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 music industry, musicians create melodies that evoke emotions and capture our attention. Copyright law in India protects musical creations and ensures that those involved in their creation receive proper recognition and financial compensation.
Copyright protection is important for promoting creativity, and innovation, and protecting the rights of artists.
Copyright in music grants the creator exclusive rights to their original musical works. This includes the right to reproduce, distribute, perform, and create derivative works. It provides legal protection and ensures that artists receive credit and compensation for their creations.
Introduction : In Bollywood, music copyright refers to the legal protection granted to the creators of original music, including composers, lyricists, and performers. This protection encompasses the exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, perform, and create derivatives of the musical works. Bollywood producers typically acquire these rights to ensure proper compensation for the creative contributors and control over the use of the music in various media.
Section 2(p) of the Indian Copyright Act outlines the definition of “musical work”. The definition is as follows:
“musical work” means a work consisting of music and includes any graphical notation of such work but does not include any words or any action intended to be sung, spoken or performed with Copyright in musical works in India refers to the legal protection granted to creators of original musical compositions.
It grants exclusive rights to the creators, such as composers, lyricists, and music producers, over their musical creations.
This protection ensures that their works are not reproduced, distributed, performed, or communicated to the public without their permission.
In India, musical works are protected under the Copyright Act, which recognises music as a form of artistic expression deserving of legal rights and safeguards.
The Act covers various aspects of musical works, including melodies, lyrics, arrangements, and sound recordings.
Copyright in musical works grants creators the power to control and monetise their creations, fostering creativity, incentivising artistic endeavors, and safeguarding the economic interests of musicians and other stakeholders.
Why songs are copyrighted ?
Copyright is a right that is almost indispensable in nature and comes naturally-occurring to the creator of any original “work”. It is the inherent right of the creator of the original expression of the particular idea and to decide whether or not he wants to exploit it and how he wants to do it. Copyright protection is necessary as it establishes the right of the owner of the work created by him and once the said work is protected it gives the creator an array of rights which give him complete access to monetize his work without the fear of it being misused, reproduced or altered without his permission or knowledge. In case of infringement of copyright, the owner has legal leverage if his work is protected under copyright laws.
The Indian Copyright act grants protection to original artistic, musical and literary works however the act does not define the word song, therefore, the act offers protection to the different elements that constitute the song as a whole i.e. lyrics under literary works, music under musical works and combining the tune and lyrics and protecting the sound recording or the song.
Copyright protection of songs is essential to encourage authors, composers, and artists to create original works in return for which they are awarded certain rights, monetary benefits, and fame. Copyright protection creates a protective barrier that has legal backing and infringement of the barrier draws sanctions, it protects the creators of the original work from being wronged or misleads by frauds.
Songs in Bollywood are copyrighted to protect the intellectual property of the creators. Copyright ensures that the composers, lyricists, and performers have exclusive rights to their musical works. This protection encourages creativity by providing financial incentives, allowing artists to control the use of their creations, and ensuring fair compensation for their efforts in the highly competitive entertainment industry.
The evolution of Copyright law
The recreation of songs in the Indian music industry has inundated the industry with several incidents of copyright infringement. The Copyright Act, 1957 Act initially defined ‘Musical work’ as any combination of melody and harmony or either of them printed, reduced to writing or otherwise graphically produced or reproduced. This definition completely excluded the presence of lyrics and voice as part of a ‘musical work’ thereby completely out casting the rights of the singer and of the lyricist. The amendment of 1994 also did not help to dispel the ambiguity in relation to the protection of lyrics and the legitimacy of the inspired versions of the songs with the same lyrics which could be created with a different composition or music. Thus, the Copyright Law was amended in the year 2012 to deal with the evolution of the music and film industry and to strike off the archaic portions of the act. It made such contracts void which could lead to propagation or reproduction of work originally protected under the copyright law, such as by inclusion of provisos 2 and 3 under section 18, which stated that an author of a literary or musical work that’s is included in a cinematographic film shall not assign or relinquish his rights to receive royalties for the utilization of the work. The law if strictly applied is crystal clear and facilitates the avoidance of any exploitation or infringement of original work, but trouble arises when a labyrinth of contracts creates overlapping or conjoining rights because the entertainment industry functions as per contractual relations between various stakeholders.
