The conflict between copyright enforcement and privacy has been one of the stumbling blocks in fighting online piracy. While proof of direct infringement by internet users is an essential element for action against online pirates, privacy of user data is an essential mandate to live and transact on the world wide web. Owing to privacy responsibilities of Internet Service Providers (ISPs), copyright holders find it very difficult, or impossible, to acquire details of internet users involved in downloading, uploading and…
In a wide array of videos popular on YouTube, gameplay videos have quite a fan following. These videos involve gamers playing some of the most popular games, for viewers to watch. While copyrights over such games are reserved with the developers, they often face allegations of copyright infringement. YouTube, in its attempts to discourage such infringing videos, has introduced “copyright strikes” whereby the account flagged by the content owner for alleged infringement receives a copyright strike from YouTube restricting the…
There’s no one who hasn’t awkwardly stood around their birthday cake while people sing "Happy Birthday to You". It’s the world’s most famous song, sung to millions each year. And this six-word set of lyrics with a simple melody is protected by copyright.
In 1868, two Hill sisters from Kentucky composed a song called "Good Morning to All" (now known as the tune of "Happy Birthday"), which went like:
Good morning to you,
Good morning to you,
Good morning, dear…
United States Trade Representative (USTR) ordered an Out of Cycle Review (OCR) for India in October. While the USTR insists that the aim of this exercise is to provide constructive feedback to India in order to improve its IP protection and enforcement, many in India are not happy about this move. Not only has the government criticized this move, but also refused to participate in it arguing that the US laws are not applicable to India. Nirmala Sitharaman, India’s Commerce…
Here is the next post in the series of Student Blog Contest.
The Internet is often considered the Wild West of laws; People believe that laws that exist offline do not apply online, or there exist different rules of behaviour. So when you tap out a tweet and hit send, putting it in public domain, can you sue if it gets copied?
Short answer: No.
Long answer? It’s complicated. Copyrighting a tweet is extremely hard, for various reasons. Reporting on…
Laws alone cannot eliminate copyright infringements. For copyright law to take its course, there have to be effective detection of infringements and identification of infringers. Furthermore, as with any property rights, owners of copyrighted content have to take certain measures to protect their copyrights before expecting law enforcement to aid them. Digital Rights Managements and ETMs are such measures a copyright owner is expected to take in order to protect his copyrights in the digital world. The term Digital Rights…
Since the dawn of internet, the technological development has been exponential, leading to digitisation of almost all possible activities as from tablets and phones to watches, glasses, TVs and even refrigerators become “smarter”. The laws such as Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), enacted to focus on the rise of digital era, are unable to completely match the pace of this development. Recently, the US Copyright Office initiated the sixth triennial rule-making process which has been accepting petitions since then. Electronic…
Dear Sinapse Readers (entertainment and copyright law enthusiasts),
In 2014, the authors of Sinapse got together to bring to its readers analytic data in the form of 'Series' posts. We have put together all the entertainment and copyright law related information for you, so that you're able to assimilate all of it at one go! But don't stop there. Read the whole thing if you want to be thoroughly informed:
1. Licensing & Merchandising in Copyright Law …
Dear Readers,
The information age brought with it mounds of new perspectives and facts. But is it enough that it's all out there! We do want to be able to know a whole lot by reading very little. So, we bring you a quick look at all the major IP-related happenings of 2014. Copyright Law:
1. CJEU rules – ISP’s can be made to block Illegal Download access
As an endorsement to European Union’s anti-piracy policies, the European Court of Justice ruled on…
Dear Sinapse Readers,
The information age brought with it mounds of new perspectives and facts and copyright infringement claims. So, we bring you a quick look at all the major Intellectual Property related happenings (copyright infringement suits) of 2014.
1. Gulaab Gang in legal trouble!
Multi-starrer movie Gulaab Gang gets into trouble with activist/leader Sampat Pal Devi of Gulabi Gang challenging the release of the movie before the Delhi High court, though Sampat Pal Devi succeeded in…