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Copyright and Entertainment Laws News

Twitch Bans Gamers for Streaming a Copyrighted Debate, Flipkart Enters the Video Streaming Market, Karigar Store-Latest Addition on the Amazon Website and more

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry is All Set to Monitor Digital Media; US Senate Judiciary Committee approves the Small-Claims Copyright Bill (CASE Act); Twitch Bans Gamers for Streaming a Copyrighted Debate; Flipkart Enters the Video Streaming Market; Facebook to Launch a Dedicated News Section; Karigar Store-Latest Addition on the Amazon Website; Fed-Ex Ends Partnership with Amazon and more. NATIONAL The Information and Broadcasting Ministry is All Set to Monitor Digital Media For the purpose of monitoring the media better, the Information and…

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Music Copyright

Court Limits the Scope of ‘Fair Dealing’ under Copyright law

 This post was published on November 18, 2011. The Delhi High Court, in a recent decision, has held that usage of copyrighted works in television programmes such as an interview with the artist does not amount to fair dealing. Indian domestic television Channel India TV was sued by Super Cassettes and Yash Raj Films in two separate suits for infringing their copyrights. The two suits were clubbed since the defendant was the same and the cause of actions…

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Copyright, novels

The Impact of Parallel Import of Copyright on Publishers in India in Light of Copyright Amendment Bill, 2010

This post was first published on May 27, 2011. Parallel Imports occurs when authentic products are imported cheaply, without the consent of the producer who has a Trade mark, Copyright, Patent or other intellectual property right in these products, with the aim to compete with the producer’s own products, which he himself had originally marketed abroad at a lower price. This amendment aims to foster enhanced competition amongst distributors and thereby enable Indian consumers and students to access a wider range…

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Copyright and Entertainment Laws News

Netflix Finances Mumbai Based Digital Studio, Katy Perry Loses Copyright Battle, ByteDance to Launch its Search Engine in China and more

COPYRIGHT STATISTICS There is a decrease of 1% in the total number of copyright applications filed for the month of July as compared to the month of June. A total of 1893 applications were filed in the month of July, 2019. The majority of applications were filed for literary works and artistic works.   Sl. No Type of Work Number of Application Filed in the Month of June 2019 Number of Application Filed in the Month of July 2019 Change Percentage Change 1 Literary/ Dramatic Work 1000 1099 99 Increase of 9% 2 Musical Work 607 0 607 Decrease…

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This Image depicts a seedling is being protected by two hands on it This Image is relevant as the article deals with the Copyrights and protection of ideas. Click on this Image for more Information.

Ideas, Concepts, Scripts & Stories – Protecting Ideas in the Entertainment Industry Part III

This post was first published on 29th July, 2014.   In continuation to our previous discussion on how to protect ideas in the entertainment industry, the upcoming posts in the series will discuss landmark cases and analyse how Courts consider Breach of Confidentiality claims. Previous posts in the series may be accessed here and here. The first of these cases is Zee Telefilms Limited and Another vs. Sundial Communications Private Limited and Others: This suit was brought by the Plaintiffs alleging Breach of Confidence in the…

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The image has a sheet of paper with text stating "Copyright License Agreement". The post contains notes relevant to Copyright Amendment Act 2012. Click on image to view post.

Statutory Licenses for Broadcasting – Part V: Notes on Copyright Amendment, 2012

This post was first published on 28th June, 2014.   The 2012 Copyright Amendment codified Statutory Licenses for radio broadcasting and has added television broadcasting to be within the scope of the license. Section 31D deals with statutory licenses for broadcasting. It reads as follows: "31D. Statutory licence for broadcasting of literary and musical works and sound recording. (1) Any broadcasting organisation desirous of communicating to the public by way of a broadcast or by way of performance of a literary or musical…

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The image depicts a quill dipped in ink bottle. The post is about expression of ideas. Click on image to view post.

Idea Expression Dichotomy

This post was first published on January 22, 2011. We all love reading. Fiction, Non- fiction, Self Help, Post Modern Literature,  Verse, and Limericks -our tastes vary. It’s a point to be noted that the authors of the books we love reading so much write exercising the faculties of their brains, ideas stemming from their brains and then expressing it in words, putting it in paper. Therefore, it’s very important that the authors have full right over their creation. But,…

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Licensing Copyrights in India

This post was first published on 27th June, 2014.   The owner of the copyrights of any work may grant a license under the Copyright law to authorize a third party to use and distribute the copyrighted work. A copyright license may be exclusive or nonexclusive. The term Exclusive License is defined in section 2(j) of the Copyright Act to mean and include a license which confers on the licensee and the persons authorized by him, to the exclusion of all other persons,…

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The image has a sheet of paper with text stating "Copyright License Agreement". The post contains notes relevant to Copyright Amendment Act 2012. Click on image to view post.

Version Recordings & Cover Versions – Part IV: Notes on Copyright Amendment, 2012

This post was first published on 27th June, 2014.   The Copyright Amendment of 2012 moved the provisions with respect to cover versions of sound recordings out of fair dealing provisions under Section 52, into a specific statutory license provision. Making version recordings, re-recording of prior sound recordings, was earlier permitted under the Copyright Law, but codifying it as a statutory license provision formalizes the said activity in many ways. Furthermore, Section 31C, which deals with statutory licenses for cover versions clearly…

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The image is a picture of Quintin Tarantino. The post is about a copyright claim by him. Click on image to view post.

Is Reporting Leaked & Copyright-Protected Material Equal to Contributory Infringement?

This post was first published on 17th May, 2014.   "No", says a federal judge in California, dismissing Hollywood's star director, Quentin Tarantino’s claim against Gawker Media, LLC. Gawker, a magazine on a lookout for juicy news in the entertainment biz, reported the leak of Tarantino's unpublished work by providing a direct link to the copyright protected "leaked script" for the film, "The Hateful Eight". Tarantino, a multiple Oscar winning/nominated writer-director, discovered that his copyright protected script was leaked. Gawker, on its website, reported the leaked Tarantino’s…

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