This Article has been written by Ms. Ananya Gahlaut ,a 2nd year law student of S.S Jain Subodh law college , Jaipur.
Abstract : In the digital era, copyright protection has become a major concern for content creators, publishers, and users alike. This article explores the challenges of copyright protection in the digital age, including the ease of reproduction and distribution, the difficulty in tracking, complex ownership, and high cost of enforcement. Indian cinema, and also laid down some of the high profile copyright dispute cases.
Introduction: Indian cinema , a industry which is totally dependent upon ‘creativity’ and always bring something new to the table , the protection of such content and to prevent it from being copied , the importance of copyright protection becomes essential. In recent years , Indian cinema has witnessed several high profile copyright disputes that have captured public attention. There always been a mix of decisions by Indian courts, each presenting a divergent opinion on the point.
The Indian cinema production house have progressed from Poor cinematography to very sophisticated state of the art technology for film creation, because of highly advanced use of technology, we have been witnessing several high profile copyright disputes, which reflects the dynamic nature of creative expression, intellectual property and the challenges posed by technological advancements.
The notable cases involve disputes between two prominent film producers over alleged similarities in storyline and character developments etc. Also , in the music industry faced a significant copyright challenge when a renowned composer was accused of unauthorised use of a melody in a chart topping song.
Furthermore, the emergence of digital platforms has given rise to disputes in the streaming realm. A leading streaming service found itself entangled in a legal battle with a content creator over the alleged misuse of streaming rights. These high profile copyright disputes underscores the complex intersection of creativity, intellectual property and commercial interests in the vibrant and evolving landscape of Indian cinema. India’s vibrant cultural landscape has fostered a rich tapestry of artistic creations. However , with the surge of digital platforms and widespread content sharing, copyright infringement has become a pressing concern.
In this article, we explore the landscape of some famous copyright infringement cases in india , where artistic endeavours frequently intersect with legal complexities.
Cinematograph film is one of the subject matters recognised and protected under the Indian Copyright Act, 1957. What makes Cinematograph films unique is that it is a derivative work, which means that it is based on an already existing work. A film is a work of collaboration wherein several persons like scriptwriter, music composer, director, actors etc. contribute to create the work. However, under the copyright law, it is only the producer who is considered the sole author as well as the owner of the film. In recent times, this biasness towards producers under the copyright regime has been questioned. Conflicts between producers and other contributors, viz, scriptwriters, musical composers have surfaced, contesting the copyright of scripts and music included in the film. This paper is an attempt to understand the current Indian legal position on conflict of such copyright, address the loopholes in the law and suggest ways to amend them.
The copyright system in India: India follows the common law system of copyright. India, however, gives two moral rights protection as author’s special rights under section 52 of the copyright Act. In context to cinematograph films, the producer is considered to be the author of the work. In context to works which are included in films, such as, script, music and such other works, one of the relevant provision is section 17(b) which states that in the case of a photograph taken, or a painting or portrait drawn, or an engraving or a cinematograph film made, for valuable consideration at the instance of any person, such person shall, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, be the first owner of the copyright therein. It means that if an underlying work is a commissioned work, the producer and not the author will be considered to be the first owner of copyright. This provision faced a lot of criticism specially from music composers, scriptwriters etc. eventually leading to an amendment in section 17 and section 18 of the copyright Act in 2012. In section 17, a new proviso was added that stated that “provided that in case of any work incorporated in a cinematograph work, nothing contained in clauses (b) and (c) shall affect the right of the author in the work referred to in clause section 13(1) (a). Another relevant provision is section 18 which deals with assignment of copyright.
The 2012 amendment inserted a proviso to section 18 which states that “the author of a literary or musical work included in a cinematograph film shall not assign or waive the right to receive royalties to be shared on an equal basis with the assignee of copyright for the utilization of such work in any form other than for the communication to the public of the work along with the cinematograph film in a cinema hall, except to the legal heirs of the authors or to a copyright society for collection and distribution and any agreement to contrary shall be void”.
Conflicts of copyright in cinematograph films:
Many of the works included in the film have their own separate copyright, for example, a script is a literary work and has its own separate copyright. A separate copyright is given in the form of musical works. Off late, many cases have surfaced highlighting the conflicts between the producer of a film and scriptwriter about rights relating to re-making of the film, dubbing rights etc., or between producer of film and musical composer on re-using the music included in the film. Another controversy is that the current copyright regime completely ignores the director of the film with many arguing that the director should also be given co-authorship of the film along with the producer.
The Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012 retained the earlier position that the producer shall be the author whereas the Copyright (Amendment) Bill, 2010 included the principal director as the co-author of the film.
Some of the film industry analysts are of the view that it’s much difficult to prove copyright infringement since Hindi movies essentially feature dance and song numbers that play around with the flow of even most cleverly tricked narration from Hollywood movies.
Bollywood film producers puts in a lot of time and effort “Indianizing” the remakes from devising song sequences, this time allotted adds significant creative and original expression into the adaption process of the Hollywood film.
