copyright protection

The digital age has revolutionized news consumption and public discourse, with online platforms becoming hubs for critiquing current events and sharing diverse perspectives, often by using short excerpts (“clips”) from existing news broadcasts and other copyrighted material. This practice, while fostering a dynamic information ecosystem, lies at the intersection of copyright protection and freedom of expression. A recent dispute between a major news agency and online commentators has brought India’s “fair dealing” doctrine to the forefront, questioning its application in the digital realm. This article examines fair dealing under Indian copyright law, focusing on short clips in news reporting and online commentary, supported by judicial precedents, and offers suggestions for navigating copyright issues.Continue Reading Fair Dealing in the Digital Age: Navigating Copyright for News and Online Content in India

         

  

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) can generate and manipulate our ideas and thinking by creating human-like content via non-human intelligence.[1] These software(s) such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT/ GPT-4, Google’s BARD, inter alia, are initially trained on a large data sets and computing power. After the training, they are capable of self-enhancement to generate unique and personalised content.[2] This has posed novel questions before the copyright experts, as content generation, previously reliant on human inputs, has moved beyond that realm. Now, instead of answers based on user queries – as obtained via Google’s search engine – customized personal content is delivered to the user. Creation of this new content through GenAI has led to concerns on copyright infringement, privacy violation, libel and defamation, etc. Copyright infringement is particularly worrisome as the companies are using the user-generated data to train these software(s), which includes the data generated by minors, amplifying their vulnerability. Questions arise regarding the extent to which the companies can claim ‘fair-use’ exception of the Copyright Act? This article attempts to bring some clarity over these issues. It incorporates two landmark US cases against OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Alphabet Inc., respectively[3], and their implications in India, including the India’s recently-passed Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.Continue Reading Guardians of Genius: Securing Tomorrow’s Generative AI via Copyright Protection

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. 
Continue Reading What’s in a Name?