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Reading Between The Lines- Book Publishing Contracts_ Copyrights and Writers Part 9

Reading Between The Lines- Book Publishing Contracts: Copyrights and Writers Part 9

Getting a publishing contract is an important milestone for a writer. For some writers, that is a remarkable achievement. This is despite the fact that the value added by publishers in publishing a book has been diminishing over the years. In reality, a publisher is merely a middle man between the author and the reader, and though many publishers claim to contribute to the quality of the book, their role is mostly limited to copy editing, printing, and distributing it.…

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Intellepedia - IP News Updates

Would Licensing a Sound Recording Call For Separate License From the Lyricist and Composer?

This post was last published on May 15th, 2012.   The case ruling in IPRS v. Aditya Pandey came as a huge loss to the music composers and lyricists of the industry. It was held that no separate license was required from the copyright owner of literary and musical work (lyricist and composer) that embody a sound recording. A brief overview of the facts are as follows-  The appellant, Indian Performing Right Society Ltd. (IPRS - for short) is a Copyright…

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Gully Boy Leaked, FFI Wants Piracy Court, Kanye West Sued, REM Gets Trump Tweet Removed, and more

AICWA Bans Pakistani Actors and Artists, Gully Boy Leaked Online Soon After Release, Film Federation Demands Special Court to Control Piracy, Family Sues Kanye West for Copyright Infringement, Twitter Removes Trump Tweet After Copyright Complaint from R.E.M., SCOTUS Declines to Hear ‘Empire’ Lawsuit, YouTube Changes Three-Strike Policy to Tackle Frivolous Claims, British Columbia Man Claims Ownership over People’s Party of Canada Name, McCafé to Sponsor Two SAFTA Categories, Songtradr Acquires Big Sync Music, Mattel Secures Three-Year Licensing Deal for Despicable Me, and more. Copyright Quote “Of all the creative work produced…

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Intellepedia - IP News Updates

Music Broadcast Pvt. Ltd. v. Super Cassette Industries Ltd.

This post was first published on 5th September 2011. HIGH COURT OF DELHI RFA No.250/2011 & CM No.8977/2011 Decided On: 01/09/2011 Facts: This appeal arises out of the interim orders passed by Copyright Board in the litigation between Music Broadcast Pvt. Ltd (MBPL) and Super Cassette Industries Limited (SCIL) with respect to fixing of a royalty fee of a license agreement between the parties. According to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two…

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Intellepedia - IP News Updates

D.M. Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. v. Baby Gift House and Ors.

This post was first published on September 14th, 2011. Citation: MANU/DE/2043/2010 Daler Mehndi is a popular music composer, lyricist, and singer in India. He was involved in the creation of numerous music albums such as BOLO TA RA RA RA, DARDI RAB RAB and so on, which have been sold extensively across the world. He incorporated a company, D.M. Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., the plaintiff in this case, in 1996, in which the letters DM stands for the initials of…

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Cinematograph Act Amendment, Facebook to Make Political Ads Transparent, No Removal of Explicit Streaming Content, EU Agrees on Copyrights, Fiji Counter-sues, and more

Cabinet Approves Cinematograph Amendment to Curb Piracy, Delhi HC Dismisses Plea Seeking Removal of Explicit Streaming Content, Facebook to Increase Transparency of Political Ads, Jeff Bezos Accuses National Enquirer of ‘Extortion and Blackmail’, EU Negotiates Agreement on Copyright Rules, ‘GTA V’ Cheats Cost Creator USD 150,000 in Damages, Fiji Water Counter-sues Viral Fiji Water Girl, PV Sindhu Signs Lucrative 50 Crore Deal with Chinese Sports Brand, McFarlane Toys Inks Deal for DC Superhero Toys, Kiss and Emoji Collaborate, BMG to License Music through SESAC in India, Copyright Tip of the…

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Amazon Marketplace Non Compliance

Kindle eBooks, FDI eCommerce Policy and Amazon Marketplace – Non-compliance Continues Contd.

Amazon Seller Services Private Limited ("Amazon") runs the eCommerce marketplace at www.amazon.in, and among other products, Amazon facilitates sale of eBooks and/or eBook subscription licenses on the platform at its Kindle eBook Store at https://www.amazon.in/Kindle-eBooks/b?ie=UTF8&node=1634753031. In my opinion, Amazon's business and approach with respect to eBooks does not comply with the recent FDI eCommerce guidelines by virtue of the following: By exclusively permitting only its group company Amazon Asia Pacific ("Amazon APAC") to sell eBooks on its marketplace; By…

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Intellepedia - IP News Updates

SAP Aktiengesellschaft & Anr (Plaintiff) Vs. Sadiq Pasha, Proprietor, M/s Neologik India

This post was first published on June 7, 2011. Pfizer Inc. filed a suit against Watson Laboratories, on June 1, 2011 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York seeking to prevent Watson from commercializing sildenafil citrate tablets prior to the expiration of Pfizer’s Viagra. Watson's sildenafil citrate tablets are a generic version of Pfizer Inc.'s Viagra, which is indicated for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED). Sildenafil citrate enhances the effect of nitric oxide,…

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Intellepedia - IP News Updates

Sholay Media and Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. and Anr. v. Vodafone Essar Mobile Services Ltd. and Ors.

  This post was first published on June 12, 2011.   (Delhi High Court, 09.05.2011) FACTS: Plaintiff No. 1 i.e. Sholay Media and Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. acquired all rights in the film "Sholay" in the year 2000 and was exploiting these rights in various areas such as  ringtones, caller tunes etc.  Certain rights in the film were assigned to Polydor of India by an assignment deed of 1978. The rights assigned to Polydor of India were acquired by Defendant No. 3 i.e. M/s Universal…

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No Unauthorised Use of TOI and ET Content, Gigi Hadid Sued, Vice Partners with Hulu, and more

Copyright Quote “The beauty of Copyright law is it protects you and it provides you the opportunity to honour others” Peter Smith Copyright Statistics There is an increase of 10% in the total number of copyright applications filed last week as compared to the previous week. A total of 386 applications were filed for copyright registration during the last week. The majority of applications were filed for literary works and artistic works. S. No Type of Work Number of Applications filed in the Previous Week (14th…

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