Indian Copyrights and Entertainment Law Updates, International Copyright and Entertainment Law Updates, Entertainment Licensing and Merchandising Updates, copyright tip 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 quote of the week
“The beauty of Copyright law is it protect you and it provides you the opportunity to honor others” –Peter Smith
Indian Copyrights and Entertainment Law Updates
India may get an intellectual property exchange soon
The Ministry of Science and Technology through the National Research Development Corporation is planning to establish an Intellectual Property Exchange. The IP Exchange will act as a platform for individuals and firms to acquire and license intellectual property rights. Hong Kong and UK currently have IP exchanges and NRDC is planning to establish an IP Exchange in India. NRDC Chairman H Purushotham said that NRDC is engaged in collecting data and information for the proposed IP exchange.
Akshay Kumar’s Toilet Ek Prem Katha in Copyright row
India Today reported that the filmmaker Praveen Vyas has sent a cease and desist notice to the producers of Akshay Kumar’s upcoming movie Toilet Ek Prem Katha. Praveen Vyas who produced a documentary film Manini in 2016, alleges that several scenes and dialogues as shown in the trailer of Toilet Ek Prem Katha are copied from his documentary. Praveen Vyas alleges that his documentary portrays the protest of female protagonist against the lack of toilet in her marital home on the first night of her marriage and the scenes in Toilet Ek Prem Katha also shows the same interaction between characters.
International Copyright and Entertainment Law Updates
Paul McCartney Reaches Settlement with Sony in Beatles Rights Dispute
Paul McCartney, the famous singer for the rock band ‘Beatles’ and Sony signed a settlement agreement in their dispute over the Beatles song rights. Earlier, McCartney filed a suit before the court for a declaration that he could reclaim his copyright ownership share to Beatles’ catalog of songs and the assignees like Sony has no right over them after the expiration of copyright term in 2018. A letter issued by McCarney’s attorney to the US District Court states that the Parties have resolved this matter by entering into a confidential settlement agreement and jointly requests the Court to dismiss the suit.
Entertainment Licensing and Merchandising Updates
Httpool acquired by Sony Pictures
Internet Media Services, a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Television Networks, has acquired Httpool, an ad network. According to the press note issued by Sony, the deal will make Sony/IMS “One of the largest digital marketing and ad sales companies in the industry, with a combined operating supporting more than 6000 agencies and brands worldwide.”
Spiderman: Homecoming gets 60 brand deals
Spiderman: Homecoming hits theaters today, 7th July 2017. Taking into consideration of the widespread popularity of Spiderman in India, 60 brands have signed various promotional deals including Max, Lifestyle, Bioworld, VIP, Titan, Bata, Crocs, Mattel, Funskool, Scholastic, Welspun, D’décor and e-commerce websites such as Flipkart and Amazon.
BIP TIP OF THE WEEK
Mere copying of a theme or concept would not give rise to copyright infringement. A series of tests ranging from the look and feel test to abstraction and comparison test may be used to determine whether works are substantially similar to the story, plot, sequence and/or other levels prior to initiating any legal actions. Allegations of copyright infringement (especially with respect to films) can be effectively managed at both procedural and substantive levels by taking measures like sending appropriate responses to legal notices, taking strategic defenses to lawsuits and other steps to overcome the copyright infringement allegations.
