Court rejects copyright infringement case against Akshay Kumar’s Toilet Ek Prem Katha, Uber launches infotainment system, four arrested for leaking GOT episode online, Netflix acquires rights to Baahubali, Monkey selfie case may be settled out of Court, 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
“You will only have copyright in a society that places a very high value on the individual, the individual intellect, the products of individual intellect.”
― Tim Parks
INDIAN COPYRIGHTS AND ENTERTAINMENT LAW UPDATES
Madhya Pradesh High Court rejects copyright infringement case against Akshay Kumar’s Toilet: Ek Prem Katha
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has rejected a copyright infringement case filed by writer Naveen Joshi against the makers of the Film Toilet- Ek Prem Katha. In the writ petition filed before the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Naveen Kumar alleged that the song Hus May Pagali Pyar Ho Jayega from the film has been copied from the lyrics written by him and registered with the Screen Writers Association. the counsels for the producers of the film, viacom18, raised objections with respect to the maintainability of the writ petition. Viacom 18’ counsels argued that Naveen failed to exercise his remedy to file a civil suit and the question of originality is a question of fact which can be decided only after recording evidence. The Madhya Pradesh High Court held that “although learned senior counsel for both the parties have also argued the matter on merit, but, as this Court is dismissing the writ petition on the ground of preliminary objection raised by the respondents, this Court, therefore, does not think it proper to decide the case on merit. Thus, in light of the aforesaid discussion, this Court does not find any reason to interfere into the writ petition.”
Uber launches infotainment system for riders
Uber has rolled out its infotainment system in Mumbai for around 350 cabs. Killer Features reported that the cab aggregator has partnered with a Mumbai based startup firm OnRoute. The startup will provide unique head-rests to Uber, which has tablets embedded into them. This platform will offer interactive ads, video streaming including live streaming of sports content.
Mumbai Police arrest 4 for leaking Game of Thrones Episode online
Four men were arrested on Monday for allegedly uploading episode four from Season 7 of the popular television series Game of Thrones. Hindustan Times reported that the leak originated from HBO’s India partner Star India. Among the four arrested, three are employees of Prime Focus Technology, a contractor for Star India, and one is its former employee. “We investigated the case and have arrested four individuals for unauthorized publications of the fourth episode from season seven. The four men were charged with criminal breach of trust and computer related offenses and will be detained until August 29” said a police official.
INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT AND ENTERTAINMENT LAW NEWS
Monkey Selfie case may be settled out of court
Ars Technica reports that the “Monkey Selfie” case may be coming to an end soon as PETA is engaged in settlement talks with photographer David Slater. As readers may recall, the suit involves the question of copyright ownership of the photo clicked by a macaque monkey named Naruto using David Slater’s camera. Ars Technica reported that both parties have told the appeal court that they are in the process of settling the dispute. However, there has been no confirmation from either party regarding the ongoing settlement talks.
LICENSING AND MERCHANDISING UPDATES
Padmavati bagged by Amazon Prime
After announcing its film licensing deal with Salman Khan’s production house, Amazon Prime recently also bagged the digital streaming rights to the upcoming Sanjay Leela Bhansali period drama Padmavati. As per sources, the rights have been sold for INR 20 to 25 crores.
Eros and Apple to join hands
Touted as the largest film producer Eros Group has been in discussions with Apple to sell its entire content library for 1 billion. There may also be another deal with respect to their OTT platform Eros Now. Sources state that there may also be talks with other platforms such as Amazon and Netflix for the purpose of restructuring, which may result in a reverse merger of the parent company Eros International.
Netflix gets rights to Baahubali
Like its rival, Amazon, Netflix has also been on an acquisition spree striking deals with Shah Rukh Khan, Amir Khan etc. News sources indicate that Netflix has acquired digital rights to both Baahubali films, Baahubali: The Beginning and Baahubali: The Conclusion for INR 25.5 crores approximately.
BIP TIP OF THE WEEK
Online Movie Streaming Deals and Licensing Revenues
With the emergence of numerous modes and means of streaming movies and other video content via a multitude of devices/platforms, rights with respect to online movie streaming have assumed very high importance and their value is estimated to increase substantially in the future. Film production houses and other producers must take steps to ensure that digital rights are clearly demarcated from other non-standard licensing deals such as satellite rights etc, and appropriately apportioned. License Programs of producers can yield substantially higher revenues if due care is taken to devise, segregate and grant licenses.
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 – contact@bananaip.com.
