In todays digital era, content creation has become a very vibrant and vital source of life for many in the country. They invest their time, efforts and creativity into their work and produce a valuable content for the viewers. However, without any proper copyright licensing their work and creativity can be misused leading to their potential loss of Finance and Recognition. This is where copyright law comes into play for safeguarding the potential and rights of the content creators and provide assurance that they will get the benefits of their creativity.
CONCEPT OF COPYRIGHT LAW IN INIDA
Copyright Law provides the author or the creators an exclusive right over their original work which incorporates original literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works. In India, the Copyright Law is governed by The Copyright Act of 1957. Copyright protection is automatic, which means that once the content is created it is protected automatically and does not require any formal registration there by means, once created and published others cannot use it without permission.
IMPORTANCE OF COPYRIGHT LICENSING FOR CONTENT CREATORS
The growing era of digital age, there are various challenges that are faced by the creators. The unauthorised use of their work can lead to the loss of their potential and recognition. Therefore, the copyright licensing enhances their right of protection and ensure that they can reap the benefits of their creative content. The importance of copyright licensing are as follows-
- It protects the Intellectual Property of the creator.
- Generate Revenue and Monetization.
- It reduces the risk of legal conflicts by avoiding infringement of the work.
- Maintaining Recognition, ensuring proper credit is received by the creators.
- Determines certain guidelines for how the content can be used, shared, or modified.
COPYRIGHT OF THE CONTENT
- NOTICE OF THE COPYRIGHT – The notice educates the readers or viewers that the content is protected and cannot be replicated without the explicit consent or authorization. The blogger or the content creator is entitled to initiate legal action if someone contravene the copyright notice.
- USE OF WATERMARK ON IMAGES AND VIDEOS – The content is more eye – catching by the use of images and videos and for making their content more appealing the creators additionally use their own created visuals, but if someone uses the images it should not be copyrighted and should fall in public domain.
- COMPREHENSIVE DISCLOSURE OF THE CONDITIONS – There shall be an exhaustive description of the of how viewers should access the content.
ENFORCEMENT OF COPYRIGHT
With the increase of human intellect in the field of content creation there comes a major issue of copyright infringement as it creates an impact on creators and artists reputation. It is crucial for copyright owners to comprehend and evaluate the legal remedies that are available for such infringement.
Furthermore, it is beneficial for a copyright owner to do copyright registration for improving the copyright enforcement efforts. Although copyright is granted automatically when a creator creates a work, but registering it gives concrete evidence if ownership, which makes it easier for a creator to prove their rights in the event of infringement. Let’s take a closer look at the various enforcement methods of copyright.
Automated Protection of Copyright-
The moment the original work is produced, the copyright is automatically granted. This implies that as soon as the work is created and expressed in tangible form, the creator of the work instantly or immediately gains the sole ability to control and manage its use and dissemination.
Registration of copyright-
Even though when a creator creates an original work the copyright is automatically granted, there are extra benefits of enforcement by registering your copyright with the copyright office. It acts as a proof of ownership whenever there is violation of your rights. Moreover, it empowers the creators with legal remedies.
Cease and Desist Notice-
When you become aware of the copyright infringement, you can send a cease and desist notice to the offending party. The notice informs them of the copyright violation and the party is required to cease utilizing the copyrighted content immediately.
- Alternate Dispute Resolution-
For the settlement of the copyright issues or conflicts, alternate dispute resolution methods such as mediation can be used. This process of alternate dispute resolution entails hiring of the third party to assist and advice and resolve the disputes outside the court. It is an economical and effective way to enforce copyright.
- Civil Remedies-
In order to address the copyright infringement, civil remedies entail filing of a lawsuit in the civil courts. Copyright holders have access to various of legal remedies available under the Indian Copyright Act, 1957.
- Criminal Remedies-
Prosecution of copyright infringement as a criminal violation is one of the criminal remedies. Criminal consequences for copyright infringement are outlined in the Indian Copyright Act, 1957, and include fines and imprisonment. Criminal remedies are usually sought by the state or government and act as a deterrence against significant copyright violations.
COPYRIGHT CHALLENGES AHEAD
Over the time with the advancement of the digital era, negative effects of digitalization have increases. Here are few ways in which digitalization causes threat in the protection of copyright-
- Piracy-
It refers to the illegal dissemination of the copyrighted material, which leads to the violation of the creator’s rights.
- Linking-
It refers to when a user visits a website, linking allows the user of the website to visit another through the link that is provided on the website. This leads to the infringement of the rights of the owner of the website.
- Social Media-
Social media have become a wider known platform for sharing the content, posting pictures etc. and connecting the people from all over the world. Copyright infringement have emerged by sharing content. There is misconception that everything that is published on social media is open and anyone can make use of the content.
- Artificial Intelligence-
Artificial Intelligence has rapidly transformed various aspects of human life. With the increase in the use of artificial intelligence to generate content, it gives rise to the question about the ownership.
Copyright Licensing is essential requirement for the content creators and bloggers to protect, safeguard, monetize the content and manage ownership control. However, there are various challenges but by implementing the best practices and enforcing copyright laws, creators can maximize the benefits of their original work and mitigate the risk of infringement.