COPYRIGHT CASES IN INDIA: THEN & NOW

ABSTRACT-

Most of the Indian laws are framed during the British regime itself due to which most of them have the impact of their culture in them. Yes, we have done amendments in our laws after independence as per the requirements and the processes are also changed.

First Copyright Act of India was enacted in the year 1847 by the East India Company. The Act of 1914 is regarded as the first modern law regulating copyright cases. Presently, The Copyright Act, 1957 (along with the Copyright Rules of 1958) governs all the copyright rights and infringement cases in India.

Majorly the appellants demand permanent injunction for getting protection from the infringement because it restricts the respondent completely from using their copyrights.

Various cases have been filed regarding copyright infringement showing differences along with time and some of them are studied here.

INTRODUCTION-

The Copyright Act has given protection to many of those entrepreneurs who have been working with their hard core to be successful. If their registered work is copied then this act provides them what they actually deserve.

In India, the punishment for copyright infringement at present is imprisonment for 6 months along with the minimum fine of 50,000/- rupees. While a second conviction may result in minimum imprisonment of 1 year and fine of rupees 1,00,000/-.

Many cases are filed and disseminated in a year but many are there who are not aware about what rights they possess which becomes a hindrance for them from acquiring rights. The ones whose cases are delayed due to lack of judicial activeness and unavailability of slots. High profile cases are solved on priority basis and the ones who are struggling for each work of them are neglected the most.

The trend of digital piracy is on an increase these days due to increment in dependence on the internet and the era is itself becoming digital.

R. G. ANAND V. DELUX FILMS AND ORS.

Facts- A play named ‘Hum Hindustani’ was written and produced by the appellant, R. G. Anand (architect by profession but also a dramatist, producer and playwright as well) in the year 1953. That play gained massive popularity during that time. Due to this success, both the respondents got to meet the appellant.

During the meet, appellant and respondents discussed the entire play and the whole story was narrated. Appellant was planning to film the play in January, 1955 but there was no further communication regarding that between them.

In May 1955, respondents began to film it by the name of ‘New Delhi’ and guaranteed to the appellant that the movie isn’t based on his play. When it was released in September 1956, the appellant came to the conclusion that the whole storyline was based on his play’s script.

Judgment- Appellant filed copyright infringement of ‘Hum Hindustani’ case against respondents. The Trial Court and High Court gave the decision in favor of respondents. An appeal was also filed by the appellant under Article 136 of Indian Constitution in the Supreme Court which was also dismissed.

PEPSICO. V. HINDUSTAN COCA COLA

Facts- These two companies are competition for each other since time immemorial. Coca Cola disparaged products by the name ‘Pepsi Cola’ and substantial portion of commercial of appellant was copied and amounted to infringement. (Landmark Cases-Copyright-EBTC, n.d.)
Judgment- Court restricted respondent from showing commercials in present form. Contention of coca cola was rejected and their actions were regarded as infringement of the appellants’ copyright.

SPARTAN ENGINEERING INDUSTRIES V. DASSAULT SYSTEM

Facts- This is the software copyright case of Delhi High Court. Dassault discovered in May, 2018 that the defendant was using its illegal modifications of Solidworks software and it filed a lawsuit against Spartan Engineering in Delhi High court.

NOTE- Dassault Systems is a French corporation and its copyright is protected in India through Copyright Act, 1957.

Judgment- The interim order by the court was in favor of Dassault which prohibited and restricted Spartan Industries from using, creating or distributing any of Dassault's copyrighted works unauthentically.

Later a complete injunction was imposed and the defendants were asked to comply with it. The matter is transferred to a different judge in Delhi High Court and the final judgment is awaited.

This is one of the cases of digital piracy cases which are on an increase from a decade and majorly during to COVID times. It has become the need of the hour for the company owners to have a fair knowledge about Copyright Laws which would be really helpful for them to get and claim protection.

CONCLUSION-

From the enactment and enforcement of the Copyright Act, various types of cases are also emerging. Once the rights start getting enforced systematically, the infringers find out new ways of demeaning them.

But the laws also get amended from time to time as per the requirements and market trends. This digital era requires law to be more stringent for those who work in that field. They need to be made aware about their own protection and laws are to be modified accordingly so that everyone can have rights.

Initially the types of cases were completely different and there were few remedies available but along with time every country and place is adopting new and amended laws according to international treaties.

The whole world is now becoming a single entity and laws are to be made specifically fulfilling that requirement. Several organizations and accords are working in this way too.