Celebrating 20 Years of IP Excellence

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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 Gawker, a magazine on a lookout for juicy news in the entertainment biz, reported the leak of Tarantino's unpublished work by providing a direct link to the copyright protected "leaked script" for the film, "The Hateful Eight".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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YouTube Improves its Manual Copyright Claims System, Netflix Launches a New Mobile Plan in India, Reliance Introduces its E-Commerce Platform and more.

  Telugu Remake of Band Baaja Baaraat Restricted from Being Released in Any Format; India Inc. Loses 12.8 Cr. to Data Breach; YouTube Improves its Manual Copyright Claims System; New Zealand Contemplates Amendments in its Copyright Law; The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act (CASE) to be Passed in the US; Plex-The New Custom Streaming Service; Netflix Launches a New Mobile Plan in India; Google Launches its Shopping Platform in the US; Alibaba Supports SME’s in the US to Connect Globally;…

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Copyright Assignment & Licenses – Part II

This post was first published on 26th June, 2014.   This post is in continuation of my earlier post regarding the meaning and principles behind copyright assignments in India. In this post, we will be specifically addressing the factors that should be taken into account while preparing an Assignment Deed and License Agreement. Section 19 of the Copyright Act, 1957 as amended in 2012, lists certain exhaustive factors that should be taken into consideration by the parties involved, while preparing an Assignment…

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Conclusion post: Ideas, Concepts, Scripts & Stories – Protecting Ideas…

This post was first published on 11th August, 2014.   This post brings to a conclusion, the series on Protecting Ideas, Concepts, Scripts and Stories in the Entertainment Industry. Researchers have analyzed three cases on Confidentiality and its breach in the case of Intellectual Property Rights namely in the Urmi Juvekar Chiang case, the Zee Telefilms case and the Anil Gupta vs. Kunal Dasgupta case. The facts of the cases are similar, namely that all three have Plaintiffs that are companies or people who have made…

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Batmobile – Supercar or Character?

This post was published on 18th March, 2014.   In a copyright infringement suit between the DC comics (Plaintiff) vs. Mark Towle (Defendant) the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is to decide whether the Batmobile is protectable under copyright laws. Batmobile is a renowned vehicle that the caped crusader a.k.a. Batman uses for fighting crime in the city of Gotham. Known for its aesthetics, aerodynamics, and features such as jet engine afterburner, torpedoes/missile launchers, automatic tire inflator and…

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Conceptualizing Copyright Assignments & Licenses Part – I

This post was first published on 25th June, 2014.   This blog series is intended to conceptualize the principles behind copyright assignments and licenses. Copyrights, like any other Intellectual Property Rights are considered a part of Property Rights and hence can be transferred just as corporeal properties. This transfer of ownership under Copyright Law happens in three different ways; first, by executing an Assignment deed; Second, by executing a License Agreement; and third, by transmission of rights by way of operation of law. In…

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A Peek into the Central Board for Film Certification

This post was first published on 2nd September, 2014.   What is the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC)? The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, regulating public exhibition of films under the provisions of the Cinematograph Act, 1952. Films can be publicly exhibited in India only after they have been certified by the CBFC. What is its constitution? The Board consists of non-official members and a Chairman (all of whom…

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Clips of Copyrighted Material Constitute FAIR USE!

This post was first published on 19th September, 2014.   In a recent copyright dispute, a New York Court recently held that a database providing for television clips and snippets of transcript constitute fair use, protecting it from allegations of copyright infringement. TVEyes is a company that monitors and records all contents broadcast by more than 1,400 television and radio stations and transforms this content into a searchable database for its subscribers. TVEyes allows its subscribers to use search terms and obtain transcripts and video…

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