COPYRIGHTS

Paper Code- LL.M-E- 520

2022
Submitted to: Submitted by:
Dr. Prayas Dansana Jaspreet Kaur
Assistant Professor Roll no. 10S21LL17
P.G. Dept. of Law 3 rd Semester, LLM

P.G. DEPARTMENT OF LAW

SAMBALPUR UNIVERSITY
JYOTI VIHAR, BURLA - 768019
 CONTENT

Sl. No. Particular Page No.

01. Introduction 02
02. Indian perspective on copyright protection 02

03. Copyright 03
04. Who are content creators? 03
05. Copyright For Content Creators: 04
06. Exceptions To Copyright 05
07. How Do the Content Creator Protect their Work? 06
08. Why Do the Content Creator Need to Protect Their Work? 06
09. Public Domain 07
10. Conclusion 08
INTRODUCTION
Granting copyright seeks to protect the creative endeavour of an owner. Copyright gives an
exclusive right to the owner to do certain acts in relation to literary, dramatic, musical, and
artistic works, cinematography, and sound recordings. Copyright is valid till the life of the
originator plus 50 years after his death. In the case of cinematographic work, the copyright is
valid until 50 years after the work has been made available to the public while for photographic
works 25 years after the making of the work.
In India matters related to copyright are governed by the Copyright Act in 1957, which was
subsequently amended in the year 1994 and 2002. Copyright cannot be granted in some cases
like:

 Copyright cannot be said to be violated if the idea or concept of any person is used in a
different manner.
 Copyright is not granted for ideas.
 Copyright is not granted in live events.
So, basically for granting the copyright, the work which is being sought to be protected by
copyright must be original. However, this standard of originality to be determined varies in
countries. In countries which follow common law jurisdictions like United Kingdom and India,
the standard of originality that is needed to be proven is low, while in countries which follow
civil law jurisdictions like France and Germany, the standard of originality to be proven is high
as certain minimum amount of creativity and author’s intellectual expression is required to be
shown to acquire a copyright protection.

Indian perspective on copyright protection:

The Copyright Act, 1957 provides copyright protection in India. It confers copyright protection
in the following two forms:
(A) Economic rights of the author, and

(B) Moral Rights of the author.

Social media has become one of the most influential and successful methods of marketing and
advertising. According to the recent study India has the huge market that deals with social
media and content creators as compared to international market. As social media platforms
advance more participants and are widely available to influencers, YouTubers and artists
become more and more vulnerable to specific legal concerns regarding IPR. 1 The importance
of IP rights for the influencers is because content creator’s content gets consumed daily on
different platforms, one needs to understand that as these contents are available on daily basis
they can be replicated by many users. Social media influencers create different forms of content
that can be protected under the intellectual property rights. Among the IPs the most used is
trademark and copyright, one can trademark his or her domain name, hashtags, or logos etc.2

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IP FOR CONTENT CREATORS AND SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS (lexprotector.com) on 18th March
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A content creator can secure copyright protection for videos, photos, artworks. Trademark
protects influencer’s brand name and prevent others for using it whereas copyright will protect
the creative work of the content creators.3

How to become a responsible social media influencer?

Influencers must be keep in mind about the rules and regulations on influencers marketing for
example correctly labelling ad material, giveaways, paid partnership etc. It is also important
that influencers should abide by contracts that have been established between them and the
brand. It is critical that one should follow the terms and conditions of the applicable social
media platform. Ignoring these rules may result in account being permanently deleted, which
might mean losing the followers one has worked so hard to obtain. This may also imply that
brands may decide to end their partnership with the influencers. If Influencers want to cite
another creator or use their work on their social media platform, they need to make sure to get
permission first. If one wants direct references to another brand, including their products or
services, one should seek permission from them first. Example of some well-known social
media influencers applied for trademark Some major social media influencers have taken steps
to trademark their name.
Future of protecting digital and social media content NFT (no fungible tokens) play a dynamic
role and their influence can already be felt. The power of NFTs to open new kinds of formation
and ownership is being acknowledged by industries such as branding, fashion, gaming, and
music. In the social media landscape of the NFT world, most of the commitment occurs on the
most crypto-friendly platforms – YouTube and Twitter. Influencer marketing plays a important
role in the decentralized NFT community and is dispersed across the globe, which Asian
markets are also keeping up to date from global influencers.4
With the internet growing at a fast pace, as a social media influencer and content creator, it is
very important to be careful and protect your content. Choose your policy deliberately when
your brand is contacted for material, since your decisions might have a huge impact on the
growth of your social media accounts.

