Tag: Intellectual Property Rights

  • GUEST ARTICLE: The future of NFTs: Digital Property Rights

    GUEST ARTICLE: The future of NFTs: Digital Property Rights

    Mumbai: NFTs have revolutionised the internet market, ushering in a new budding world of creator empowerment. But very few people understand the underlying technology and cultural momentum that make NFTs and web3.0 so exciting for, and disruptive to, the traditional entertainment sector. With this technology, creators have a secure and infinitely distributable way to create value around and in their creative endeavours.

    But let’s start with the basics: NFTs possess scalable capabilities that we haven’t seen earlier in the creative sector. 

    1) NFTs are secure–meaning that the age-old issues of piracy and illegal exploitation of one’s creative work are dramatically reduced. 

    2) NFTs are portable at the click of a button; an artist can not only create and share directly with their audience, but the audience can now share and promote that work to the global community as well.

    3) NFTs are dynamic and programmable in any way the creator sees fit; from a simple piece of art to a benefits-packed loyalty club, to a certificate of achievement, NFTs can be created to address a variety of use cases, and the technology’s possibilities continue to evolve to this day.

    NFTs disrupt gaming industry

    Gamification acts as a catalyst for community building, thereby making communities cutting-edge and dynamic. Within communities, managers can provide tangible incentives to their consumers. On accomplishing a milestone in the community, members can be rewarded with a certain NFT that has attached benefits to it. This not only spearheads community participation and community building but evokes the interest of the community members and keeps them hooked.

    The future of businesses and brands

    Even for businesses and brands, NFT communities help in more ways than one; the former get the opportunity to learn more about NFTs and obtain tangible outcomes. Furthermore, brands and marketers are utilising this technology to communicate directly with consumers and potential customers, primarily gen-z and millennials.

    Apart from brands, artists themselves have also begun to experiment with creating NFTs & venture out in this space. The amount of money that some artists make is enough to not only maintain their projects but also fund new projects, pay for education, or even donate some of the earnings to charities and causes of interest. Also, organisations can develop NFT art as a standalone fundraiser, and in exchange, the artists can shower their fans with a range of benefits.

    Additionally, NFTs themselves can be utilised in the metaverse. Online trades in traditional art and collectibles are fairly common, but allowing artists to take their creative works of art worth millions of dollars around the world into the metaverse is a huge win for the creator.

    How NFT artists can actually get digital property rights

    The biggest advantage that artists get as NFT artists is digital property rights. When an NFT artist designs or produces an original piece, the artist automatically gets its digital property rights, which ensures its safety from fraudulent claims by another artist trying to get credit for their piece.

    This, however, is primarily only eligible when the piece is unique, the first and only of its kind. If it becomes a recreation or a digital representation of an already existing masterpiece, it does not give the artist any digital property rights, as the intellectual property rights belong to the original creator. Some of the important aspects of intellectual property that should be taken into consideration include trademarks and copyright. Another big advantage of the blockchain is that NFTs also include restrictions which prevent buyers from reverse engineering the technology and reselling it as their own. Thus, without a valid agreement, a creator may forfeit all ownership rights. Because anyone can create NFTs, both buyers and sellers should be cautious about how IP rights are addressed with NFTs.

    As the NFT industry continues to grow and evolve, artists are known to have more liberty and independence. With being able to decide their royalty fees and getting all sorts of control with the rights for their art, many traditional and digital artists are choosing independence as a means of prospect in their line of work.

    NFTs have the potential to decentralise, providing doors to a new economy and building a large and loyal community. And perhaps, this is one of the many reasons why both digital and traditional artists that are established & emerging have been switching their plans to be a part of the web3.0 space, building their own fanverse.

    The author of this article is HeyHey CEO & founder Caleb Franklin.

  • Intellectual Property Rights is the oxygen for creators, say industry experts

    Intellectual Property Rights is the oxygen for creators, say industry experts

    MUMBAI: As we move towards a content-based economy, the question of ownership has taken centre-stage. With a wide gamut of content being produced and consumed, establishing and protecting Intellectual Property (IP) rights is essential for content creators and the businesses that host/promote it.

    To drive forward the conversation around licensing and paid consumption of music in India, The Indian Performing Right Society Ltd. (IPRS) in association with Indiantelevision.com and Iprmentlaw organised a panel discussion hosting eminent members of the Indian music industry. The panel discussion was moderated by Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO & editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari and Iprment Law founder Anushree Rauta. 

    The panelists unanimously suggested that the royalty and copyright act in India needs serious revision. Industry experts who took part in the discussion claimed that proper implementation of the copyright act in India could benefit music creators financially, as most of their scores are being aired on television channels, OTT, radio, and on other programs without royalty. 

