This document summarizes a presentation on copyright in India. It discusses the history and evolution of copyright law in England, the US, and India. The key points of the Indian Copyright Act of 1957 are outlined, including rights over literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works. The presentation also uses a case study of T-Series and the Indian music industry to illustrate the problem of music piracy in India during the late 20th century. It describes how T-Series was initially involved in illegal copying but later transitioned to producing legal "cover versions" of popular songs.

1. Seminar
Presentation on
Copyright in India
Presented By:
Himanshu Kansara
B.Tech (Final Year)
CSE

2. Structure of the Presentation
Two parts
(1) Copyright in India
(2) Case Study: T-Series and Music Piracy

3. What is Copyright?
“The exclusive right given by law for a certain term of years
to an author, composer etc. (or his assignee) to print, publish
and sell copies of his original work”
Copyright is a right given by the law to creators of literary,
dramatic, musical and artistic works and producers of
cinematograph films and sound recordings.
In fact, it is a bundle of rights including, inter alia, rights of
reproduction, communication to the public, adaptation and
translation of the work.

4. England & Wales
Indian copyright law similar to
England & Wales. First Copyright
Act in England (and the world).
1710 → “Queen Anne’s Statute”

5. United States
First Act in 1790: did not protect foreign
authors.
Indigenous American literature suffered.
Today: Copyright Act 1976 one of the
major copyright laws in the world .

6. Copyright in India
First Act in 1914, followed by the
Copyright Act 1957.
1957 Act: adopted many English
provisions, introduced new ideas
and concepts.

7. Copyright Act 1957 – Main Features
Valid from 21 January 1958.
Created Copyright Office and Copyright Board.
Introduced civil and criminal remedies against infringement.

8. Copyright Act 1957 – Main Features (II)
Performing rights societies’ rights (for instance, music
royalties).
Definition of categories in which copyright actually subsists.
International copyright
Definition of infringement

9. Copyright (Amendment) Act 1983 and
1984
Objectives
Berne and Universal Copyright Conventions  grant of
compulsory licenses by developing
countries, publication by
deceased authors.
1984 Act: discouraging and
preventing widespread video piracy.

10. Copyright (Amendment) Act 1992
Defined ambit of the Copyright Board’s powers
Introducing special rights
for performers
Assignment and licences of
copyright
Rights of copyright owners

11. The Nature of Copyright
Statute-based, no registration necessary
Copyright = intellectual property
Combines different rights (literary works: the right to
reproduce in hardback and paperback editions, the right of
translation adaptation)

12. Labour, Skill and Capital
“It is the product of the labour, skill and capital of one man
which must not be appropriated by another.” (- per Lord
Atkinson, Macmillan v Cooper AIR 1924 PC 75)

13. What Copyright Protects
Original Literary, Dramatic, Musical and Artistic Works
Cinematograph Films
Sound Recordings

14. Literary Works
Novels, poems, short stories
Books on any subject
Computer programmes, tables, computer databases
Song lyrics

15. Computer Software
Includes
Programme Manuals
Punched Cards
Magnetic Tapes/Discs
Computer printouts
Computer programmes

16. Case Study
On
T-SERIES AND MUSIC PIRACY

17. Music Piracy
The term piracy is generally used to describe the deliberate
infringement of copyright on a commercial scale. It is illegal
and criminal in nature. Music piracy basically refers to three
kinds of activities:
Counterfeiting
Pirate Recording
Bootlegging

18. Facts of Music Piracy
According to the International Federation of the Phonographic
Industry (IFPI), that identifies and attempts to solve problems of
piracy, sales of pirate recordings were $ 2.1 billion in 1995. This
represented unauthorized sales of 954 million music cassettes, 84 million
CDs and 4 million LPs - indicating that one in every five recordings
sold worldwide was a pirated copy.
India was the world's third largest pirate market in volume and sixth in
value. The Indian music industry lost millions of rupees each year to the
pirates. Piracy levels were as high as 90 % in the early 1980s, coming
down to 65% in the 1990s and to 40% in 2000.

19. T-Series
In 1970’s - the Indian music industry was dominated by
Gramophone Company of India (GCI) and Polydor (later
named Music India Ltd.- MIL).
Late 1970s - cassette players flooded the country
In 1978 - with the Indian government liberalizing the import
and export trade, new kinds of luxury consumer goods
appeared in the market.
Cassette players (and consequently, cassettes) were one such
new item that quickly became popular in the country.

20. Copyright Violations
Cassettes were incredibly cheap to produce and reproduce and
could be easily distributed and transported.
A large number of outfits began setting up illegal copying
operations.
Most copyright violators chose old Hindi film songs from the
GCI catalogue.
The bootleggers paid no royalties and no excise
A major part of this piracy industry was reportedly owned
and operated by T-Series.

21. Cover Versions
Cover versions were albums that used the musical
compositions as well as the lyrics of original well-known
Hindi film soundtracks.
Cover versions were considered to be legal as long as the
makers had acquired permission from the original music
companies.
The Supreme Court had passed a directive that cover versions
done after a period of three years from the release of the
original music score were legal.

22. T-Series & Cover Versions
Initially, Gulshan's cover versions featured only old Hindi
film songs.
Gulshan was able to make good margins on the overall deal.
Soon, he began making cover versions of new movies as well.
A cover version of what was reportedly one of India's biggest
blockbuster movie, 'Hum Aapke Hain Kaun' in 1997

23. Conflict
'Hum Aapke Hain Kaun' case went to the courts, Gulshan
was murdered.
With Gulshan's death began a period of uncertainty for the
T-Series group.
The music company was not doing very well as Gulshan had
stopped buying music rights from outside7 and the T-Series'
films had failed.

24. Court Order
The High Court order said that the
makers of version recordings relied
upon a special provision of the Indian
Copyright Act.
Taking advantage of this provision,
the pirates claimed that copyright owners
of the compositions and lyrics were
only entitled to a statutory license fee.

25. Conclusion
The Court held that under the Copyright Act, assignments
and licenses could only be made in writing.
They had to be signed by the assignor/licensee.
The Delhi High Court held that there was no provision for
such automatic licensing and the sound recordings could be
made by third parties only after they had obtained permission
from the copyright owners.

26. References
www.ircc.iitb.ac.in/.../Indian%20Copyright%20Act%20195
7.html
www.indiaip.com/india/copyrights/acts/act1957/act1957.ht
ml
www.icmrindia.org/free%20resources/casestudies/t-series-
3.htm
www.wipo.int/edocs/...ge.../wipo_smes_ge_10_ref_topic09
_1.pdf
www.legalindia.in/study-on-copyright-piracy-in-india

28. QUERIES