IP CHALLENGES FOR THEATRES AND PERFORMING ART PROGRAMS

Theatre and performing arts companies require assuring that they secured intellectual property rights from performers that do videocassette or tape recording and transmission of the performance and performers need to assure that they get appropriate compensation for those kinds of rights. Licensing deals with cinemas and their provider need to handle it with care, especially when they deal with many legal jurisdictions.

What is Intellectual Property?

Intellectual Property is a property right which is referred to formation of the brain like Music, Art, Creation, Words and Signs, blueprint and shows. All this formation is safeguarded by laws on copyright, patents, trademarks, designs, unfair competition etc.

Intellectual property rights permit makers to enjoy from their own formations. Intellectual property rights award artistic and human attempt which boost technological invention and different inventiveness for the use and enjoyment of all human beings.

Generally Intellectual property rights are given in the national legislation of every country. Many times it is subject to exceptions and a most intellectual property right expires following a definite time period.

For example - Like a shop owner has all the right over his property (he might sell his shop, lend his shop, give his shop for rent or use it for his own purpose) in the same way a creator has rights over his creation (he can use it in any way like he can upload it online, he can make copies, etc.)

Issues of Intellectual property –

Theatre and performing arts companies require assuring that they secured intellectual property rights from performers that do videocassette or tape recording and transmission of the performance and performers need to assure that they get appropriate compensation for those kinds of rights.

Licensing deals with cinemas and their provider need to handle it with care, especially when they deal with many legal jurisdictions.

What are the Performing Arts?

According to UNESCO-

The performing arts have scope from vocal and instrumental music, dance and theatre to any of various dramatic performances in which a story is by expressive bodily, etc. It is made up of many ethnic expressions that reflect person’s creativity and uniqueness and that are also established to a certain extent, in many other intangible cultural heritage domains.

Performing arts are not similar to movies, television and the recording industry; it is basically performed in front of a live viewer. Generally it is more like the entertainment industry, and the lawful issues do appear on the way.

What Rights does Copyright Provide?

Creators have got many rights under copyright law. If anyone’s work is secured, then no one can copy, give out, carry out, publish or share it in public, disclose it to public, or upload it online or transmit it on television or radio without the correct owner’s permission. Only the owner can carry out or do such things.

Artists, creators and performers get income from their works and shows. They give permission to others to make some utilize of their works. Copyright can be monetizing by Creators and artists through contracts, namely licenses and assignments.

In some particular cases said by national legislation that remuneration rights can be enjoyed by the creators according to which when they get a compensation for utilizing of their work, such kind of use is not subject to their prior authorization. In simple word we can say that they cannot stop the use of their work by any third person, but they will get money for that use in return.

The issue which got noticed and later got addressed –

The shifts in the social and financial point of performers are being observed in changes to their lawful rights and so, the lawful protection provided to the performers against unofficial exploitation of their performances.

The request for performer’s rights became greatly noticeable when the technological method to fix the performances appeared. When it became possible to take advantage of performances by means of phonogram and cinematographic film, the financial dispute in favour of the author’s rights became uniformly applicable to the performers rights.

In the year 2012 the idea of performer’s rights was introduced by amendment in the Copyright Act under section 38. This section gave exclusive right or power to the performer for performing any act in respect of the performance without prejudice to the rights conferred on its authors. In this way it got resolved the difficulty of paying of the royalties to the performers.

To be eligible for the copyright protection, the work need to be unique and original and it should be in fixed or permanent form. If anyone has used his own skill, labour, judgement and effort to create it is said to be original and unique.

Legal provision under Copyright Act -

The Copyright Act gives right under section 38 to performers like artist, actor, actress; acrobats etc. which resulted in the formation of the Performing Rights Society (PRS) which gives guarantee that after registering with or under acknowledged and lawful copyright registration societies, their rights will be safeguarded and be sufficiently paid.

The performance of causal and incidental in nature was not to be recognised once clause (b) of Section 38b will be placed.

Fair handing and applicability of some other provision’s comes under section 39 and 39A within the Copyright Act, 1957 and are generally applicable to performers and transmitting organizations. According to Section 38B, performers in feature films, regardless of whether credited and granted the rights, the performer’s moral rights are being protected.

Additionally, section 2(f) was amended which covers both works and performances within its scope. This says communication to the common citizen means any work or performance acquirable for being seen or heard or otherwise utilized by the common citizen directly or by any other means of display or diffusion aside from by supplying materially copies of it, whether at the same time or at location and times are selected individually, no matter either any member of the common citizen genuinely sees, hears or otherwise utilize the work or performance so made accessible.

Now the definition clearly states that it doesn’t even matter whether the communication is at the same time or at location and times selected individually. As a result, it seems to include multicasting, narrowcasting and unicasting. Under the Copyright Act, 1957, chapter VIII deals with the rights of transmitting, organizations and of performers.

Conclusion –

Many things have been done and still, many things are needed to be done to restrain the challenges of the theatre and the performing art industry. But, in the year 2012 the amended law has highly addressed the difficulties and concerns of this theatre and performing art industry which is in line with the worldwide treaties. The broad public attention is required for the prevailing of the laws and rights of the performers, this is all we need right now.

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