Indian Copyright Statistics, Ilayathalapathy Vijay’s Mersal Row, T-Series Compensation in a Copyright Infringement Suit, Copyright Office Relocation, Golmaal Again Merchandise in India 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
“Unfortunately, viewing pirated films online has always been a norm rather than an exception.” – Dr. Kalyan C Kankanala
INDIAN COPYRIGHT STATISTICS
There was a decrease of 1.9% in the total number of copyright filings compared to the last week. A total of 149 applications were filed for copyright registration during the last week. While most of the applications were filed for literary works only 2 applications were 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 | 98 | 88 | A decrease of 10 |
| 2 | Musical works | 10 | 4 | A decrease of 60 |
| 3 | Artistic works | 28 | 36 | An increase of 28 |
| 4 | Cinematograph Films | 1 | 5 | An increase of 400 |
| 5 | Sound Recordings | 0 | 2 | An increase of 200 |
| 6 | Software | 14 | 14 | No change |
| Total | 152 | 149 | A decrease of 1.9 |
INDIAN COPYRIGHTS AND ENTERTAINMENT LAW UPDATES
Mersal Controversy: South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce against H Raja
Adding fuel to the ongoing controversy about Ilayathalapathi Vijay’s Mersal, the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce has accused BJP leader H Raja of piracy and copyright infringement. Mr. H Raja, a national executive committee member of BJP earlier told a reporter that he saw the film on the internet. “We, South Indian Film Industry are ashamed to read the statement that a leading political personality has seen the film on the internet which is a pirated version. An official letter has been addressed to our beloved Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Broadcasting Minister, Smriti Irani, requesting them to take suitable action against Mr. Raja for violating the Piracy Act”, says a statement issued by the Film Chamber.
T-Series awarded a compensation of Rupees Sixteen lacs in a copyright infringement suit
The honorable Delhi High Court vide a recent order has restrained HRCN Cable Network, a ground cable operator based in Rewari from distributing or broadcasting films or sound recordings that are owned by the production house and record label T-Series. T-Series alleged that HRCN had 15,000 subscriptions and the subscription rate of the Plaintiff per account is charged at INR 18 per month. Therefore, T-Series argued that it has sustained a loss of Rs 16,20,000 ( Rs 18* 15,000 for a period of six months). While the Delhi High Court was pleased to grant the compensation of Rs 16, 20,000 based on the above calculation, the Court rejected the pleas of T-Series for punitive and conversion damages. The court found that “the reasoning that “one function of punitive damages is to relieve the pressure on an overloaded system of criminal justice by providing a civil alternative to criminal prosecution of minor crimes” is plainly wrong because where the law provides that a crime is committed, it indicates the punishment. No statute authorizes the punishment of anyone for a libel – or infringement of trademark with a huge monetary fine-which goes not to the public exchequer, but to private coffers. Moreover, penalties and offences wherever prescribed require the prosecution to prove them without reasonable doubt. Therefore, to say that civil alternative to an overloaded criminal justice system is in public interest would be in fact to sanction violation of the law.”
DIPP and FICCI to organize Intellectual Property Rights Awareness Program for MSME’s
The Department of Industrial Promotion and Policy and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries have joined hands to impart awareness among the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME’s) with regard to IPR. The Joint initiative is now planning to organize IP awareness campaigns in the State of Kerala in association with the Department of Industries and Commerce of the Kerala government for MSME’s. “The key focus of the program would include themes such as registration and commercialization of IP-Challenges and the Way Forward, IP awareness, etc.” said a press release from FICCI.
Copyright office relocated to Patent and Trade Mark Office, Delhi
A Notification issued by the Registrar of Copyrights dated 16th October states that with effect from 23rd October, the Copyright Office will be relocated to the Boudhik Sampada Bhavan (Indian Patent and Trade Mark office), Delhi. Any person who faces any difficulty in interacting with the copyright office during the relocation period may write to the Copyright Office at copyright@nic.in.
INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT AND ENTERTAINMENT LAW NEWS
New Zealand’s National Party found guilty of copyright infringement
The American rapper, songwriter and record producer Eminem’s publishing house, Eight Mile Style LLC was awarded a compensation of USD 482, 000 in a copyright infringement case filed against New Zealand’s National Party. The case focused on how National Party used a sound recording in its election ads which was similar to Eminem’s song Lose Yourself. “Having listened to all the evidence, examined the notation examples and replayed the advertisements and track exhibits, with the close similarities and the indiscernible differences between Lose Yourself and Eminem Esque, I am in agreement with Dr Ford’s conclusion when he said: “Put simply, Eminem Esque is strikingly similar to Lose Yourself in all of its major features.” held the court.
LICENSING AND MERCHANDISING UPDATES
Phantom Film, Reliance Entertainment and BBH collaborate for the upcoming film ‘83
For the first time in India as well as internationally, we will witness the collaboration between a production house, a movie studio and a creative agency for a film, the film being ’83 starring Ranvir Singh and directed by Kabir Khan. In this collaboration between Phantom Film, Reliance Entertainment and Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH), BBH will be responsible for not only the marketing activities and getting related deals to the table but also for strategic partnerships, branding, merchandising etc. The film will be based on India’s journey to winning the 1983 cricket World Cup in England.
Golmaal Again Merchandise launched by Reliance
Reliance Entertainment recently launched exclusive merchandise based on the film Golmaal Again in several toy stores around the country. Merchandise including Remote-Control Cars, Pull Back Cars & Transforming Robots etc will be available in retail chains such as Crossword, Central & Toonz as well as online on Amazon, Flipkart & First cry.
Lionsgate sets up shop in India
The American production giant Lionsgate has set up an office in Mumbai, India which will be spearheaded by Mr. Rohit Jain, as managing director. Mr. Jain has previously worked with the DTH operator Videocon d2h for seven years as the deputy CEO. Lionsgate India will be responsible for all the licensing deals to local linear and digital platforms including films, television series and catalogue content owned by Lionsgate and Starz brands. It will also work with the studio’s distribution partners as well as create new content for the theatres and for distribution on other platforms.
BIP TIP OF THE WEEK
Planning for movie/ character merchandising
Movie production houses looking to generate revenues out of merchandising must plan for merchandising much before initiating a film project. Tying up with creative licensing and merchandising partners well in advance can in the best scenario help movie makers/producers fund the film from the said partnerships.
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.
