Safeguard Your Content: Increasing Importance Of Copyright Laws In Media And Entertainment

Souvik Paul Mazumdar February 24, 2022

Protection is a strong word, thrown around very lightly unless one feels unprotected. We human beings seek protection from things, that we feel can have a negative impact on us. Doctors will protect us from health issues, lawyers from legal issues and to the extent many believe the Omnipresent will protect us from every issue. Such is the belief and the requirement of mankind. With the rapid change in the current global trend, the advent of new technology and verticals at a Godspeed time, it is imperative that people are aware of various modes of protection and the importance of the same. As often said “Ignorance of the law, is no excuse”, it is very important for a person to know the specific legality, pertaining to each sector of the business vertical. Similarly, it is very important to understand the increasing importance of copyright laws in the sector of media and entertainment. The Media and Entertainment Industry in India is growing at a rapid speed. The M&E sector in India will reach its new high in the coming years. Bollywood along with the South Indian Film Industry and other Regional Film Industry is one of the biggest Film Industries in the world and is worth billions. With the advent of the OTT era, it has leapt to new unprecedented heights. Access to content is now at the fingertips and on devices such as mobile, tablets and laptops. With the enhancement of new technology and ease of accessibility, the risk of piracy and infringement of a content/original work is also very high and can result in a huge loss to the original creator. Considering the same, it is imperative to protect the copyright of original work and save it from getting infringed illegally. In today’s world, we have so many modes and mediums to commercialise content. It can be theatres, cinema, DTH, OTT, Digital Media, Social Media and so on and forth. The options are plenty, the forum and viewership also have multiplied due to the easy access of all platforms from anywhere in the world, if you have internet connectivity, which also is very easily accessible. People create any content with a lot of effort, passion, observation and thought process. A lot of ideas, thinking, time and effort is consumed behind creating any original work and each is unique in its way. The copyright laws of India under the purview and ambit of the Copyright Act, 1957 as amended, along with the Copyright Amendment Act, 2012, provide legal protection to the creator of any content/original work in the form of literary, artistic, or musical work. Any new and unique creation of content/original work in the media and entertainment sector, whether be it a story, script, lyrics, musical composition, the concept can be protected from being illegally copied and infringed under the provisions of the copyright laws of India. An original work carries the potential of being commercially monetised in many different platforms and mediums, it carries the potential to be licensed, to be assigned, to be dubbed, remade and so on and so forth. To ensure that the creator does not lose out on these varied possible options and opportunities and can exploit, extract, and use his/her original created work in the best possible manner, it is imperative that such original work is duly copyright protected. Agreements entered between various parties in the business of media and entertainment emphasises specifically on originality of any work/content and its due copyright protection, thus ensuring a higher value attributed to such original work. The protection under the copyright legislation in India extends for 60 years posthumously, i.e registered copyright of any original work, which will be valid for 60 years, after the death of the creator of such work. Considering the current growth of the media and entertainment industry, the innovation and the advent of new technology, platform, forums, mediums, and the different genres of original work that are been created, more emphasis must be given to protecting such original work under the copyright laws and to ensure that they are not misused. By – Souvik Paul Mazumdar Partner – ALMT Legal

Souvik Paul Mazumdar

Partner

ALMT Legal

Media & Entertainment Committee

Bengaluru Chapter

Souvik Paul Mazumdar joined ALMT Legal in the year 2005 after completing his graduation. His corporate practice includes advising and assisting corporates and promoters in private equity investments, mergers and acquisitions, cross border corporate structuring, capital market transaction, employment laws, media and entertainment and sports laws. Souvik has been closely associated with various sports management and celebrity management companies as a legal advisor.

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Safeguard Your Content: Increasing Importance Of Copyright Laws In Media And Entertainment

Souvik Paul Mazumdar

Partner

Media & Entertainment Committee

Bengaluru Chapter

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