Entertainment Law Updates, International Copyright Updates, Entertainment Licensing and Updates, Government Updates, Copyright thought of the week and more presented by the Media & Entertainment law attorneys and experts of BananaIP Counsels, India’s Premier New Age IP Firm.
Copyright Thought of the Week
“The Copyright bargain: a balance between protection for the artist and rights for the consumer”
-Robin Gross [Founder – IP Justice]
Entertainment law News and Updates
- Supreme Court accepts the plea against ‘pre-censorship’ of films.
The cine veteran, Amol Palekar has filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court requesting court’s intervention in revamping the censor board and challenging the constitutional validity of various provisions of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 and the Cinematograph Certification Rules, 1982 which imposes restriction of freedom of speech and expression of the artists as well as the audiences. The Act was held constitutionally valid in 1970. Since then, there has been a plethora of changes in the digital world and hence this petition. The Court has sought a response from the Censor Board and the I&B Ministry with regard to the petition.
- Government making plans to frame new law to guard Whatsapp
The Centre is actively contemplating for a comprehensive data protection framework for which a new enactment of an act is required. This is based on an appeal filed in the Supreme court against a Delhi HC verdict on the issue of privacy policy of Whatsapp which amounts to infringement of the Right to Privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The petitioners’ allegation was that Whatsapp has been sharing data with Facebook and all its group companies for commercial use. The next hearing of the matter will be on 27th April, 2017 before the Apex court.
- Arka Mediaworks launches new Bahubali Videogame
Arka Mediaworks in association with Amazon Prime Video, has launched a new animated series Bahubali: The Lost Legends, based on the hit franchise Bahubali. The animated series has been launched a few days before the release of the second film in the series on 28th April 2017. The animated series explores the journey of different characters that are part of the movie.
International Copyright Updates
- First hearing held between video game giant Nintendo and MariCar
Nintendo Co., the makers of the video game Mario, had filed a suit against a Tokyo based Go-kart Company, MariCar. MariCar specializes in the business of renting out costumes and carts based on Nintendo game characters such as Super Mario. On 18th April 2017, the Tokyo District Court heard the opening arguments in the first hearing of the above suit. MariCar denied copyright infringement stating that they are merely renting and maintaining the products and are not engaged in manufacturing or selling them.
Entertainment Licensing News and Updates
- Dish TV to join hands with Videocon
Dish TV, the service arm of Zee group’s DTH is all set to merge with Videocon D2H and will be named as Dish TV Videocon Ltd. The merger will take place once the approval is received from regulatory authorities like the Competition Commission of India, National Company Law Tribunal as well as the stock exchange. The joint venture between the two companies will make them the biggest entity in India, having the maximum number of DTH subscribers.
- Sony and Lionsgate enter into Home-Entertainment Distribution Agreement.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) will now have worldwide physical distribution rights outside US, UK and Canada to Lionsgate’s vast catalogue of television series. The multi-year international deal consolidates the entire physical distribution of Lionsgate content under one entity. Lionsgate will continue to distribute its title for home-entertainment platforms but the present deal ensures greater operational efficiency, enhanced visibility and increased sales input.
- Star Wars Adventures Comics coming soon.
IDW Publishing in partnership with Lucasfilm is releasing Star Wars Adventures comics for its young readers. The comics are slated to be fun and action-packed with adventure featuring the entire Star Wars saga. The partnership will also include launching a series of new collection of Star Wars newspaper comic strips which will be available from May 2017.
Entertainment Patents
New Warner Bros. patent promises an out of the world cinematic experience
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. has recently filed a patent for augmented and virtual reality systems designed to enhance movie experiences. The invention titled “Cinematic mastering for virtual reality and augmented reality” promises an out of the world cinematic experience for moviegoers and home theater users. The technology will apparently work with both AR and VR headsets and will also boast of compatibility with iTunes and Netflix.
This is certainly an invention of the recent times that promises the best entertainment experience and is something that we all can look forward to.
Government Updates
- TRAI to Simplify the Broadcasting Sector.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has embarked on a drive to rationalize and simplify the existing rules and procedures to ease the conduct of business and enhance the efficiency of the broadcasting sector. TRAI has introduced a pre-consultation paper in the hope to identify various bottle-necks and hindrances currently existing in undertaking broadcasting business in India. Elaborate consultation of the issues will be conducted after soliciting the stakeholders’ response on the paper by 8th May, 2017.
BananaIP Entertainment Tip of the Week
Privacy policy is a key element for online businesses. Transparency should be retained while creating a privacy policy for a website to achieve the trust of the users. It is also advisable to review the policies at regular intervals to avoid any misperception between businesses and consumers/users.
