Copyright Law

Copyright in E-Learning, MOOCs and Online Education Content in India

The digital transformation of education represents one of the most significant shifts in the organization of knowledge transmission that human society has undergone since the invention of the printing press. Massive Open Online Courses MOOCs delivered through platforms like Coursera, edX, NPTEL, Swayam and their many competitors, have made it possible for a student in

Copyright in E-Learning, MOOCs and Online Education Content in India Read More »

Indian Performing Right Society Ltd. v. Eastern India Motion Pictures Association & Ors.

Supreme Court of India | Decided: 14 March 1977 Civil Appeal No. 967 of 1974 Bench: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Jaswant Singh & Hon’ble Mr. Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer Citation: AIR 1977 SC 1443 | (1977) 2 SCC 820 | [1977] 3 SCR 206 Background The Indian Performing Right Society Limited, universally known in the Indian

Indian Performing Right Society Ltd. v. Eastern India Motion Pictures Association & Ors. Read More »

AI-Assisted vs. Fully AI-Generated Works – Where Indian Copyright Law Draws the Line

The emergence of generative artificial intelligence as a practical tool for creative production has forced copyright law to confront a question it was never designed to answer: at what point does a work cease to be the product of human creative expression and become the output of a machine? This question matters enormously, for the

AI-Assisted vs. Fully AI-Generated Works – Where Indian Copyright Law Draws the Line Read More »

Copyright Protection for Video Game Characters and Fictional Personas in India

Few questions in intellectual property law generate as much commercial consequence and as little settled doctrine as the protection of fictional characters. A memorable character the hero of a beloved video game franchise, the protagonist of a globally distributed film series, the mascot of a decades-old animated property may be worth billions of dollars in

Copyright Protection for Video Game Characters and Fictional Personas in India Read More »

AI-Generated Content and Copyright in India – Who Is the Author?

A poem written by ChatGPT. A painting produced by Midjourney from a two-line prompt. A news article drafted by a large language model trained on millions of copyrighted sources. A film score composed entirely by an algorithmic system without a human composer touching an instrument. These are not hypothetical scenarios from a speculative future; they

AI-Generated Content and Copyright in India – Who Is the Author? Read More »

Copyright in Traditional and Folk Art Forms Under Indian Law

India carries within its borders one of the most extraordinary concentrations of living folk and traditional artistic heritage on earth. Madhubani painting from Bihar, Warli art from Maharashtra’s tribal communities, Pattachitra scroll painting from Odisha, Baul music from the rural riverbanks of Bengal and Bangladesh, Gond art from Madhya Pradesh, Bharatanatyam and Kuchipuri and Odissi

Copyright in Traditional and Folk Art Forms Under Indian Law Read More »

Syndicate of the Press of the University of Cambridge v. B.D. Bhandari & Anr.

(RFA (OS) No. 21 of 2009) with The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Oxford v. Narendra Publishing House & Ors. (FAO (OS) No. 458 of 2008) High Court of Delhi at New Delhi | Decided: 3 August 2011 Bench: Hon’ble Mr. Justice A.K. Sikri & Hon’ble Mr. Justice Suresh Kait Reportable Background

Syndicate of the Press of the University of Cambridge v. B.D. Bhandari & Anr. Read More »

Krishika Lulla & Ors. v. Shyam Vithalrao Devkatta & Anr.

Supreme Court of India | Decided: 15 October 2015 Criminal Appeal No. 258 of 2013 with Criminal Appeal No. 259 of 2013 Bench: Hon’ble Mr. Justice S.A. Bobde & Hon’ble Mr. Justice Madan B. Lokur Reportable Background The respondent No. 1, Shyam Vithalrao Devkatta, claimed copyright in a synopsis of a story he had written

Krishika Lulla & Ors. v. Shyam Vithalrao Devkatta & Anr. Read More »

Sholay Media and Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. & Anr. v. Parag Sanghavi & Ors.

High Court of Delhi at New Delhi | Decided: 24 August 2015 CS (OS) 1892/2006 Bench: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Manmohan Singh Background The plaintiffs, Sholay Media and Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. and its co-plaintiff, are private limited companies engaged in the business of producing, exhibiting and distributing cinematograph films. The plaintiffs claimed to be the copyright

Sholay Media and Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. & Anr. v. Parag Sanghavi & Ors. Read More »