Indian Copyright Statistics, Amitabh Bachchan angered over copyright term, No copyright in film title orders Madras High Court, Counterfeit market in India worth over 40,000 crores, Miley Cyrus’s song “We Can’t Stop” in Copyright trouble, US Customs seized 34,000 plus shipments in 2017, Novex tied up with TIPS and more are 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
“Movie titles do not get trade mark protection unless they are used as trade marks and/or acquire distinctiveness”- Dr. Kalyan C Kankanala
INDIAN COPYRIGHT STATISTICS
There was a decrease of 0.53% in the total number of copyright filings compared to the last week. A total of 190 applications were filed for copyright registration during the last week. While most of the applications were filed for literary works and no 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 | 124 | 112 | 9.6% |
| 2 | Musical works | 22 | 23 | 4.5% |
| 3 | Artistic works | 18 | 32 | 77.7% |
| 4 | Cinematograph Films | 4 | 1 | 75% |
| 5 | Sound Recordings | 2 | 0 | |
| 6 | Software | 21 | 22 | 4.7% |
| Total | 191 | 190 | 0.53% |
INDIAN COPYRIGHTS AND ENTERTAINMENT LAW UPDATES
AMITABH BACHCHAN ANGERED OVER COPYRIGHT TERM
Bollywood Star Amitabh Bachchan expressed his anger against the copyright laws which limit the term of copyrights to sixty years after the death of the copyright owner n his recent blog post. He was anguished by the fact that his rights over his father and poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s work will expire in 2063. “…His Writings be mine. I shall not and will not allow its dilution to the general public. It is my copyright… How can individual property become public property?”- wrote Mr. Bachchan in his blog post
NO COPYRIGHT IN FILM TITLE ORDERS MADRAS HIGH COURT
Recently, the Division Bench of the Madras High Court held that there cannot be any copyrights in the title of a cinematographic film. The Division Bench passed its Order on an appeal filed by Lyca Productions against a Single Bench Order which restrained it from using the term KARU as part of its film title LYCAVIN KARU. The Bench after hearing the Parties found that there is no originality in the adoption of the title KARU, which is a common Tamil word “foetus” and figuratively “concept” and/or “theme”. Further, the court found that the Tamil Film Producer Council or Film and Producers Guild, with whom the respondent (Plaintiff in original suit) registered the film title are not registered copyright societies and thus, incompetent to administer any right in films including titles. Therefore, the Division Bench set aside the order of the Single Bench and allowed the release of Appellant’s Film with the title LYCAVIN KARU.
COUNTERFEIT MARKET IN INDIA WORTH OVER 40,000 CRORES
A report released by Authentication Solutions Providers Association states that the market for counterfeit products in India has grown steadily and reached over Rupees 40,000 crores. The report was released as part of the Two Day International Leadership Summit on Anti-Counterfeiting and Brand Protection organized by the Association.
INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT AND ENTERTAINMENT LAW UPDATES
MILEY CYRUS’S SONG “WE CAN’T STOP” IN COPYRIGHT TROUBLE
Recently, Jamaican songwriter Michael May filed a copyright infringement suit before the Southern District Court of New York, alleging that lyrics of Miley Cyrus 2013 single We Can’t Stop is copied from his 1988 hit song We Run Things. According to the complaint, We Run Things includes the lyrical phrase, “We run things. Things no run we.” The complaint explains that this phrase is not grammatically correct owing to the influence of Jamaican language which, when translated into English, results in grammar errors. The complaint alleges that at three times during We Can’t Stop, Cyrus repeats the phrase, “We run things. Things don’t run we.”
US CUSTOMS SEIZED 34,000 PLUS SHIPMENTS IN 2017
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported that it, along with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), had seized a record number of 34,143 shipments containing counterfeit products in 2017. This figure is as high as 8% when compared with 2016’s numbers.
LICENSING AND MERCHANDISING NEWS
NOVEX TIED UP WITH TIPS
Novex Communication on 19th March announced its alliance with the music industry giant Tips Industries Limited for Tips’ sound recording rights. Novex in its press release claimed that the assignment agreement executed with Tips grants it exclusive rights for all On-Ground performances of Tips’ songs from 1st April.
COPYRIGHT TIP OF THE WEEK
COPYRIGHT TERM
The term of copyright for literary dramatic, artistic and musical work is the life of author plus 60 years and for cinematographic films and sound recordings is 60 years from the year of publication. Owner of copyright must do everything possible to commercially benefit from her copyrights within the said period. It may, however, be noted that moral rights of the author subsits though the copyright term may expire. Among others, moral rights include the right to paternity and the right against mutilation or distortion or destruction of a work.
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 merchandise 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.
