Indian Copyright Statistics, Tiger Zinda Hai Censor Issues, Disney-Fox Acquisition Deal, Gautham Gambhir’s Plea Rejected and more is presented by the Copyright and Entertainment Law Attorneys and experts of BananaIP Counsels, India’s Premier New Age IP Firm
COPYRIGHT QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Your name is not your trade mark unless you make it one” – Dr. Kalyan C Kankanala
INDIAN COPYRIGHT STATISTICS
There was a decrease of 11% in the total number of copyright filings compared to the last week. A total of 189 applications were filed for copyright registration during the last week. While most of the applications were filed for literary works only 1 application was filed for registering Sound Recordings.
| Sr. No | Types of work | Number of Applications previous week | Number of Applications this week | Percentage change |
| 1 | Literary Works | 168 | 147 | A decrease of 12.5% |
| 2 | Musical works | 5 | 2 | A decrease of 60% |
| 3 | Artistic works | 14 | 13 | A decrease of 7% |
| 4 | Cinematograph Films | 6 | 7 | An increase of 17% |
| 5 | Sound Recordings | 2 | 1 | A decrease of 50% |
| 6 | Software | 17 | 19 | An increase of 12% |
| Total | 212 | 189 | A decrease of 11% |
INDIAN COPYRIGHTS AND ENTERTAINMENT LAW UPDATES
Right to Communicate includes right to dub says Madras High Court
Yesterday, Spicy IP carried a note about an interesting decision of the Madras High Court in Thangarajan Kumararaja vs. M/s Capital Film Works and Anr. In this case, the division bench comprising of Justice Rajiv Shakdher and Justice Abdul Quddhose held that the Producer of a film has the right to dub the film in any language. The suit was filed by the screen play writer Mr. Thiagarajan Kumaraja against the producers of the film Aaranya Kaandam to restrain them from translating the script into another language and making a new film based on translated script. The Court examined the definition of the term Communication to the Public under the Copyright Act and concluded that dubbing would fall within the ambit of the expression communicating to the public.
Delhi High Court rejects Gautam Gambhir’s plea
We have earlier reported about a suit filed by the cricketer Gautam Gambhir against a Delhi based resto-bar from using his name as a tagline. Justice SP Garg on Wednesday dismissed Gambhir’s plea against the two pubs Ghungroo and Hawalat in Punjabi Bagh area. The cricketer alleged that use of his name would mislead the public to believe that the restaurant is associated with him. However, the Court rejected the petition as the name of the owner of the pub is also Gautam Gambhir.
Do Bare acts infringe Government’s copyrights?
A public interest litigation was filed last week before the Delhi High Court alleging that the publication of bare acts, of central legislations by private publishers amounted to infringement of government’s copyrights. The petitioner, Arpit Bhargava, stated that “the central government is allowing the public to suffer at the hands of private publishers by not publishing on its own and ensuring availability of authentic, accurate and reasonably priced hard copies of its acts, rules, notifications and various amendments from time to time.” The bench comprising of Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar issued notice to the Central Law Ministry and the Department of publication seeking their stand on the issue.
INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT AND ENTERTAINMENT LAW UPDATES
Tiger Zinda Hai refused for release in Pakistan
Salman Khan’s much-anticipated movie Tiger Zinda Hai has been refused the No Objection Certificate for import by Pakistan’s Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage. Pakistan’s Central Board of Film Censor Chairman Mobasher Hasan said in a statement that the “NOC has been refused as the image of Pakistan and its law enforcement agencies has been compromised.”
LICENSING AND MERCHANDISING UPDATES
Disney- Fox Acquisition deal
Numerous sources have reported last week that Walt Disney has acquired 21st Century Fox for about USD 52.4 billion in stock. This move is not only going to change the entertainment landscape in the US but also in India. This means Disney will absorb Star India’s businesses which include 49 entertainment channels, 10 sports channels, and the online streaming platform “Hotstar” making Disney India’s biggest broadcasting company.
BananaIP Entertainment Law Tip of the Week
Scripts and Films- Defining Rights
Script writers must define the rights being granted carefully while signing film deals. Use of general rights language may be construed as transfer of rights that were not intended to be transferred.
Author: BIP’s Copyright and Entertainment Law Attorneys
Senior Partner, the entertainment law attorneys at BIP are among the well-known lawyers in the field. They work with clients such as Yash Raj Films, Dharma Productions, Ananda Audio, Anushka Sharma, Sushant Singh, and Arka Media (Producer of Bahu Bali). BIP’s entertainment law team helps clients protect, manage and effectively license and merchandise their creative works such as films, music, brands and other content, to maximize financial returns.
The weekly copyright and entertainment law news initiative is a part of their pro bono work, and is aimed at spreading entertainment law awareness. You are free to share the news with appropriate attribution and backlink to the source.
If you have any questions, you may write to BIP’s Copyright and Entertainment Law Attorneys – [email protected].
