Indian Copyright Statistics, Thor: Ragnarok Merchandises, Enforcement Directorate and production houses, TuneIn Copyright Infringement 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
“If you don’t move to protect copyright, if you don’t move to protect our children, it is not going to sit well ”- Barbara Boxer
INDIAN COPYRIGHT STATISTICS
There was a decrease of 16.72% in the total number of copyright filings compared to the last week. A total of 244 applications were filed for copyright registration during the last week. While most of the applications were filed for literary works no application was filed for registering Cinematographic films.
| Sr. No | Types of work | Number of Applications previous week | Number of Applications this week | Percentage change | |
| 1 | Literary Works | 220 | 198 | A decrease of 10% | |
| 2 | Musical works | 2 | 2 | No change | |
| 3 | Artistic works | 40 | 27 | A decrease of 32.05% | |
| 4 | Cinematograph Films | 1 | 0 | A decrease of 100% | |
| 5 | Sound Recordings | 16 | 2 |
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| 6 | Software | 14 | 15 | A decrease of 7.14% | |
| Total | 293 | 244 | a decrease of 16.72% |
INDIAN COPYRIGHTS AND ENTERTAINMENT LAW UPDATES
Enforcement Directorate quizzes music labels and production houses
The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday questioned the T-Series head, Bhushan Kumar and Saregama India Ltd’s Managing Director, Vikram Mehra, in connection with non-payment of royalties to artists and lyricists. The director and producer, Aditya Chopra was also summoned to the agency’s Mumbai head office on 9th November. “We were asked by the ED to join the investigations and, therefore, we presented ourselves before the joint director. Whatever documents were required have been shared,” T-Series president Vishal Bhanushali told The Indian Express. The ED suspects that the money made through withholding royalties are laundered by the companies. “We have asked the companies to explain their revenue and share their contracts. We are also studying their balance sheets to tally their profits,” said an official in a press interview.
INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT AND ENTERTAINMENT LAW NEWS
TuneIn sued in UK for copyright infringement
The US-based music streaming site TuneIn is sued by Sony Music and Warner Music Group for Copyright infringement before a UK High Court. TuneIn is a service that provides links to sound recordings including radio stations and podcasts. TuneIn does not host the streams, instead, provides links to the sources of sound recordings. Indexing and linking to infringing content are considered as infringement under UK law as per recent decisions, which is likely why the lawsuit was filed in the UK.
LICENSING AND MERCHANDISING UPDATES
Vice Media’s Asian expansion
Vice Media Inc, a popular American media and entertainment start-up has decided to expand its operations to the Asian territory with the establishment of new offices as well as new business partnerships. The company will also expand its subscription video on demand service to at least six new markets India and Thailand being two of them.
Thor: Ragnarok’s many brand partners
One of the most awaited films from Marvel, Thor: Ragnarok, is now playing in theatres all around the country. But to further appease the eager fans, Disney India’s Consumer Products business has brought twenty-eight brand partners on board, such as OPPO, Myntra, Amazon, Pantaloons, Toys “R” Us, Lego, Funskool, Hasbro, Scholastic, Zoop Watches, ITC, Macmerise, Stuffcool etc. Merchandise for the film will include apparel, accessories, consumer electronics, toys, stationery etc.
BANANAIP TIP OF THE WEEK
Mitigating Copyright Infringement risks
Playing copyrighted content like music or films in taxies, buses, ships, flights or even hotel rooms without the permission of the copyright owner may amount to copyright infringement. Even playing a legally purchased CD or DVD without authorization may invite copyright risks. The users may approach the copyright holder or appropriate copyright societies for specific licenses to use or play music or movies in vehicles.
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 merchandize 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].
