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Showing posts from July, 2010

Getting Moral Rights Waived

Copyright, whatever may be said, is primarily an economic right which can be used to protect the monetary profits made of such things as literary, artistic, musical, dramatic, and cinematographic works. Moral rights are rights which exist independently of copyright. They were included in the Berne Convention as far back as 1928 and, in India, they are spoken of in Section 57 of the Indian Copyright Act as Special Rights. The Special Rights which Indian copyright law recognizes are basically the rights to paternity and integrity. The right to paternity is essentially the right of an author to claim authorship of his work and have it attributed to him, while the right to integrity allows an author to restrain or claim damages in respect of any distortion, mutilation, modification or other act done to his work which (i) would prejudice honour or reputation and (ii) is done before the expiration of the term of copyright in the work. Special Rights continue to vest in an ...

OSP / ISP Liability and the Copyright (Amendment) Bill

The Copyright Amendment Bill attempts to create a safe harbour for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Online Service Providers (OSPs) in Indian copyright law through amendments to Sections 52(1)(b) and 52(1)(c) of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957 (which would effectively be novated). These provisions would protect websites like YouTube and Yahoo! from copyright infringement allegations in relation to User Generated Content including content uploaded by users such as film songs and other such similar content which are not owned by those who upload them. The safe harbour is proposed to be established as follows: firstly, it is proposed to incorporate a provision in Section 52(1)(b) which would state that “the transient and incidental storage of a work or performance purely in the technical process of electronic transmission or communication to the public” would not constitute copyright infringement. In addition to this, it has been proposed to include, vide amendments in respect o...

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.)