India’s Copyright Laws Need a Digital Reboot

By Sivakami Prasanna,

(Image source:vakilno1.com)

Copyright laws are guardians of our innovation and creativity. These laws protect an author’s ownership and distribution over original expressive work. With the spread of the Internet, copyright laws all over the globe have become inadequate and irrelevant. Be it literary work, sound recordings, films, anything and everything can now be digitised. The Internet has made the reproduction of these works easy and cost-effective. The prominent copyright issues in the digital era can be classified as

1. Issues relating to computer programs, database and multimedia works.
2. Issues relating to the communication, distribution and reproduction of the work to the public through digital media.
3. Issues relating to the administration and management of copyright in the digital space. 

The Copyright Act of 1957 governs the copyright laws in India. All artists, authors and owners of creative work have the right to communicate, translate, adapt and reproduce their work. This enables them to make income from their own talent. The law was amended six times to meet the national and international requirements. In the amendment of 2012, two international treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) were also adapted to India’s copyright laws. WIPO copyright treaty recognised computer programs and databases as literary works, while WIPO performance and phonograms treaty contained the rights of performers and producers of phonograms. The Indian government amended several laws within the copyright act to make the protection and administration easier in a digital environment. Author-friendly amendments, amendments facilitating access to works, strengthening laws on Internet piracy were some of the prominent changes. Reforms were introduced for the copyright office as well.

However, a recent case highlights the inadequacy of India’s copyright laws. Spotify, the Swedish music giant was all set for its launch in India when it ran into problems with Warner Music Group, one of the former investors. Spotify revoked a very controversial amendment in the Copyright Act, Section 31 D to gain access to the content that is controlled by Warner Music. The statutory licencing provision under Section 31 D gives broadcasters the right to access content without the consent from the copyright owners as long as they inform the copyright owners in advance and pay them a royalty. The 2008 Supreme Court judgment firmly established that non-voluntary licences can be availed by private and public entities to increase consumer access. This excludes the economic rights of the copyright holder. The proliferation of digital technology urges us to shape the contours of copyright law along with it. The dispute indicates the gap in India’s intellectual property regime.

India’s inadequate copyright laws need to be reshaped. Technology should be used to tackle the problems created by technology. Digital Rights Management (DRM) is a systematic approach to copyright protection for digital media. It can be developed for the control of manipulation, modification and duplication of the work. The following are the most prominent ones

1. Access control software enables the creator to keep a check on the free and illegal exploitation of the works. These works can be accessed only if they are paid for it.
2. Copy control further stops the public from making reproductions of the work once they have a copy.
3. Encryption schemes protect the work by encryption of the content. Decryption will be allowed only if payment is made for the content.
4. Digital watermarking, the act of hiding a message related to a digital signal with the signal itself helps in broadcast monitoring and owner identification.

Restrictive licencing agreements are imposed on consumers as a condition. More DRM platforms have to be developed that can provide a unified control over the content. Efforts have also been made to digitise and revamp the existing procedures of the copyright office. To ensure transparency, the copyright office now publishes the applications filed for registration of copyright on its website. Prima facie records and the extracts of the register of copyright are now forwarded to the registered users through Email and post. All applications are now processed online and the discrepancies are communicated to the applicants. The ever-changing scenario of digital technology brings with it a set of new challenges. These challenges have to be effectively recognised and resolved.

(Sivakami Prasanna is a Research Intern at Centre for Public Policy Research. Views expressed by the author are personal and need not reflect or represent the views of Centre for Public Policy Research)