Sound Board

Our thoughts and views on the practice of Intellectual Property in India and around the world.

Zee Entertainment, one of India's largest media conglomerates, has filed a suit before the Delhi High Court against fashion and beauty retailer brand Nykaa, alleging that the company used songs in which ZEE owns copyright in twelve Instagram reels to promote its products. According to Zee, it has a licensing agreement with Meta that allows Meta to permit third parties to use the copyrighted songs for non-commercial purposes. Nykaa’s use of these songs for advertising purposes, which constitutes…

The overlap between copyright protection under the Copyright Act, 1957 and design protection under the Designs Act, 2000 has long been one of the most debated issues in Indian intellectual property law. While copyright protects original artistic works, industrial designs are intended to be protected under the Designs Act. Determining when an artistic work loses copyright protection after being commercially exploited has remained uncertain because of Section 15(2) of the Copyright Act. The…

The enactment of Copyright amendment Act in 2012 is considered to be one of the major milestones in the Indian copyright regime, as it addressed one of the legal lacunae regarding the rights of lyricists and composers after their literary and musical works are incorporated into cinematograph films and sound recordings. Even after the amendment, there were uncertainties regarding the interpretation of these provisions. It was against this backdrop that Vodafone Idea Limited v. The Indian…

In view of recent AI developments and increasing concerns around the use of copyrighted works for AI training, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) formed a committee to examine how India’s copyright framework should respond. Accordingly, DPIIT recently released a working paper proposing a hybrid model of One Nation – One License – One Payment policy. This blog explores what it means for content creators & Artists.

Goa, with its stunning beaches and lively festivities, has always been a popular destination for weddings and social events. However, a recent circular from the Goa government has stirred up a legal battle regarding copyright laws. This circular aimed to exempt wedding ceremonies and related festivities from the need to secure copyright permissions for musical works, citing the need to support local economic and tourism activities. But, as expected, this move has faced strong backlash from…

In this era of Millennials and Gen Z, Spotify and other music apps seems to be the go-to platform, with everyone tuning in to music. From vibing to popular tracks to setting the trends on Instagram reels, music has been intertwined into everyone’s life so much that even common people are involved in the trends industry. A significant aspect of this trend is the rise of song remixes, which, now accessible to anyone, have also led to an increase in IP infringement issues – particularly copyright…

The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 which came into effect recently on August 1, 2024 has garnered significant attention across the country. The Act, having brought amendments to various Acts of our legislation, including those related to Intellectual Property (IP) and media laws among others, primarily aims to decriminalise the provisions – aiming to shift from punitive measures like imprisonment to more lenient penalties such as fines and pecuniary penalties.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting vide notification dated March 15, 2024 has introduced the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024, (hereinafter “new Rules”) in order to amend the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 1983 (hereinafter “old Rules”). The new Rules aim to provide clarity and coherence in the certification process and hold significant implications for filmmakers, distributors, and audiences as well as align with contemporary standards and societal values.

The Copyright & Design Section operating under the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India by Public Notice dated July 24, 2023 has addressed concerns surrounding the alleged collection of royalties by Copyright Societies for musical performances and sound recordings during marriage functions.

Indian business owners are constantly worried about the Ease of doing business, but yet they were not aware of one ranking where the country was in the top 10 places once. It is the Ease of doing Piracy. Twenty years back computer and computing services were very rare thing that was used only for exceptional activities, but now it has become a necessity for everything. When computers started to become the norm for every business in the first decade of the 21st century, businesses had to incur a…