article is about the concept of fair dealing which is originated from the Common of laws of England. Although, the concept of fair use and fair dealing are used synonymously, the Indian Copyright Act, 1957 deals with fair dealing under Section 52 of the Copyright Act, 1957. The reproductions of works for research or private study, taking photocopy for research and educational purpose, etc., are covered under the doctrine of fair use. This paper will explain the conceptual framework of the Indian Copyright Act and the empirical reality in libraries of Maharashtra. It attempts to empirically test the usage of fair use provisions under the Indian Copyright Act and the awareness among librarians of Colleges and Universities in Maharashtra. The research methodology used for the present study is both doctrinal and non-doctrinal. It was observed that most of the librarians are aware of Copyright Law and copyright exceptions but when it comes to the implementation librarians also face difficulty and it leads to the infringement of copyright.

“My Words, My Copyright”: Justifiability of Performer Owning ‘Speech’ or ‘Address’

The Indian Copyright Act, 1957 provides for exclusive rights to the creator of an intellectual piece, defined as work under the Act, by granting certain rights for commercial exploitation of the same, for a limited period. The basic reading of jurisprudence of copyright gives us two primary findings (required for the present research), i.e., there is a difference between a work, and its author, and a performance, and its performer; and that the author may or may not be the owner of the work. This further enunciates that the rights vested in the work and the performance are different than each other. This understanding finds an exception in terms of the provisions laid down under proviso clause (cc) of Section 17, which in effect talks about the who shall be the first owner of a particular work. The preliminary understanding of the provisions suggests that in the case of the speech or addresses, the performer will also become the ‘first owner’ of the work itself and will enjoy the rights of Section 14 for literary work as well as the performance. There is no dispute that the author of the work will be the person who creates the work, but the ownership is deemed to be of the person delivering the speech or address, or of such other person who delivers it on behalf of someone else. The present research aims to understand the rationale behind promulgation of such a provision through amendment, which was passed with an objective to meet international obligations, with a discussion on its relevance in present times, and tries to justify the existence of the situation, by specifically mentioning out the scenarios which can and cannot seek protection of this provision.

The Doctrine of Copyright Exhaustion In Software Under Indian Copyright Act: A Cursory Glance

The Doctrine of Copyright Exhaustion In Software Under Indian Copyright Act: A Cursory Glance

Ownership and Transfer of ‘Musical Work’ and ‘Sound Recording’– A Case for Service Tax

In the music industry, lyricists and composers enter into contracts with the cinematograph film producers for the incorporation of their work into cinematograph films. However, the ownership of such copyrighted works is dependent on the nature of the contract entered into between the parties and may lead to implications under the service tax regime. The Madras High Court is currently deciding the veracity of the order passed by the Commissioner of Goods & Services Tax and Central Excise, holding A.R. Rahman liable for paying service tax on the alleged services rendered by him. This paper analyses the nature of contracts that individuals like A.R. Rahman might enter into with the producers of the cinematograph film producers from the lens of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957 and thereafter discusses the possible implications of such contracts from the prism of the service tax regime.

Locating Trade Secrets under Indian Laws: A Sui Generis Mode of Protection

India has so far resisted the push from the United States of America (USA) to bring about separate legislation that regulates trade secrets. Reports and studies categorically show that such protection is desirable. It also forms part of the minimum requirements under TRIPs. In its defence, India has reiterated that mechanisms under common law exist to effectively protect trade secrets. This paper looks into these mechanisms, primarily the Indian Copyright Act, 1957(Copyright Act) and the Indian Contract Act, 1872 (Contract Act), and provides evidence to show that deciding on trade secret issues via these Acts in India undermines the basic premise of copyright, and ignores issues of treating confidential information as confidential. Literary work as mentioned in the Copyright Act and the settled position of law by judicial decisions is discussed in this paper. This forms the first argument in favour of sui generis protection for trade secrets. The second argument in favour of the sui generis mode of protection for trade secrets is that of retaining the confidentiality of information that is regulated by contracts. This aspect is, firstly, under-examined in evidence in the Indian cases. Secondly, under the Indian Contract Act, 1857, (Contract Act) whenever the elements of confidentiality are to be examined, it is circumvented or ignored. This thereby impedes the understanding of confidential information in these case laws. Hence, this study shows that courts have overtly interfered in the basic premise of contractual obligations vis-a-vis confidential information between two parties by reading into what constitutes a trade secret. It is this lacuna in both procedural and substantive fields that holds up the second argument for a sui generis mode of protection. The conclusions from this paper address a much-required regime change in the pre-existing model of protection of trade secrets in India not only as a result of the external push (that is necessitated by international pressure and India’s continued presence on the Priority Watch List) but also as a result of the internal indecisiveness in deciding matters before the Indian courts.

