The copyright laws governing the media and entertainment industry in India are primarily governed by the Copyright Act, 1957, which was last amended in 2012. The act provides for the protection of various types of works, including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and cinematographic works, as well as sound recordings and broadcasts. The key provisions of the Copyright Act that are relevant to the media and entertainment industry in India are: Copyright protection: The act provides for the exclusive rights of the copyright owner to reproduce, distribute, and communicate their work to the public. Copyright protection lasts for the lifetime of the creator plus 60 years after their death. Fair use: The act provides for the fair use of copyrighted works for purposes such as criticism, review, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research. The fair use of a copyrighted work does not infringe on the copyright owner's exclusive rights. Performer's rights: The act provides for the rights of performers, including the right to prevent unauthorized recording or broadcasting of their performances. Digital rights management: The act provides for digital rights management (DRM) technologies to protect copyrighted works in digital formats from unauthorized copying, distribution, and use. Copyright infringement: The act provides for civil and criminal remedies for copyright infringement, including injunctions, damages, and imprisonment. The Copyright Act is enforced by the Copyright Office, which is responsible for the registration of copyright works, and the Copyright Board, which is responsible for adjudicating disputes related to copyright. In addition, various industry bodies, such as the Indian Music Industry (IMI) and the Indian Performing Right Society (IPRS), work to protect the copyright interests of their members in the media and entertainment industry in India.

Dear client, Media and Entertainment industry includes various vast segments involving television, films as well minuscule segments comprising of radio, music, internet advertising and is gaining plenty significance in India. Online entertainment is one enormous thing for broadcasters. The future of Media and Entertainment industry depends largely on the growth of Indian Economy. Being an industry synonymous to creativity and innovation, the bar of business excellence is high. Indian television industry is the most consistently performing sector of M&E industry which is 4 times the size of Indian Film industry. With the increase of smart phones, consumers would become habituated to espy content beyond television screen, socializing digital dedicated content and innovative monetisation models. The M&E industry in India is plausible to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 14.3% to touch Rs. 2.26 trillion by the year 2020. Entertainment Law or Media Law is the legal amenity of M&E industry which faces challenges of Corporate, Finance, Intellectual Property, Publicity and Privacy though its practice includes employment law, labour law, contract law, security law, right of privacy, international law, insurance law. With the escalation of various popular media, the field of Media Law has become more important. Entertainment Law fuse with the particular ground realities in Indian Media and Entertainment Industry and Live Industry issues. The strategy of law in Media and Entertainment includes handling defamation claims and reputation management, copyrights and other IP matters, endorsement and sponsorship deals, confidentiality agreements. One such area of concern in Media Law is Right to free speech & Censorship. Legal issues can arise while creation of original work of entertainment and while Licensing and Distribution stage. The most commonly discussed aspect in this regards is Freedom of Press. It is the freedom of communication and expression through mediums including various electronic media and published materials. In India Freedom of Press is substituted with Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression in the Article 19 of Indian Constitution, hence presumed that Freedom of Press includes in Article 19. The suppression of Press is one of the most sensitive issues of every democracy. Freedom of speech is an integral aspect of each individuals right to self-development. Restriction on what we are allowed to say and write or to hear and read will hamper our personality and the growth. Democracy being the most important feature of todays world, Freedom of speech should protect the right of all citizens to understand political issues so that they can participate in smooth working of democracy. In Brij Bhushan & others vs. State of Delhi, Supreme Court held that censorship imposes obvious restrictions on freedom of speech and expression. As well there are number of legal issues which arise in the Media and Entertainment industry; Indian Copyright Law “ which includes certain provisions for compulsory licensing of copyrights in respect of certain original works which are withheld from the public. It is to prevent the abuse of monopolies granted by copyrights and to create a balance between the individual rights and public interest. Trademark Protection Law This allows the originator to ˜extreme branding aimed for making the public recognize their product with the help of many factor such as sound, packaging, shape, colour or smell. Indian Patent Law This attracts various fields such as Pharmaceutical, Chemistry, Biotechnology, software, electronics, and various other managements for patent protection, enforcement, management and why it is compulsory for getting a patent. Various Acts have been enacted in India to overcome all the legal circumstances in Media and Entertainment Industry. With the object to provide regulations of the printing presses and periodical news for the preservation and registration of books, enactment of Press and Registration Books Act, 1867 was an important event in the field of Media Laws. The act contains rules for registration of books, declaration by keepers of presses and publishers of newspaper, delivery of books, penalties. Vernacular Press Act, 1878 was introduced for better control of language press with the main aim to quell Amrit Bazar Patrika considered to be bilingual under this act. Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 was introduced for which the government had exclusive privilege with respect to telegraph and to grant licence. It provides for interception of messages and takeover of licensed establishments by the Government in any public emergency or in the interest of public safety. Press Act, 1910 was a provision similar to Vernacular Press Act, 1878 who empowered the government to demand security from any newspaper. In 1914 enactment of “Defence India Act” added to restrictions imposed on press. The government publicized Indian Press Ordinance in 1930 to provide better control of press. In 1931, Indian Press (Emergency Powers) Act was passed. The interim Government appointed the Press Laws Enquiry Committee in 1947 with the reports of which the Act of 1931 was replaced by Press (Objectionable Matter) Act, 1951. Further Copyrights Act 1957, Copyrights rule 1958, were enacted to set exclusive rights granted to the author or creator of an original work. Sholay Media & Entertainment Pvt. v. Vodafone Esssar Mobile Services is a case law of Copyrights Act, 1957 where the proprietor concerned to Plaintiff 2 had transferred all the rights to plaintiff 1 and plaintiff 1 has been exploiting those rights as well defendant 1 & 2, cellular service provider were also offering various value added services to subscribers, hence exploiting the copyrights. Cinematograph Act 1952 was passed to make provisions for certification of cinematographed film which examine every film and sanction it for unrestricted or restricted only for adults. “Foreign relations Act, 1932 was passed to maintain friendly relations between the governments of certain foreign states. Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, has given approval for entering into an Audio-Visual Co-Production Agreement between India and the Republic of Korea and to complete internal ratification procedure. Cooperation between the film industries of the two countries will not only promote export of Indian films but would also act as a catalyst towards creating awareness about India and its culture. Right to Information Act, 2005 has been implemented which extended freedom of media in India. For the regulation of the prices charged for newspaper in relation to their pages and of matters connected therewith.The Newspaper (Price and Page) Act, 1956 was enacted. The Press Council Act, 1978 was enacted to establish a Press council for preserving the freedom of the Press & maintaining the standards of newspaper and news agencies in India. “The Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 was enacted for regulating the operations of cable television networks so as to bring uniformity in their operations, avoid undesirable programmes from being made available to the viewers. Indian media and entertainment industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world with largest output by media. The media world has expanded its dimensions by encircling within its orbit. Media and Entertainment Industry is one of the most highly fragmented and highly diversified industries. Increasing investment in film production, encouraging regulatory environment, reducing shelf life of movies making multiplex are some of the growth drivers of Media and Entertainment industry. As technology progressively facilitates content and entertainment to reach India large population, the role of Media and Entertainment Industry in India expansion fantasy cannot curtail. Hence in order to maintain peace in M&E industry i.e. to avoid violations of Intellectual Properties, Copyrights, Freedom of Speech and Expression etc various Acts have been enacted in the industry. Should you have any queries, please feel free to contact us!