This post was first published on 27th June, 2014.
The Copyright Amendment of 2012 moved the provisions with respect to cover versions of sound recordings out of fair dealing provisions under Section 52, into a specific statutory license provision. Making version recordings, re-recording of prior sound recordings, was earlier permitted under the Copyright Law, but codifying it as a statutory license provision formalizes the said activity in many ways. Furthermore, Section 31C, which deals with statutory licenses for cover versions clearly…
This post was first published on 17th May, 2014.
"No", says a federal judge in California, dismissing Hollywood's star director, Quentin Tarantino’s claim against Gawker Media, LLC. Gawker, a magazine on a lookout for juicy news in the entertainment biz, reported the leak of Tarantino's unpublished work by providing a direct link to the copyright protected "leaked script" for the film, "The Hateful Eight".
Tarantino, a multiple Oscar winning/nominated writer-director, discovered that his copyright protected script was leaked. Gawker, on its website, reported the leaked Tarantino’s…
Telugu Remake of Band Baaja Baaraat Restricted from Being Released in Any Format; India Inc. Loses 12.8 Cr. to Data Breach; YouTube Improves its Manual Copyright Claims System; New Zealand Contemplates Amendments in its Copyright Law; The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act (CASE) to be Passed in the US; Plex-The New Custom Streaming Service; Netflix Launches a New Mobile Plan in India; Google Launches its Shopping Platform in the US; Alibaba Supports SME’s in the US to Connect Globally;…
This post was first published on 26th June, 2014.
This post is in continuation of my earlier post regarding the meaning and principles behind copyright assignments in India. In this post, we will be specifically addressing the factors that should be taken into account while preparing an Assignment Deed and License Agreement.
Section 19 of the Copyright Act, 1957 as amended in 2012, lists certain exhaustive factors that should be taken into consideration by the parties involved, while preparing an Assignment…
This post was first published on 26th June, 2014.
Justification for Publicity Rights is based on the Lockean Labor Theory, which essentially says that the fruits of one’s labor are one’s own. Therefore, Publicity Rights permit the exploitation of one’s persona by oneself. Unauthorized use of a person’s identity, including the person’s name, voice, image and likeness for commercial gain may give rise to a successful cause of action against the infringing party.
Since Publicity Rights are one of the two parts…
This post was first published on 1st September 2014.
1. Cariou vs. Prince
Photograph: Patrick Cariou - 2000; Adaptation: Richard Prince – 2008(both via artnet)
Richard Prince, the well-known appropriation artist - one who transforms the work of others to create new meaning in his work was sued by Patrick Cariou, a lesser-known photographer when Prince used several of Cariou’s photographs in a series of collages that were sold for tens of millions of dollars.
Richard Prince, for an exhibition in…
This post was first published on 11th November, 2014.
In one of our recent posts on reverse engineering, we discussed fair use for intermediate copying. Today, we will look into another landmark case that legitimizes copying based on a justifiable reason! In Sega v. Accolade, Accolade used a two-step process to create video games compatible with the Sega Genesis game console.
The first step was to reverse engineer the system and create a development manual. Accolade purchased a Genesis video game console and three…
This post was published on 18th March, 2014.
In a copyright infringement suit between the DC comics (Plaintiff) vs. Mark Towle (Defendant) the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is to decide whether the Batmobile is protectable under copyright laws. Batmobile is a renowned vehicle that the caped crusader a.k.a. Batman uses for fighting crime in the city of Gotham. Known for its aesthetics, aerodynamics, and features such as jet engine afterburner, torpedoes/missile launchers, automatic tire inflator and…
This post was first published on 2nd September, 2014.
What is the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC)?
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, regulating public exhibition of films under the provisions of the Cinematograph Act, 1952. Films can be publicly exhibited in India only after they have been certified by the CBFC.
What is its constitution?
The Board consists of non-official members and a Chairman (all of whom…
This post was first published on 1st September, 2014.
In continuation to the previous post in the series, we shall now be looking into the system of IP protection for computer programs that existed prior to the adoption of Copyright and Patent Laws.
Though it can be said that Copyright and Patent Laws are the more popular systems of IP protection for computer programs, it was Trade Secret Law that was initially resorted to for the protection of software, primarily because, previously, computer programs bundled…