An analytical overview of copyright status in India: Concerning top economics of the world

IPR is one the most formidable dimension which plays a pivotal role in the progress, development, and prosperity in the present highly competitive era leading to a knowledge society. Copyright, as well as Industrial Rights, forms the core of IPR. The purpose of the research is to comprehend the changes occurring in the Indian copyright domain in terms of Copyright applications and registrations. Further, to understand the global standing of India in terms of copyright, related rights, and restrictions with the world's top 15 GDPs (Gross Domestic Product). This paper tried to focus on two distinct research problems. The first was assessing the level of knowledge Indian individuals have on copyright and related rights and its upward trend over a chosen 3 7-month period. The second one looks at how the Indian IPR sector stands concerning the top economies globally. The present study aims to examine the trends in various parameters regarding copyright applications filed and registrations done including their correlation & normality for the period August 2017 to August 2020. Category 2 of the Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC) International Index, Copyrights, Related Rights, and Limitations of the world's top 15 economies (GDPs) was also investigated on a 7-point scale. The monthly reports are downloaded from the Copyright Office of India to evaluate the status of the Copyright application and registration. WPS Spreadsheet is used for cleaning poorly structured data and is ready to perform statistical analysis with the help ofJASP statistical software. The top 15 GDPs were examined for copyrights, related rights, and limitations using World Bank statistics and The GIPC International IP Index (8th Edition, 2020). The study findings revealed that, among the copyrightable work, literary and dramatic works obtained the most copyright applications and registrations in 2019 and 2017, respectively. Copyright applications and registrations correlatedweakly (rp = 0.0634, p = 0.730). In the top 15 economies, the USA and UK ranked highest in GIPC Ranking (score=6.63 each).

Visually Impaired Persons and Access to Copyrighted Works: The Indian Roadmap

The copyright regime poses challenges to visually impaired persons, such as the inability to access books written in a format suitable for their reading needs. Therefore, in 2013, the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Blind Persons, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled was carried out to resolve these challenges. India has adopted certain exceptions in its copyright regime, which facilitate access to the visually impaired. However, the beneficial effects of these provisions remain debatable. This research is based on an empirical study conducted on the effectiveness of the provisions of the Indian Copyright Act on facilitating access to copyrighted works to visually impaired persons. It argues that although India has hit the mark in drafting suitable legislation, there are deficiencies in its implementation. Therefore, as the first country to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty, effective implementation of the provisions is needed to make it an illustrious example to the world.

The Dilemma of Copyright Law and Artificial Intelligence in India

The rising potential and versatility of the technology of Artificial Intelligence, they are no strangers to their capacity of creating autonomous works. This raises a concern regarding their implications on the Intellectual Property Right of copyright available for their work. This article explores the possibility of assigning of ‘authorship’ as under the understanding of Copyright laws. Along with the factum of originality, as required by the copyright laws, in such creations. The creative works of music and Arts have been stressed to deliberate upon the same. Drawing inspiration from the jurisdictions across the globe that have proffered a stance regarding the incorporation of the technology into their legal regimes, this paper endeavours to contemplate the possibility of assigning ownership to the AI technology in the Indian legal framework. Nonetheless furthering the debate regarding the essence of copyright laws and the suitability and the possibility of making copyrights available to AI technology. It should be noted here that Artificial Intelligence has been used as a broad category and the author intends to touch upon the specific forms of this technology, being algorithms, blockchains and/or others. The author discusses the traditional Indian copyright laws and the possibility of incorporation, not forgetting to send out a word of caution in the event altered interpretations seem desirable.

