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Indian Copyright Law: A Primer

Indian Copyright Law: A Primer v1.1 Note This document intends to provide a very quick introduction to Indian copyright law. It is geared towards focusing on those aspects of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957, which are most closely associated with GenAI, and does not provide an overview of the statute as a whole. Instead, it aims to help elucidate, in basic terms, the legal framework through which the possibility of GenAI infringing copyright is understood at the points of: content input, data processing, and output generation. It does not comment on any of these issues itself and merely provides background information which could help facilitate discussion. In doing so, it streamlines legal explanations, distills the Indian copyright statute, (over)simplifies statutory caveats, and sacrifices nuance in the service of brevity and what one hopes is clarity. The document cannot and should not be relied on for any purpose other than to help develop an extremely ...

Personality Rights: The Battle for the Self

. an overview of personality rights law in India weaving together thoughts on law, technology, culture and enforcement mechanisms Draft 1.1 (12 September 2025) (A demonstration of the dulcimer player, an 18th century automaton, said to feature Marie Antoinette; Source: https://youtu.be/nITEU4fsqCU ) The Inanimate and the Fantastic Sometimes anthropomorphic, at other times, decidedly not, automata have long been a source of unease to humans: they have straddled the line between the animate and the inanimate, between human beings and machines, never quite one or the other in myth, in history which may as well be myth, and increasingly, in what we believe to be ‘real’ life not so much through the mechanical automata of yore but through what could be considered to be their contemporary digital counterparts: deepfakes, intangible and deceptive. Automata were as gifts to the powerful not least during the Enlightenment, perhaps reminding recipients that those who presented them possessed cons...

Monographs & Essays

The Bollywood Amendments (2010-2012)

An examination of the provisions of the 2012 amendments to the 1957 Indian Copyright Act which affect the film and music industry. The paper takes into consideration the factual background in which the amendments were made and explores whether they are likely to realise their objectives.

Last revised: 2013
(Available here: SSRN)

Art and Indian Copyright Law: A Statutory Reading

A look at how the Indian Copyright Act, 1957, as amended in 2012, interacts with art (other than films and sound recordings), and, in particular, with Indian art. The first part of this text comprises a feminist and post-colonial reading of the Indian copyright statute while later parts focus on interpreting the provisions of the statute in relation to art.

Last revised: 2017
(Available here: SSRN)

Indian Music: Ancient Traditions, Contemporary Rights

This essay on copyright and creativity discusses cultures of musical borrowing in the realm of Indian music from ancient times to the present day, and examines the effect of the introduction of colonial copyright law in India. It posits that the Western paradigm on which contemporary copyright law is based cannot be easily integrated with Indian musical practices, and argues for the decolonisation of the law.

Last revised: 2023
(Available here: SSRN)

About

IN Content Law is a personal blog which contains the views of its author, Nandita Saikia, alone unless otherwise explicitly stated. The author of the blog may have advised clients on subjects relating to those dealt with in this blog. However, the contents of this blog are not intended to reflect the opinion or position of any person (other than the author) unless otherwise explicitly stated. The posts on this blog relate to copyright and content law from an Indian perspective. They are not professional advice, and should not be considered or construed as such. No action should be taken or omitted on the basis of the contents of this blog. This blog neither creates an attorney-client relationship between the author and any visitor(s) or any other person(s), nor does it seek to do so. The material contained herein is solely for the purpose of academic reflection, and is accessible on an as-is basis. No representations or warranties are made as to accuracy, impartiality or fitness of the material on this blog for any use, and the author shall not be liable in any manner to any extent for the consequences of any action taken on the basis of any material herein. Further, no representations or warranties of any nature are made regarding any material which may be linked to from this blog, and the author shall not be responsible for the contents thereof. Revisions: The posts on this blog may be revised from time-to-time for editorial or other purposes without each revision being marked in the post itself. Privacy: "This site uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyse traffic. Your IP address and user agent are shared with Google, together with performance and security metrics, to ensure quality of service, generate usage statistics and to detect and address abuse." (Learn more.)