Copyrights
Copyright in Images - Myths Galore with the MODIfication of Bimal Nepal’s Photograph
I’m pretty certain that most people with Facebook accounts in India have seen the Prime Minister’s post on his Facebook page wishing people for Dhanteras on October 21, 2014. While the photograph was visually striking, it appears that someone who knew the photographer tagged him on the post since…
Radio Sa Ga – Record Label fined for Anti-Competitive practices in Licensing Music
The Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) entrusted with the job of maintaining healthy competition and curbing abuse of monopoly in the market place was tasked with examining the actions of Super Cassettes Industries (“T Series”). The Informant/Complainant in this matter was HT Media Limited…
Magic and Intellectual Property: Very Tricky!
Magic tricks don’t cease to surprise and most often, they leave us befuddled with a lot of questions. But if we knew how the trick was performed, would we be as amused? Probably not. And that’s exactly why the magicians’ community thinks it is important to protect their tricks under the law. This…
Character Merchandising in India – Licenses & Fan Art (Part Two)
In my previous article on character merchandising, I mentioned that all of us have at some point been guilty of buying merchandise of our favorite characters but how many times do we stop to think if it’s actually being licensed from the creators of the work or whether they are just rip offs? Not…
Character Merchandising in India – Part One
Recently, I came across an exclusive store for Chota Bheem merchandise in Chennai that had every product (towels, bags, footwear and more) one could possibly imagine and I’m sure every child who walked into that store hasn’t left without throwing a tantrum to own one of those products! That really…
Images on the Internet: Who owns the copyright?
Copyright in any literary, artistic, dramatic or cinematographic work comes into effect when the work is created. So if one takes a photograph or paints a picture, for all purposes the copyright begins from the time the work is created irrespective of its artistic quality. One can scribble on a…
Copyright Licenses: Authorized Agents v. Copyright Societies
As discussed in an earlier post, it is mandatory for owners of establishments to obtain copyright licenses in order to play music on their premises. In this way the law seeks to regulate the issuance of such licenses through creation of Copyright Societies under Section 33 of the Act, thereby…
Laws concerning Internet Memes: Not so funny?
A recent study conducted by ‘We Are Social’ found that despite these slow speeds, Internet users in India spend almost 5 hours on the net every day, with 40% of that time spent on social media. Going by these statistics, Indian users roughly spend about 2 hours on social media and which platform…
FIFA and Copyright: Online Piracy in India
There has been a lot of brouhaha over the recent judgment of the Delhi High Court, where the Court has ordered ISPs to block websites that were illegally broadcasting the FIFA World Cup in a suit filed by Multi Screen Media (MSM) Satellite claiming exclusive broadcasting rights. The initial…
Copyright – Performers Rights in India
You’ve probably come across that Shakespearean quote several times in your life. Shakespeare is one of those people that everyone knows of because you just ought to (to seem knowledgeable during small talk at the very least). What you may not know in the context of Copyright is that none of his…