Indian Copyright Statistics, IPRS re-registered as a copyright society, Mahesh Bhupathi and Lara Dutta filed insolvency plea against Gitanjali gems, Re-register DMCA agents before 31st December, Pokemon awarded one dollar in damages, Indian film industry grows 10% every year, as per new report 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
“The bitter taste left by copyright societies in India cannot be easily sweetened by mere change of leadership” – Dr. Kalyan C Kankanala
INDIAN COPYRIGHT STATISTICS
There was an increase of 1.5% in the total number of copyright filings compared to the last week. A total of 192 applications were filed for copyright registration during the last week. While most of the applications were filed for literary works no application was 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 | 147 | 132 | 10.7% |
| 2 | Musical works | 2 | 6 | 100% |
| 3 | Artistic works | 13 | 29 | 76.19% |
| 4 | Cinematograph Films | 7 | 3 | 80% |
| 5 | Sound Recordings | 1 | 0 | 100% |
| 6 | Software | 19 | 22 | 14.6% |
| Total | 189 | 192 | 1.5% |
INDIAN COPYRIGHTS AND ENTERTAINMENT LAW UPDATES
IPRS RE-REGISTERED AS A COPYRIGHT SOCIETY
After a series battles between music composers, lyricists, and record labels, the Economic Times reports that most of the legal disputes between them have been amicably settled. It is now learned that the Indian Performance Rights Society has received its official registration as a copyright society on 28th November 2017 from the Registrar of Copyrights. IPRS is now the only official and functional copyright societies for collecting royalties of underlying musical and literary works included in sound recordings. “With the new constitution and a new governing board, IPRS is entering a new era. This era will not be of confrontation but of cooperation between the authors and the publishers. I see an extremely prosperous future for everyone” said the lyricist and the new Chairman of IPRS Mr. Javed Akhtar in his statement.
MAHESH BHUPATHI AND LARA DUTTA FILED INSOLVENCY PLEA AGAINST GITANJALI GEMS
The celebrity couple Mahesh Bhupathi and his wife Lara Dutta, have filed an insolvency petition before the National Company Law Tribunal against the jewelry manufacturer Gitanjali Gems. The couple had earlier endorsed the Gitanjali brand. “Both the brand ambassadors have a two-year contract with the company for public appearances. During the tenure of the contract, there were some cancellations for which the company did not pay its dues to the celebrity couple” reports Live Mint.
INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT AND ENTERTAINMENT LAW UPDATES
RE-REGISTER DMCA AGENTS BEFORE 31ST DECEMBER
All user-generated content platforms are directed by the US Copyright Office to register their respective DMCA agents on or before 31st December 2017. This includes re-registration of existing agents, as all previous registrations are set to expire on the said date.
POKEMON AWARDED $1 IN DAMAGES
The Federal court of Australia has awarded a damage of $1 to the Pokemon Company with no injunctive relief in a suit filed against the retail chain Redbubble. Pokemon sued the store over the sale of unlicensed products. While the court agreed that copyright infringement had taken place, the Court did not find that Pokemon was able to prove any fault on the part of Redbubble. Moreover, the court found that the products were not sold as legitimate Pokemon merchandise and therefore denied any royalty or license fees to Pokemon reports the website, Viridian Forest.
LICENSING AND MERCHANDISING UPDATES
INDIAN FILM INDUSTRY GROWS 10% EVERY YEAR, AS PER NEW REPORT
As per the debut report of ESP Properties “Showbiz — The Indian Superpower” on marketing in Indian entertainment industry including licensing, celebrity marketing, in-film marketing states that the Indian film and entertainment industry grow 10% every year. Another important aspect of the report is the brand association with films. The Indian film industry enjoys a share of 20%, Hollywood at 25%, South movies at 15% and Marathi cinema at 16% with respect to film-brand association. The marketing budgets of films have increased from 5%-6% to 10% to 15% of the production budget.
BANANAIP ENTERTAINMENT LAW TIP OF THE WEEK
FILM TITLES AND TRADE MARKS
Owing to the increase in marketing spends on film titles and the range of innovative advertisement campaigns, film titles quickly acquire consumer association and distinctiveness either with the production house or a celebrity associated with the film. Furthermore, the increase of brand extension and merchandising activities make film titles valuable trade marks. In the said context filing for trade mark registration would go a long way in preventing trade mark infringement, passing off, and dilution with respect to film titles.