    Intellectual Property rights: The oxygen for music creators

    During the panel discussion, Wanvari described Intellectual Property rights (IPR) as the oxygen for music content creators. Panel members seemed to agree with Wanvari’s view, and asserted that IPR is very much necessary to ensure the stability of the music industry. 

    “Intellectual Property forms the base for the industry. The originator should always be awarded and acknowledged for it. It is very vital,” said Tunecore India head Heena Kriplani. 

    Music director Raju Singh deemed IPR as the shield of protection music creators have. In fact, IPR is the ”core existence of what we create”, he added.

    Turnkey Music and Publishing MD Atul Churamani said, “The backbone of the entertainment business is IP. Whatever we are creating, is protected by Intellectual Property rights.” 

    The royalty dilemma and copyright issues

    Issues related to royalty and copyrights are one of the most common challenges faced by composers in the country. Supreme Court advocate Harsh Kaushik revealed that the royalty business in India is confusing. 

    “The ongoing debate is if the song recording is being exploited, whether the underlying works need to be compensated separately or not,” said Kaushik. 

    IPRS CEO Rakesh Nigam said that copyright-related laws in India should be made in such a way that they should help the business. 

    “Digital royalties have sprung up during the pandemic, but TV royalties went down. In 2021, we distributed Rs 185 crore royalties,” he added remarked. 

    Panelists who attended the event concurred that royalty and copyright acts in India need serious amendments. IPRS which has currently 5,000 members including T-series, Sony Music, Saregama, Universal Music Publishing, Times Music, and Aditya Music collects royalties on behalf of them each time their music is played, be it over the radio, live concerts, or music OTTs. 

    Even though IPRS is continuing its efforts to ensure royalty amount for music creators, the copyright act which may be still in its nascent stage negatively impacts these efforts. Citing the example of royalty collection in foreign countries, Nigam added that the arrival of more royalties could elevate royalty collections to new heights, and may grow up to Rs 700-800 crore from the lowly Rs 180 odd crore now. 

    The revelation from Nigam comes at a time when several radio stations in the country have engaged in legal battles with content creators over the royalty row. 

    Churamani, during the panel discussion, suggested that separate tribunals should be set up to handle cases related to copyright issues. 

    The rising popularity of regional music

    Aditya Music director Aditya Gupta, whose firm holds the music rights of movies like Ala Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, Uppena, and Vakeel Saab, revealed that digitalisation has helped his company to stay afloat even during Covid times. He also added that the Indian music industry is witnessing the growing popularity of regional music. Gupta revealed that his company had the. 

    “Luckily for us, last year went well because of new digital platforms. The consumption increased on digital. There were a good number of releases in the regional market. Regional music is growing well in India. Earlier, their distribution was the biggest hurdle, but deep penetration of the internet, smartphones have removed that obstacle. The consumption is growing,” added Gupta. 

    On the other hand, TM Talent Management founder Tarsame Mittal said that the pandemic has hit their business very badly. 

    “Majority of our business comes from live events. It became Zero suddenly when the pandemic struck. So we tried and looked for alternatives, and we survived somehow,” he shared. 

    Indians should pay for music

    During the panel discussion, Rakesh Nigam and Tarsame Mittal unanimously suggested that Indians should change the way in which they consume music. The duo claimed that we have the affinity to enjoy whatever is available for free, and added that this trend needs to go to ensure the stability of the industry. 

    “In India, most of the music platforms provide free music, be it Spotify, Wynk or Gaana, unlike other countries where these are paid services. We need to create a culture, where people start to pay for the music they listen to. There has to be a cost attached to it,” suggested Nigam. 

  • Zee, Star, NBA oppose converged regulator for broadcast and telecoms

    Zee, Star, NBA oppose converged regulator for broadcast and telecoms

    MUMBAI: Two of India’s biggest broadcasters Star India and Zee Network and industry association News Broadcasters Association (NBA) have opposed the TRAI’s proposal to have a converged regulator, a concept being debated as part of a consultation paper floated by the regulatory body. 

    In its lengthy submission to the TRAI’s paper on formulation of National Telecoms Policy 2018, Star, while suggesting a “separate regulator” for broadcasting sector was unfeasible, has said, “With a converged regulator for ICT and broadcasting there is always the risk of ‘false equivalence’ being drawn between the two sectors.”

    Pointing out that convergence was an aid to make content available to consumers and increasing the opportunities for content producers/rights holders to maximise monetisation opportunities involving intellectual property rights over content, Star highlighted, “Creative eco-system being an entirely separate unique value chain from ICT, should always be treated with a view to uphold and protect IPs.”