To comply with India’s Central Board of Film Certification, which has the legal power of censorship, and certifies films for exhibition in India sex or nudity scenes are also removed in the remakes thus creation of a uniquely different plot from the original Hollywood movie.
In the case of Movies, legally called “cinematograph films” the producer usually is the owner of the movie which is an “ intellectual property” and he has the right to decide what happens with it, whether he wants to allow others to reproduce, translate, remake, copy or adapt his intellectual property. He also can take legal action against anyone who, without his permission, tries to use, reproduce, translate, remake, copy or adapt his movie.
One high-profile copyright dispute in Indian cinema involved the 2018 film “Kedarnath.” The controversy emerged when a petitioner claimed that the film’s plot and characters had been lifted from his own script titled “KedarKhand.” The dispute focused on allegations of copyright infringement, with the petitioner seeking a ban on the movie’s release.
The petitioner argued that elements of his script, including the backdrop of the Kedarnath floods, were unlawfully used in the film without proper attribution or permission. The legal battle highlighted the challenges of protecting intellectual property in the creative industry and prompted discussions about the need for clearer copyright laws and enforcement mechanisms in the Indian film industry. Such disputes underscore the importance of intellectual property rights and originality in the competitive landscape of cinema.
Also in the case of Anil Kapoor Film Co. Pvt. Ltd. v. Make My Day Entertainment & Anr.: The Bombay High Court In a very well-reasoned interim order, refused to grant an ad-interim injunction for the passing off by the makers of the film ‘Veere Ki Wedding’ that was still in production against the makers of the film ‘Veere Di Wedding’ which was soon to be released. The court held that the phrase ‘Veere di Wedding’ is very common and the plaintiff also needed to prove reputation through consumer recognition. This means that the title whenever mentioned, it shall be associated with the public mind as referring only to the plaintiff’s work. this was held next to impossible in this case because the movie was not even in existence. It also rejected the argument on misrepresentation, clarifying that just by virtue of having a made a film with a similar title, the defendant cannot be said to have attempted to deceive the public.
In another case of Yash Raj Films v. Sri Ganesha Productions* case, the plaintiff contended that the defendants were remaking the film Band Baja Baraat without authorisation of the plaintiff. The plaintiff prayed for permanently restraining the defendants from dubbing and releasing the movie Jabardasth in any language and restrain from commercially exploiting the same in any format. The court gave the decision in favour of the plaintiff and said that copyright is a separate work and separate copyright vest in it; a film is more than sum of its parts and that a copy of film does not mean physical copy. Several criticisms of this decision has come up, primarily that remaking a film cannot be called a ‘copy of the film. The judge did not consider two important provision, one is section 51 and the other is section 2(m) which defines an “infringing copy” as a copy of “the film” on “any medium”. Further, section 14(1)(d) states that it is the exclusive right of the copyright owner of film to make a copy of the film which includes the right to make a photograph of an image forming a part of the film and to store a copy of the film on any medium. These are the only two provisions in the copyright Act which talks of making a copy of the film and remaking doesn’t fall under either of them.
Many cases such as the “Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai” vs. “My Cousin Vinny” (2009):• The Bollywood movie “Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai” ran into copyright issues when it was accused of being a direct rip-off of the 1992 Hollywood film “My Cousin Vinny.” The similarities in the plot and characters led to a lawsuit, and the case was eventually settled out of court.
Another case of “Ghar More Pardesiya” vs.”Swarnapali” (2019): • In 2019, the song “Ghar More Pardesiva” from the Bollywood film “Kalank” faced allegations of copyright infringement. It was claimed that the song had striking similarities to the traditional Lankan song “Swarnapali.” While a lawsuit was filed, the case was dismissed by the court, stating that the two songs had distinct compositions.
These high-profile copyright disputes in Indian cinema underline the importance of protecting intellectual property rights and respecting original creative works. While some cases result in out-of-court settlements or dismissal due to the difficulty of proving copyright infringement, they serve as a reminder of the need for robust legal mechanisms and increased awareness of copyright issues in the film industry. In some instances, these disputes have led to discussions about the importance of acknowledging and crediting the source of inspiration, fostering a more ethical and respectful approach to creativity.
Conclusion : In conclusion, we can understood that high-profile copyright disputes in Indian cinema often revolve around allegations of unauthorized use, infringement, or plagiarism. These controversies underscore the challenges of safeguarding intellectual property rights in the creative realm. They bring attention to the need for robust legal frameworks, clear copyright laws, and effective enforcement mechanisms within the Indian film industry. As the industry continues to evolve and embrace digital platforms, addressing these issues becomes crucial for fostering innovation, protecting artistic integrity, and maintaining a fair and competitive landscape for content creators. This provides us with the need of proper legal system which can deal with the copyright infringement which are happening in the Indian industry which causes high profile disputes.
REFFERED CASES :