The clarification given in Novex Communications Pvt Ltd. v. Trade Wings Hotels Limited,[i] that owners of sound recordings can issue licenses without registering as a copyright society, is significant as it has created a lot of momentum in the music licensing space in India. Various entities, engaged in the business of music licensing, came forward to seek clarifications, and started acting upon the same. One example was seen a few days ago. Recently, on 3rd April, a letter in the form of a public notice, was issued by an entity called ‘Audio Royalties’ to inform various music industry stakeho ..read more

Mumbai Court refuses to stay release of Hindi film Maidaan A Mumbai court on April 8, refused to grant a stay on the release of Ajay Devgn starter Maidaan after a vendor approached the court due to alleged outstanding dues. Camera vendor, Meherafrin Investments Private Limited (MIPL), had approached the Mumbai City Civil Court at Dindoshi for a commercial suit against the producers, Byaview Projects LLP and Boney Kapoor. According to MIPL’s claims, the production company Byaview Projects LLP and producer Boney Kapoor failed to fulfil their financial obligations, despite assurances th ..read more

If you listen to this song, it is easy to think that the song was made by Drake, but the truth is it wasn’t. That, was an AI generated song, uploaded a few months ago, and has since raised some important questions. How can we prevent AI from using Artist voices without their permission? This was attempted to be addressed on March 21, 2024 by Tennessee State (in the United States). The state has enacted a new law, titled the Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security Act of 2024 (“Elvis Act”). The Elvis Act replaces the Personal Rights Protection Act of 1984 (“Personal Rights Act”). The Persona ..read more

TV Today moves Delhi High Court challenging provision of the IT Rules, 2021 After a third party complaint alleging copyright infringement led to the blocking of the media network’s publication Harper’s Bazaar India’s Instagram account, TV Today Network Limited filed an application before the Delhi High Court. Rule 3 (1) (c) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules) has been challenged by the media corporation in their petition. Read order here. Delhi High Court declares ‘Haldiram’ as a well-known trademark On April 3, the Delhi ..read more

Recently, the Supreme Court of India, stayed the Fact Check Unit notification issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on March 20, 2024. The bench of Hon’ble Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra held that the stay shall operate till the Bombay High Court finally decides the challenges to the IT Rules amendment 2023. This comes after the MeitY had notified the Press Information Bureau as the Fact Check Unit on 20th March, 2024. The notification of 20th March, 2024 was occasioned after the third judge Justice Chandurkar hear ..read more

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) recently on 15th March 2024 introduced guidelines aimed at enhancing accessibility standards for persons with hearing and visual impairments in the public exhibition of feature films in cinema theatres. Read Guidelines here. The guidelines seek to ensure that everyone can partake in the cinematic experience. These standards, developed after extensive consultations with various stakeholders, mark a significant step forward in fostering inclusivity in society. They have included the requirements of various methods and tools for promoting acces ..read more

Madras High Court judge recuses from Ilayaraaja copyright case Madras High Court judge Justice R Subramanian on March 25 recused from hearing an appeal suit filed by Echo Recording Private Limited seeking to set aside an order of the court regarding a copyright dispute over the musical works of composer Ilayaraaja. Justice Subramanian said he had appeared in the civil suit relating to this matter earlier while practising as a lawyer and so was not willing to hear it. Subsequently, the bench directed the registry to place the records before the Chief Justice to assign the matter to some other b ..read more

Introduction In December 2023, the European Union (“European Union”) took a significant step forward in addressing concerns about artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies. They reached a provisional agreement on the draft of the Artificial Intelligence Act on 2nd February, 2023 (“AI Act”). You can access the draft of the AI Act here. The AI Act is anticipated to come into effect between May and July 2024,[i] and is designed to establish ethical guidelines and transparency standards for AI systems. Overseen by the newly created EU AI Office, this legislation will hold sign ..read more

8 global entertainment companies move the Delhi HC against three alleged “rogue cyberlocker websites” for unauthorisedly hosting copyrighted content Eight leading global entertainment companies – including Netflix, Warner Bros and Paramount Pictures – have moved the Delhi High Court seeking a permanent injunction against three ‘rogue cyberlocker websites’ for unauthorisedly hosting their copyrighted content. According to the plaintiffs, these rogue cyberlocker websites provide an infrastructure specifically designed to incentivise hosting, uploading, storing, sharing, streaming, and downloadin ..read more

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) recently on 15th March, 2024 issued a revised advisory concerning the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) models by Intermediaries.[i] This revised advisory was made to supersede a previous advisory issued on March 1, 2024, which, inter alia, required prior and explicit permission from the Government before deploying any AI Technologies which were under testing / unreliable.[ii] The March 1 advisory drew criticism from various quarters, with concerns raised by startup founders, such as Aravind Srinivas, the CEO of Perplexity ..read more