Adarsh Kumar Singh, B.A. LL.B. (Hons.), School of Law, NMIMS Bangalore
ABSTRACT
The copyright law has taken an advance flight in the modern Indian Scenario wherein foreign companies along with domestic ones have been utilising their rights of creative works through the propositions of copyright law. In the dynamic business world, it serves as a crude proponent of expansion and creative liberty that grants the companies with the autonomous freedom to profit off their creative works. It also helps in creating a demand for property that was inherently created with the sole purpose of distribution. However, the modern technological advancements have led to new ways in which the distribution of such works has been subjected to inherent copying and distribution through illegal means. This is not a new phenomenon in the fast- pacing technological dynamic world of internet wherein the disruption through distribution has been in disputes from the early 20th century with the works of Napster and other illegal companies. This paper presents an opportunity to analyse the framework of copyright law in relation to new and budding companies like Spotify, Pandora, Netflix which have gained a substantial proportion of customer base in the New Digital India revolution. It talks about the various problems that artists face in the implementation of copyright law when it comes to underpayment of royalty distributions, discriminatory distribution of new albums and legal battles that artists have to face in the new digital world of streaming. It also takes into account the debatable original works of remixes and how the artists have to face multitudes of problems when it comes to proving the originality of work in the reproduction of music in terms of remixes and reverbs. Lastly, it provides with feasible options and case laws as to what the court thinks is the right direction to proceed when its arguable copyright claims in relation to film and music works arise.
Keywords: Copyright law, Remixes, Spotify, Netflix, Pandora, Napster
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