A Comparative Analysis of Ownership of Copyright Under US, UK & India

The meaning of copyright is to have the sole right to produce or reproduce the whole work or any part of that work. Thereof, if any person produces or reproduces that whole work or part of the work and the work has the copyright for another person then the copyright in the work is deemed infringed. The sole right to produce the work is conferred to the owner of the copyright. To keep pace with the new technological developments, the Indian Copyright Act, 1957 was amended in 1983 & 1984. The wave of liberalization of the Indian economy was, indeed, a positive and major step in the direction of free-market and competition. But outdated copyright law was a major hurdle in integrating India with the international business community. The United States, in fact, did keep India as a black-listed trade partner under the notoriously called Super 301 and asked India to make its Patent, Copyright, and Trademark laws more effective and at par with International Standards. It was at this stage that the Copyright (Second Amendment) Bill, 1992 was introduced in Parliament. It is, indeed, heartening to note that the said Bill was finally passed and assented to in 1994. The present work proposed to undertake a comparative study of Indian copyright law with that of copyright laws of the United Kingdom and the United States. It was thought proper to study English Copyright law not only because Indian law on the subject has heavily borrowed from the former but also due to India's historical links with Great Britain. The choice of United States was again made for two reasons, first, the United States Copyright law has also for historical reasons been influenced by the British Common law, and secondly, as in the early years of Independence from Britain, the United States opted for national needs rather than the copyright protection, how far India can benefit from the United States experiences when in the changed global scenario, it is the United States itself which threatened India to update its copyright regime. The study, thus, wishes to test the hypothesis that Indian Copyright law is highly inadequate as compared to Copyright laws of the United Kingdom and the United States even after the latest amendment. As to the ‘subject-matter of copyright’, the study reveals that there is substantial similarity in the laws of the three countries studied here. In these three countries, there is a general agreement that the quality or merit of work are matters of taste and do not enter into the question of what is work. Nor is there a prescribed degree of originality, ability, or amount of skill and knowledge necessary to create the work or a measure of resources used to produce it. Unlike for a patent, where novelty is essential, there is no such requirement for copyright.

Law of indian copyright

Law of indian copyright

Fair Dealing in Indian Copyright Law

The object of copyright is to protect the author of the copyrighted work from any unlawful reproduction or exploitation of his or her work by others. On one hand copyright granted extensive rights to the authors and creators whereas on the other hand it sets out some limitations on the rights of the authors. The law does not permit one to appropriate him to what has been produced by the labor, skill and capital of another. This is the very foundation of Copyright Law. A fair dealing is a copying of the copyrighted work without the permission of the author. A fair dealing with a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work for the purpose of research or private study or criticism or review, whether of that work or any other work shall not constitute an infringement of copyright. Fair dealing is the permitted copying of the copyrighted work. The term fair dealing has not been defined anywhere in copyright law but the court on several occasions elaborated and explained this doctrine. The aim of this paper is to analyze the scope and extent of doctrine of fair dealing with the help of national and international law and judicial interpretation.

Interpreting “Performers Rights” in The Indian Copyright Act to Appropriately Provide For Singers Rights

Performers act as a catalyst to communicate the relevant original content in a work. This article seeks to discuss two contentious questions with regard to the interpretation of Performers Rights provided under Section 38 and 39 of the Indian Copyright Act, specifically with respect to Singers’ Rights, and offers contrary opinions to the prevailing interpretations in the industry as well as one’s argued and accepted by the Delhi High Court. After analysing various doctrinal principles surrounding interpretation of statutes in India, this article firstly concludes that Section 39A of the Indian Copyright Act, and the royalty scheme therein, is applicable with a “Retroactive” effect in India; and secondly that every performance rendered in real time, irrespective of it being in front of an audience, on a stage, or in the studio, ought to be covered under the definition of a Performance under Section 2(q) read with Section 38 of the Indian Copyright Act, to effectively provide for Performers Rights, encapsulated within the Indian legislative schema. This article also attempts to harmonize these interpretations with a comparative as well as an international IP perspective.

