Analysis Of Copyright Protection Vis-A-Vis Internet Intermediaries Liability Maze In India

Dhruthi C, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bangalore

Dr. Avishek Chakraborty, Assistant Professor, School of Law CHRIST (Deemed to be University) Bangalore

ABSTRACT

With the onset of industrialization and globalisation, expansion of internet usage was massive. The usage and dependency on internet multiplied by folds in the global pandemic. Internet is a gateway for people, and businesses. As the engagement increased, so did the problems and challenges, with privacy, security concerns, Intellectual Property Rights [IPR], digital divide being a few. The discussion in this paper is limited to interplay of copyright and its protection in cyberspace.

Various copyright owners upload their work on the cyberspace. The same shall be hosted and transmitted by Internet Service providers. The conjuncture arises when copyright is infringed online by third parties, and piracy being the ultimate evil. To decide the liability is the maze, since the courts of the country have gone back and forth in setting a yardstick. Further issues include the kind of liability to be imposed, the judicial attitude towards granting injunctions and their impact on copyright owners and intermediaries.

Therefore, the epicentre of this paper is to navigate into the law of intermediaries, and their liability vis-à-vis copyright infringement by third parties. The paper begins with an investigation into common issues prevailing internationally and within domestic arena. The paper aims to analyse comparatively the approaches adopted in USA and India to draw a common middle ground. The discussion shall further delve into Free Trade Agreement- an arrangement made to address cross border copyright infringements to assess their efficiency in addressing the problem. Few suggestions are made after due analysis of legal framework in India revolving around copyright protection and law of intermediaries.

Keywords: Intermediaries, Network Service Providers, Internet Service Providers, Copyright, Copyright owner, Third Party