    Echoing similar sentiments, Zee said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) was the nodal ministry for all broadcasting related issues and it would be “inappropriate” for the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to propose a converged regulator in its policy document without making the MIB a part of the process.

    “It may also be pointed out that setting up a convergent regulator would also require a convergence bill (to be okayed by Parliament) outlining the very scope of convergent regulations and various issues associated with it,” Zee explained its stance.

    Subhash Chandra-controlled Zee network has gone ahead and questioned the TRAI’s various consultation papers on broadcasting industry-related issues that include the one on NTP 2018 and another one on uplinking and downlinking.
    “It is astounding that there is no correlation between the two consultation papers,” Zee has submitted, “If the comments (from the industry) provided against one consultation paper are accepted, these would be counter to the comments/ recommendations against the other consultation paper.”

    Both Star and Zee in their submissions have cited in the defence of their stance views of Parliament’s Standing Committee on Information Technology on broadcast regulation articulated in its latest report tabled few weeks back.
    In its report, the parliamentary panel observed that the broadcast sector has developed so much that it would be advisable for the government to explore a separate regulator and till that happens, powers of TRAI could be explored to be expanded as an interim measure.

    By trying to bring in the “convergence issue”, wherein broadcasting and telecom were “treated under the same umbrella” in a converged manner, the TRAI “would be acting contrary” to the views articulated by the parliamentary panel that had pushed for separate regulators for telecoms and broadcast sectors, both Star and Zee pointed out.

    NBA, which is an apex industry body comprising most of the TV (and digital) news ventures as its members, also joined in the issue with Star and Zee to observe the regulatory authority dealing with content issues must be different from the body dealing with other issues in the broadcasting sector.

    The TRAI regulates the carriage side of the broadcast industry that includes issues such as tariff, inter-connect and quality of service. It also holds sway over matters like OTT, broadband and net neutrality that straddle both segments of broadcast and telecoms services.

    Also Read :

    MIB reverts to earlier norms of seeking nod from ISRO on uplink/downlink of TV channels

    Government toying easing downlink norms

    The Communication Convergence Bill, 2001

  • Animated videos developed to spread message of anti-piracy

    Animated videos developed to spread message of anti-piracy

    NEW DELHI: Noting that creating awareness about Intellectual Property Rights can help in tackling piracy, the Cell for IPR Promotion & Management (CIPAM) has launched a campaign against piracy through a series of animated videos on anti-piracy.

    Joining hands with the industry, CIPAM took this initiative since limited knowledge about its social and economic impacts leads to circulation and consumption of pirated content.

    This was revealed at the three-day workshop on enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) organized by CPAM was held to help enforcement agencies establish a platform to share knowledge on IPR enforcement furthering appreciation and understanding among the enforcement authorities and common people.

    Rajiv Aggarwal, who is the joint secretary in the department of industrial policy and planning, stressed the need for Indians to respect and commercialize their intellectual property.

    Controller General of Patents – Designs & Trademark (CGPDTM) O P Gupta spoke on “Cooperation between various enforcement agencies, role of right holder and way forward.”

    Talking about the importance of IP for public interest, all the eminent speakers emphasised that the creativity will be restricted to great extent, if creative output is not protected.

    Delegates from World International Property Organization (WIPO), Central Government officials, police officers from across the country, people from the legal fraternity, industry experts and law students participated in the workshop. The renowned speakers shared the best practices and various aspects of effective implementation of IPR enforcement.

    CIPAM has also launched a social media campaign with hashtag #LetsTalkIP to create more interest among people on intellectual property.

    Also Read:

    Comment: War on online video piracy, which matters, is here for India to fight

    Viacom18 & govt announce anti-piracy partnership

    TRAI’s final recommendations on net neutrality likely by September

  • TRAI to discuss IPR of data generated on apps

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is expected to issue a consultation paper on the right of ownership of data generated on smartphones in the next two or three days.

    This was indicated by TRAI Chairman R S Sharma at a meet on Create4India organized by Digital India Foundation.

    He told mediapersons that a lage amount of data is generated every minute on various apps.

    The paper is expected to raise questions on whether the data generated on smartphones belongs to the person who generates, or the person who receives the data.

    The matter gains urgency in view of complaints about messages sent by people though apps on their phones.

    The issue also relates to intellectual property rights (IPR).