Masakali 2.0
The song ‘Masakali 2.0’ was recreated and composed by Tanishq Bagchi, without the consent of its original creators – composer Mr. A.R. Rahman and writer Mr. Prasoon Joshi. Its original version, ‘Masakali’ was a part of the movie ‘Delhi-6’ released in 2009. The song was re-created by T-series, the same record company which was responsible for the production of the original song in Delhi 6. This controversy raised the question on the extent of the right of the record label over a song. In totality, the right of every person associated with the song including the lyricist and the composer is protected, by section 13(1)(a) of the Copyright Act. In the case of original literary works, the rights of the singer are protected under section 38 of the same act for 50 years. The song ‘Masakali 2.0’ poses threat to the concept of Originality and its appreciations which is the basis of Copyright. The second proviso to section 17 (by the 2012 amendment), states that even if a musical work is considered to be commissioned or created under a contract of service, the composer would be regarded as the first owner of the copyright in the compositions included in a film. Hence, T- Series could not have re-created the song on account of their copyright in the sound recording or film incorporating it, without obtaining the consent of Mr. A.R Rahman (the producer as well as the composer of the original song) since he is the first owner of copyright in the original ‘Masakali’ composition. Therefore, without him assigning or licensing his copyright, the label had no right to remake or authorize another to remake the song ‘Masakali’.
What rights do song owners have ?
The Indian copyright act has always been producer centric it grants greater protection to Production houses and music labels as compared with the music composers and singers but after the 2012 amendment came into place the Act the provides better protection and ownership of work to the authors i.e. the musicians who make the music.
copyright are provided with two sets of rights:
1 Economic Rights- These rights are available to the authors of copyrightable work u/s 14 of the Act and include-
- Right to reproduction 14 (a)(i)- the author of the original literary, musical, or artistic work has the right to reproduce his work in any material form e.g. copying a song to a disc or releasing it on youtube can be considered as reproduction.
- Right to issue copies 14(a)(ii)-This right can be seen as a subset of the right to reproduction wherein the copyright owner is allowed to distribute his work in any manner that appeases him. The copyright owner has the right to transfer his rights related to the copyrightable work wholly or in part e.g. distribution rights can be given to a music label. The music created by the composer can issue copies of the song for public viewing only if they are not already present in the public domain.
- Performance Rights 14(a)(iii)- the act gives the copyright owner the right to publicly perform works created by him e.g. A lyricist has the right to read out the lyrics of the song he wrote in any event.
- Right to make adaptations and Translation 14(a)(v)&(vi)- As the first owner of the musical work, the author has the right to make adaptations or translation of his work e.g. the song Zingaat that was originally a Marathi song was translated in a Hindi song.
2 Moral Rights- The act under section 57 gives the author certain special rights that are independent of whether or not the author has assigned his rights arising out of the copyrightable work this was held by the Court in Ilayaraja’s case, these are-
- Right to Paternity 57 (1)(a)- the act authorizes the author to claim authorship of his work i.e. he has the right to claim that the work belongs to him even after he has assigned the related rights in favor of the Producer or the Music Label. The author has the right to be duly credited for his work.
- Right to Restrain 57 (1)(b)- in case the author’s work is distorted, mutilated, or modified in a manner that it is derogatory to his honor and reputation of the author he has the right to claim damages for the same.
3 Performers Rights- the set of rights are also available to the singer of the song in the capacity of a Performer u/s 38 of the Act. The Act authorizes a performer to:
- To make a sound recording or visual recording of his performance, Including-
- Reproduction of it in any material form including storing of it in any medium.
- Issuance of copies to the public not being the copies already in circulation.
- Communication of it to the public.
- Selling or giving it on commercial rental or offer for sale.
- To broadcast or communicate the performance to the public except where the performance is already broadcast.
Why is copyright important in the music industry?
The music industry has an intricately woven relationship with the movie industry. Though both are indeed interdependent the industry norms are structured in such a way so that movie industries simultaneously benefit from the music industry as well. There has been rampant exploitation and monetization of Music and musicians by film producers and music labels for several years they have been deprived of the exorbitant amounts of profits that the Producers or music labels make out of commercial exploitation of the music either by releasing the music individually or incorporation of the song in the movie.
There Is an urgent need to prioritize the rights of the music creators over the rights of those who are only responsible for the exploitation of the music. The 2012 amendment to the Copyright Act wherein the Supreme Court affirming the Delhi Court’s judgment in Indian Performing Rights Society V. Aditya Pandey and others case upheld that the authors of literary and musical works incorporated in sound recordings would remain entitled to receive an equal share of royalties accruing from the utilization of the sound recordings.
Conclusion
Indian copyright laws play a significant role in protecting the rights of creators and artists in the realm of musical works. With the advent of technology and the growing trend of remixes, it becomes crucial to understand the legal framework surrounding copyright. While a famous song may evoke nostalgia and appreciation, it is essential to respect the rights of original music composers and lyricists. Copyright action allows creators to claim rights over their artistic creations and take legal action against any copyright infringement. Moral rights, including the right to be recognised as the original artists, are integral to maintaining the integrity of their work. It is important for composers and artists to assert their copyright claims and ensure that their original music is not exploited without proper authorisation. With iconic songs and melodious tunes becoming a part of popular movie songs, it is essential to obtain a legal license for using these works or creating remix versions. By respecting copyright laws, we can support and celebrate the talents of original artists, preserving their contributions to the world of music.
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