COPYRIGHT
Copyright is a legal term used to describe the protection accorded to creators’ rights over their
literary and artistic works. With the advent of the internet age, it is becoming increasingly easy
to pass off others’ work like ours and it is essential to prevent that from happening in order to
ensure that a creator’s effort does not go in vain.

Who Are Content Creators?

Any individual involved in the creation of intellectual or artistic “works” in the form of poems,
fictional characters, plays, motion pictures, musical compositions, sound recordings, paintings,
drawings, sculptures, photographs, computer software, radio and television broadcasts and

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IP FOR CONTENT CREATORS AND SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS (lexprotector.com) on 22nd March 2023
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industrial designs is considered a creator and their creation is protected by copyright in India
law.
Being a creator requires skills across several disciplines; not only do you have to conquer the
terrifying obstacle of a blank page or a video recorder set at zero, but you also have to try and
market your work and manage what is essentially a small business at the same time.5 Life as an
independent creator requires learning a lot of skills and wearing a lot of hats, but one area that
artists can struggle with is grasping intellectual property laws and rights as they relate to their
work.
Intellectual property, particularly copyright in the case of creators, can feel daunting or
confusing, or like something that concerns studios that produce big budget works. But copyright
is important to every creator, and understanding the basics can help every artist protect their
work and their income.6
There can be multiple creators of a work who get co-ownership of the copyright.

Copyright For Content Creators:

Copyright law gives creators of original material a set of exclusive rights – the right to control
the use of their work, the ability to earn from it, the right to duplicate it and the right to
transfer/sell the ownership to someone else.7 Additionally, under Copyright Law, a work is
original if it is an independent creation and utilises a certain level of skill, labour, judgement,
and effort to create it.
It is important to note that copyright protects only the tangible expression of ideas, and not the
ideas, discoveries, concepts, or theories themselves. Further, this implies that any form of
thought has to be written down/artistically depicted in order to be protected by copyright law.
Moreover, in certain countries, a single word does not qualify a copyrighted work.
Content creators have different types of rights that can broadly be classified as; economic rights
and moral rights – which have been discussed below.
Economic Rights
In short, economic rights affect the creator’s ability to make money from their work. Economic
rights include –
1. reproduction/making copies (Online Copyright for Reproduction Rights)
2. distribution of copies of the work. (Copyright in Sound Recording)
3. performance of the work in public (Public Performing Rights)
4. broadcasting or other communication of the work to the public
5. translation of the work into other languages
6. Adaptation of the work.

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Copyright Basics for Content Creators | by RightsLedger | RightsLedger | Medium on 19 th March, 2023 at
8:54 p.m.
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7
Copyright For Content Creators: Some Things You Need to Remember (vakilsearch.com)
Further, national laws usually allow the transfer/granting of economic rights to third parties
through temporary licencing or permanent assignment.

Moral Rights
Moral rights are independent of the economic rights of a creator. They are the author’s or
creator’s special right which includes the –
1. Right of Paternity: The right for creators/copyright owners to have their work be
anonymous, pseudonyms to them.
2. Right of Integrity: Creators/copyright owners can object to changes to work that
may harm the reputation or keep the work from being wrongfully used.
Unlike economic rights, moral rights cannot have a sale to another person. Therefore, even
when exclusive rights are sold to a publisher or a broadcaster, for example, moral rights
continue to remain with the original creator. Whoever acquires the economic rights to work
will be able to exploit it, but in doing so they will be obliged to credit the author of the original
work.

What Is Not Protected by Copyright for Content Creators?

Copyright does not protect:
 Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, or discoveries
 Works that are not fixed in a tangible form (such as a copyright for
cinematograph films that has not been notated or recorded or an improvisational
speech that has not been written down)
 Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans
 Likewise, familiar symbols or designs
 Mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or colouring
 Mere listings of ingredients or contents.