  • Govt takes video contest route to create consumer awareness

    NEW DELHI: A video contest for consumer awareness of the ‘Jago Grahak Jago’ multimedia campaign has been announced by the department of consumer affairs to create awareness amongst consumers about their rights and redressal mechanisms available to them as well as their duties.

    “Jago Grahak Jago” tagline, now a household term, needs to be strengthened by making consumers aware of their rights.

    Details of the campaign are on the Department’s website www.consumeraffairs.nic.in and its twitter handles- @consaff and @jagograhakjago.Details of contest are available on mygov.in.

    The participants are required to upload video clips of not more than two minutes duration on the theme “Consumer Awareness”. The language of the video clip would be either Hindi or English.

    The last date for submission of entries would be 20 August 2017, and there are three prizes of Rs 50,000; Rs 30,000; and Rs 20,000. All prizes will also carry a certificate of appreciation from this Department

    The entries should be original work of the participant(s) and must not infringe the Intellectual Property Rights of any third party. An entry could be an individual or a team project.Every entry should be accompanied by a brief explanation. An individual can send multiple entries. The results will be placed on the website of the Department tentatively within eight weeks from the last date of receiving the entries.

    Also Read :

    eBay campaign busts myths about refurbished products

    Digital is way forward but auxiliary for top brands: Reports (updated)

     

     

  • Govt launches IPR toolkit for enforcement agencies

    Govt launches IPR toolkit for enforcement agencies

    NEW DELHI: In a bid to sensitise law enforcement agencies and the public in general about intellectual property and copyrights, Indian government has launched an IPR Enforcement Toolkit for police.

    The toolkit has been jointly prepared by Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The latter is also helming a broadcast and cable industry initiative to fight online piracy of content via formation of Copyright Force that will have its first meeting later this month.

    Aimed at being a reference point for police officials across the country in dealing with IP crimes, specifically trademarks counterfeiting and copyrights piracy, the toolkit will have details of offences under various laws. It provides for checklists for registering a complaint and conducting investigations, apart from laying down general guidelines in case of IP-related crimes. This toolkit will be provided to all state police departments across the nation.

    CIPAM, an organisation under Ministry of Commerce & Industry, has launched several initiatives to ensure effective implementation of the National IPR Policy 2016, which recognizes that awareness and respecting IPRs is crucial for a healthy ecosystem.

    Catch them young also seems to be the government’s aim. To inculcate in children respect for IPRs, CIPAM is collaborating with the International Trademark Association (INTA) to launch an IPR awareness campaign for school kids in a creative and engaging manner through use of presentations and creatively illustrated posters and pamphlets that will cover basics on IPRs and its need to be protected.

    CIPAM, which has also organized seven batches of training programmes for police officials in States of Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, is actively facilitating international engagements in the field of Intellectual Property Rights. Two agreements on IPRs were recently signed with the UK and Singapore.

    ALSO READ:  Copyright Force finally here to fight online piracy

  • Govt launches IPR toolkit for enforcement agencies

    Govt launches IPR toolkit for enforcement agencies

    NEW DELHI: In a bid to sensitise law enforcement agencies and the public in general about intellectual property and copyrights, Indian government has launched an IPR Enforcement Toolkit for police.

    The toolkit has been jointly prepared by Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The latter is also helming a broadcast and cable industry initiative to fight online piracy of content via formation of Copyright Force that will have its first meeting later this month.

    Aimed at being a reference point for police officials across the country in dealing with IP crimes, specifically trademarks counterfeiting and copyrights piracy, the toolkit will have details of offences under various laws. It provides for checklists for registering a complaint and conducting investigations, apart from laying down general guidelines in case of IP-related crimes. This toolkit will be provided to all state police departments across the nation.

    CIPAM, an organisation under Ministry of Commerce & Industry, has launched several initiatives to ensure effective implementation of the National IPR Policy 2016, which recognizes that awareness and respecting IPRs is crucial for a healthy ecosystem.

    Catch them young also seems to be the government’s aim. To inculcate in children respect for IPRs, CIPAM is collaborating with the International Trademark Association (INTA) to launch an IPR awareness campaign for school kids in a creative and engaging manner through use of presentations and creatively illustrated posters and pamphlets that will cover basics on IPRs and its need to be protected.

    CIPAM, which has also organized seven batches of training programmes for police officials in States of Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, is actively facilitating international engagements in the field of Intellectual Property Rights. Two agreements on IPRs were recently signed with the UK and Singapore.

    ALSO READ:  Copyright Force finally here to fight online piracy

  • Internet included in broadcasting for purpose of Copyright

    Internet included in broadcasting for purpose of Copyright

    NEW DELHI: “All kinds of broadcasting including internet broadcasting” will also form part of broadcasting organizations desirous of communicating to the public for purposes of copyright, according to the Government.

