Media and Entertainment

Empowering, not shielding our kids online

Summary: Countries globally are actively developing strategies to deal with the challenges presented by social media, especially in the context of children. Australia, and more recently the UK, are banning social media for children below a certain age. India is also toying with the idea of a ban v/s a limited ban or restriction to make the online space safer for youngsters. This article focusses on the viability of a ban and offers recommendations for future action.

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CCPA schools coaching centres on misleading advertisements

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (“CCPA”) has issued Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisement in Coaching Sector, 2024 (“Guidelines”)[1] on November 13, 2024. The Guidelines are introduced to address the issue of misleading advertisements, including deliberate concealment of important information and false guarantees, i.e., practices plaguing the coaching industry.

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The immunity granted under Section 79(1) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (“the Act”) to intermediaries, commonly referred to a ‘safe harbour provision’, is not absolute.  Non-compliance with an order under Section 69A is one such instance when the immunity erodes[1].

Section 69A empowers the government to issue directions to government agencies or intermediaries to block public access to any information generated, transmitted, received, stored or hosted in any computer resource, if it falls under any of the grounds of concern mentioned in Section 69A itself (discussed below in detail).

Continue Reading The Twitter Verdict: Examining The Efficacy Of Section 69a In The Background Of Karnataka High Court’s Latest Decision
OTT Platforms

Over-the-Top curated content platforms (OTT/OTT platforms) have found their niche in India. From international platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney-Hotstar to home-grown streaming platforms like JioCinema, ZEE5, Voot, SonyLiv, Aha and ShemarooMe, India is a key market for one and all.

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Whats in a name - Film movie title protection

1. Introduction

Films are an integral part of our daily lives whether it be belting out filmy dialogues or watching films to de-stress and relax. While it is commonly understood that the dialogues, script, music and lyrics forming part of the film are subject matter of copyright protection, the nitty-gritty in relation to intellectual property rights protection of film titles is less discussed. Considering that fact that it is the title of the film that at the first instance catches the attention of the general public, the law governing the protection and enforcement of film titles becomes relevant. In this blog, we have analysed the protection available to film titles under the Indian copyright and trademark regime. 
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GOI Notification of 12th November on Digital Media - The Beginning of the Regulatory Journey for the Digital Space?

On November 09, 2020, the President of India issued a notification under Article 77(3) of the Constitution amending the Govt of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961, according to which the Information & Broadcasting  Ministry (“I&B Ministry”) will now have the power to regulate and formulate policies, issue orders, instructions, notifications etc., pertaining to online news portals and content on Over the Top (“OTT”) platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hotstar and many more (“Notification”).
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COVID-19 at the movies

The year 2019 had been a groundbreaking year for the Indian film industry, which saw some of its best box office performances in the past decade. As content took center stage, many films of various budgets witnessed success at the box-office. However, the year 2020 seems to be a completely different story.

The outbreak of COVID-19 in December 2019 has left the global economy in a state of mayhem. While, the true impact of COVID-19 was not truly experienced in India until early March, the country knew it was a matter of ‘when,’ and not ‘if’. By March 15, 2020 we saw the Central and State Governments introducing policies to limit social interaction, ordering shut down of establishments and taking precautionary measure to implement ‘social distancing’. The limitation on movement and a fear of contracting COVID-19 steered a large number of people away from cinema halls and into their homes, impacting the movie business within India and around the world.
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Challenges and Opportunities in the Indian Media and Entertainment Industry - Film Industry

The media and entertainment industry in India enjoyed a stellar performance in 2018, with the film segment expanding by 12.2% to reach an annual revenue of INR 174.5 billion. Of this amount, the domestic film revenues crossed INR 100 billion with Net Box Office Collections for Hindi films at INR 32.5 billion – the highest ever.

The number of Hollywood films released in India fell from 105 in 2017 to 98 in 2018. Hollywood films (consolidated with Indian language dubbed versions) reached Net Box Office Collections of INR 9.21 billion. Thirteen Hindi films reached the INR 100 crore mark in 2018, the highest number the industry has ever seen. Multiplexes added to the total screen count to reach 9,601; however, the number of single screens declined.[1]
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