Exceptions To Copyright
Despite the blanket protection of ownership that copyright provides, in certain circumstances,
it is possible that the creator might not be the owner. For example, under the concept of “work
for hire,”8 the agreement in regards to creating something for a person or a company usually
stipulates that true ownership lies with them. Additionally, this also extends to certain
companies’ agreements taking full ownership of whatever their employees create ‘on the side’
during the course of their employment.9

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4 Exceptions to The Rules of Copyright You Need To Know As A Content Creator (or user!) — Copyright Agent
on 23rd March, 2023
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Supra note 06
How Do the Content Creator Protect their Work?10
Copyright for content creators is automatic, so the creator does not need to do anything to
ensure that their work is protected by copyright. However, one can get their work registration
at the Indian Copyright Office for legal proof of ownership during copyright infringement.11
Other things that you can do in order to protect your work include:
 Adding the copyright symbol © to your work
 Providing your name
 Including your contact Information where permission can be obtained
 Years for which the copyright pertains
 Including the phrase “All Rights Reserved.”

Why Do the Content Creator Need to Protect Their Work?

Copyright in India (and other countries which are a part of the Berne Convention) grants
automatically i.e. by virtue of the creation of a work. Usually, creators mark their work with
the copyright symbol ‘©’ followed by their name(s) and the year in which the work was
published.12 However, registering a copyright provides additional benefits. Primarily, the
certificate of registration holds up as substantial proof of ownership in court. Further, in case
of a legal dispute and enables the copyright holder to seek statutory damages and attorney’s
fees.
Moreover, copyright aids in monetizing one’s work. Further, provides a financial incentive for
creators, especially small businesses. Moreover, for whose creations are more vulnerable to
exploitation by multinational conglomerates. Additionally, any creation is an asset and
deserves protection from others who might sell it as their own idea. Further, copyright helps
prevent that, and as well deal with such infringement legally.

Public Domain13
Once the term of copyright has expired, the formerly copyrighted work enters the public
domain and may be used or exploited by anyone without obtaining permission, and normally
without payment. Moreover, works posted on the internet are publicly available, but not
generally in the public domain. Copying such works might therefore violate the author’s
copyright.

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Information for Content Creators - Copyright 101 - Guides at Dahlgren Memorial Library (georgetown.edu)
on 26th March 2023
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12
Information for Content Creators - Copyright 101 - Guides at Dahlgren Memorial Library (georgetown.edu)
on 25th March
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Copyright For Content Creators: Some Things You Need to Remember (vakilsearch.com) on 23 rd March,2023
Work Category Duration

Performers  Section 38 of the Copyright Act provides “Exclusive Right to

Performers”, allowing them to do or authorize for doing the
following:
1. to make a sound recording or a visual recording of the
performance, including:
1. reproduction of it in any material form including
the storing of it in any medium by electronic or any
other means
2. issuance of copies of it to the public not being
copies already in circulation
3. communication of it to the public
4. selling or giving it on commercial rental or offer for
sale or for commercial rental any copy of the
recording
2. to broadcast or communicate the performance to the public
except where the performance is already broadcast (how to
apply for public performance license)
 A performer can retain the performer’s rights even after
giving the NOC.

Recording Artist  The copyright protection period extends to 60 years from the
beginning of the year following the year in which the sound
recording will be published.
 Producers of sound recordings have the right to authorize or
prohibit reproduction, importation and distribution of their
sound recordings and copies.

Cinematograph  Copyright shall subsist until 60 years from the beginning of

Films the year. Next, following the year in which the film is
published.
 Distribution and Broadcasting Synchronization Rights can
permit or prevent the public broadcasting of one’s work.
Moreover, they fall under economic rights and contribute to
raising finances in the case of feature films and television
shows.
CONCLUSION
The definition of influencer in the guidelines is quite vague and ambiguous. Anybody can be
an influencer, more so even a celebrity can be an influencer as there are no definite
requirements. Although regulations concerning advertising undertaken by celebrities per se
are already covered under the parent ASCII Code. In fact, some celebrities have been flouting
the rules left, right, and center. Recently, Indian Cricket Team captain, Virat Kohli was under
fire for failing to use the paid partnership tag on his post.
It is extremely important to bear in mind that ASCI is a self-regulatory and voluntary
governing organization without having any statutory backing. As a result, the Guidelines may
not be statutorily enforceable. However, the ASCI Code has received judicial recognition
from courts in India; the guidelines will surely take their time to receive such recognition.
Having no statutory recognition as such, it will be rather interesting to see how this works
out. There is a bit of grey area when it comes to what action is to be taken after a complaint
has been registered. Can any action be imposed by way of fines and/or imprisonment on the
influencer or the advertiser or the celebrity? Can it adjudicate upon any disputes and award
any damages? Merely suggesting or proposing steps to be taken in the future without any
legal backing does not serve any purpose.