    Amplifying the definition of broadcasting in section 31D of the Copyright Act 1957, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion Deputy Secretary Surabhi Sharma has said in a directive to the Registrar of Copyrights that broadcasting should not be restrictively read as meaning just radio and television.

    The Section refers to any performance or work available for being seen or heard or otherwise enjoyed by the public “other than by making physical copies of it.”

    This is one of the several measures taken by the DIPP since administration of the Copyright Act and Intellectual Property Rights were shifted to it in March this year. Until then, it had been part of the Human Resource Development Ministry and the film, music and television industries have always grudged this as they feel it should be with the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

    A single window interface was unveiled by the Government for information on IPR and guidance on leveraging it for competitive advantage. The Indian IP Panorama portal seeks to increase awareness and build sensitivity towards IP, among stakeholders in the SME sector, academia and researchers. The Indian IP Panorama can be accessed at http://ict-ipr.in/index.php/ip-panorama

    It is a customized version of IP Panorama Multimedia toolkit developed by World Intellectual Property Organization, Korean Intellectual Property Office and Korea Invention Promotion Association.

    The toolkit has been adapted to cater to SMEs and start-ups, especially in the ICTE sector of India based on an agreement signed between WIPO and Department of Electronic and Information Technology. The Indian IP Panorama is thus a customized version of WIPO’s original product and is in accordance with Indian IP laws, standards, challenges and needs of the Indian ICTE sector.

    The Indian IP Panorama has been developed under the aegis of Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) and Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Government of India by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), in close coordination with the Indian IP office.

    India is a member of WIPO and party to several treaties administered by WIPO. Recognizing that the strategic use of intellectual property could contribute significantly to the national development objectives of India, DIPP entered into an MoU with WIPO on 13 November 2009.

    The Indian IP office has been recognised as an International Searching Authority and International Preliminary Examining Authority under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (as in force from 15 October 2013).

    India acceded to Madrid Protocol for the International Registration of Marks at WIPO on July 8, 2013. The Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks (Madrid system) offers trademark owners a cost effective, user friendly and streamlined means of protecting and managing their trademark portfolio internationally.

  • Internet included in broadcasting for purpose of Copyright

    Internet included in broadcasting for purpose of Copyright

    NEW DELHI: “All kinds of broadcasting including internet broadcasting” will also form part of broadcasting organizations desirous of communicating to the public for purposes of copyright, according to the Government.

    Amplifying the definition of broadcasting in section 31D of the Copyright Act 1957, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion Deputy Secretary Surabhi Sharma has said in a directive to the Registrar of Copyrights that broadcasting should not be restrictively read as meaning just radio and television.

    The Section refers to any performance or work available for being seen or heard or otherwise enjoyed by the public “other than by making physical copies of it.”

    This is one of the several measures taken by the DIPP since administration of the Copyright Act and Intellectual Property Rights were shifted to it in March this year. Until then, it had been part of the Human Resource Development Ministry and the film, music and television industries have always grudged this as they feel it should be with the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

    A single window interface was unveiled by the Government for information on IPR and guidance on leveraging it for competitive advantage. The Indian IP Panorama portal seeks to increase awareness and build sensitivity towards IP, among stakeholders in the SME sector, academia and researchers. The Indian IP Panorama can be accessed at http://ict-ipr.in/index.php/ip-panorama

    It is a customized version of IP Panorama Multimedia toolkit developed by World Intellectual Property Organization, Korean Intellectual Property Office and Korea Invention Promotion Association.

    The toolkit has been adapted to cater to SMEs and start-ups, especially in the ICTE sector of India based on an agreement signed between WIPO and Department of Electronic and Information Technology. The Indian IP Panorama is thus a customized version of WIPO’s original product and is in accordance with Indian IP laws, standards, challenges and needs of the Indian ICTE sector.

    The Indian IP Panorama has been developed under the aegis of Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) and Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Government of India by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), in close coordination with the Indian IP office.

    India is a member of WIPO and party to several treaties administered by WIPO. Recognizing that the strategic use of intellectual property could contribute significantly to the national development objectives of India, DIPP entered into an MoU with WIPO on 13 November 2009.

    The Indian IP office has been recognised as an International Searching Authority and International Preliminary Examining Authority under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (as in force from 15 October 2013).

    India acceded to Madrid Protocol for the International Registration of Marks at WIPO on July 8, 2013. The Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks (Madrid system) offers trademark owners a cost effective, user friendly and streamlined means of protecting and managing their trademark portfolio internationally.