CARVING A FAIR DEAL TO SECURE RIGHT TO EDUCATION WITHIN COPYRIGHT FRAMEWORK


 Introduction
 Copyright law as a tool for promoting knowledge and education
 
 
 Right to Education as a Human Right
 
 
 Right to education vis a vis Copyright law
 International effort to Balance the competing legal rights
 Right to Education exception within the Indian Copyright law
 
 
 Conclusion – Need to provide Affordable education
 

An Analysis on Ownership of Copyright as per Indian Copyright Act, 1957

An Analysis on Ownership of Copyright as per Indian Copyright Act, 1957

The Copyright Conundrum - Who is the Author of a Work Produced by Artificial Intelligence?

The fourth Industrial Revolution i.e. the exponential advancement of technology is rapidly shaping the way we live, interact and relate to one another. Few of such technologies are Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, Augmented and Virtual Reality, and Blockchain. Unfortunately, the law, more often than not, fails to keep pace with the technological advancements resulting in legal lacunae. In this paper, the author seeks to answer one such lacuna i.e. who is the author of a work produced by Artificial Intelligence? In Part I of the paper, the author examines whether such work falls under the Indian copyright law. Part II of this paper will discuss the various plausible authors of such work and the paper finally concludes by emphasising the importance of an amendment to the existing copyright framework resolving this issue.

Adapting Indian Copyright: Bollywood, Indian Cultural Adaptation, and the Path to Economic Development

Bollywood and the Indian film industry have enjoyed enormous success as one of the largest producers of movies in the world. Yet despite the bright image of Indian cinema producing over a thousand movies a year and selling billions of tickets, the industry has faced controversy over the practice of copying expression, sometimes practically scene for scene, in U.S. and other films and adapting them into a version that reflects Indian social and cinematic customs and mores (“Indian cultural adaptation”). A long-standing practice, Indian cultural adaptation in Bollywood has only attracted the attention of Hollywood studios in the past twenty years, but under international, U.S., and Indian copyright law, the legality of the practice remains in an unsettled gray zone. Current literature on Indian cultural adaptation remains sparse and focuses on greater enforcement by India or Hollywood studios, at least partially condemning the practice. This article instead argues that the practice of Indian cultural adaptation, at least to an extent, is in line with other limitations on the scope of copyright, including the expression-idea distinction, fair use, and the scene a faire doctrine. Drawing on a growing trend in law and economic development literature to craft property rights on a country-by-country basis, this article also argues that explicit legalization of limited Indian cultural adaptation would also benefit India culturally and economically, ultimately assisting the Indian entertainment industry to obtain foreign investment on more favorable terms and further develop its burgeoning talent.

Is Fail Dealing a Saving Grace in Copyright? With Special Reference in the Digital Era

The central theme of this project is to accentuate the inherently powerful concept of ‘Fair Dealing’ or also known as “Fair use” (in USA) as embodied in the Indian Copyright Act, 1957 and to assess its relevance in the current epoch of digitization. The concept of Fair Dealing isn’t new, but it has been used globally in many developed countries. In the contemporary times, this doctrine permits commission of certain acts with respect to copyrighted works, which otherwise would have constituted as infringement. Thus, it often acts like a “saving grace “to the potential or alleged infringer. This concept isn’t so new, but it has been used globally in many of the developed countries and upon a comparison of “Fair Dealing”, primarily used in Indian copyright laws & UK copyright laws and “Fair Use”, found in the US copyright laws, the realm of the former one is quite narrower than of the later one. This is because as the Indian law lacks specific list of acts that only amount to fair dealing unlike US laws, where there are few determining parameters to ascertain fair use. It has been that observed that despite being such an integral part of the copyright law, the scope of it remains quite unfathomed in India. Thus, this paper attempt to delve into all the facets of this doctrine and scrutinize its genesis, addressing the issues and challenges it is exposed to. Subsequently also assess its use in the contemporary times especially in the digital era.