India
Pirated versions of any original work comes handy
due to the internet serving as the fastest medium for spreading any kind of
content from one person to millions. And in India, the worst-hit industries in
today’s time are the film, TV and e-commerce industry.
The film industry is considered the worst hit
because the pirated version of any movie is easily made available on the
internet by millions of websites and even before a movie is released, one can
easily find it on the internet which adversely affects the market of these
movies. Therefore, it results in a drop in investment in the original copy of the
movie, and the younger generation also prefers this cheap and handy version of
the movie to the costly CDs or DVDs.
The TV industry is affected because there are local
cable providers offering a subscription of 300 plus channels at a nominal rate
in comparison to the other broadcasters. Because of the cheap rate, the
population opts out of the leading broadcasting stations and they tend to lose
400 to 700 subscribers daily. The truth is that the local service provider
installs a local head unit which transfers the pirated channels to its
subscribers. The significant increase in the piracy of TV channels is due to
the Interconnection Regulations, 2017. And the
worst-hit states are Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Madhya Pradesh.
The broadcasting of channels is done by Distribution Public Operators(DPOs),
who either provide service through DTH or transfer it to the local cable
operators(LCOs). They sort to distribute it to the LCOs when there is a dispute
regarding the payment made to the broadcaster by the distributor. This activity
of DPOs increases the loss of subscribers to leading broadcaster and it is
still unaddressed.
The basis of the e-commerce industry is to provide
various products and services to its customers at their door-step via the
internet. With the evolution of technology, most businesses opt for
online-based services which results in a significant improvement in their annual
sale and a positive impact on the economy. As a coin has two sides, likewise,
businesses that provide services online also face a drop in the sale of their
products due to the presence of a pirated version of their products. The spread
of these duplicate products have even reached the offline market, and these
products are so similar in their appearance and quality that it becomes
difficult for the buyers to distinguish between them.
Prosecution challenges in India
The Copyright Act, 1957 and the Trademark Act, 1999 provide the
remedy to an individual whose product, art, literary work, design, or music,
etc. are sold without his or her permission, in whose name copyright or
trademark is registered. The one involved in providing duplicates of these
products is treated as a criminal in the eyes of law if found guilty. They are
held liable because they tend to tarnish the image of the established firms
whose goodwill is marked in the eyes of the law and public, and breach the
trust of the buyers, for whom it is difficult to distinguish between original
and fake products.
The purpose of a trademark is to distinguish goods
or services from one another, making it easier for the consumers to make the
distinction among other available products. It is required that products must
mention all the characteristics of the goods or services, such as the date of
manufacture, expiry date, ingredients of the product, etc. A person can
register its trademark either in symbol, sign, or in any other design they
prefer, but it should be unique.
However, even after having a registered and unique
trademark, there are still individuals who involve in the sale of any goods or
services which is already a registered trademark without taking permission from
the owner of the trademark. In the case of infringement of the trademark, one
can avail remedy by lodging an F.I.R under Section 156 of the CrPC. The penalty, in the case of
trademark infringement, is mentioned under Section 103 and Section 104 of the Trademark Act,
1999, where the person liable for infringement is sentenced a jail term of not
less than 6 months but not more than 3 years, along with a fine of Rs. 50,000
which can go up to Rs. 2 lakhs.
The purpose of copyright is to protect one’s
creativity from being copied. In the case of copyright infringement, one should
file an FIR under Section 420 of IPC. The punishment
for a person who is found guilty, under Section 63 of the Act, is a jail term of 6 months that
can be extended to 3 years, and a fine of Rs. 50,000 that can go up to 2 lakhs.
Also, police officers have the power to seize the pirated version of the product
without a warrant under Section 64 of the Act.
Other remedies that are available are as follows:
1.
When you are filing a complaint in the police
station for a criminal act along with it you always file for civil proceeding.
As by initiating a civil case, one cannot deal with the product and likewise,
the counterfeited product will be seized.
2.
One can also seek a remedy by approaching the Court
asking for an injunction order against the proprietor dealing with the
counterfeited product, under Section 36 of the Indian Specific Relief Act, 1963.
This order will put a halt to the manufacturing of the products.
3.
The damaged party can also seek monetary
relief.
4.
When there is an infringement of copyright,
trademark, or any other intellectual property right, one also file a case
under Section 113 of the Customs Act, 1962. This section also gives the power to seize
any counterfeited product.
Landmark Judgments
The following are the landmark judgments:
Yahoo!,
Inc. v. Akash Arora & Anr. 1999
In this case, the defendant started a website under the domain name of
Yahoo India. The court held that the domain name serves the same purpose
as the registered trademark which is not just a mere address. Therefore,
it is entitled to equal protection as a trademark.
Patel
Field Marshal Agencies Ltd v. PM diesel Ltd. & Ors. 2017
In this case, the court answered the most disputed question regarding
the availability of the remedy of ratification of a trademark, if there is a
suit of trademark infringement, under Section 47 and Section 57 of the Trademark Act,
1999. The court in this case held that one can claim for ratification of the
trademark by the way of litigation, as the power of ratifying it lies with the
statutory authority.
Kent
Ro Systems Ltd & Anr v. Amit Kotak & Ors.2017
In this case, the Supreme Court gave a ruling that intermediaries have
no such obligation on their part for screening any content before publishing,
whether it tends to violate any intellectual right or not.
Suggestive Reforms
The availability of pirated content has increased
with the evolution of technology. Everything we need is just a tap away which
is made possible due to the presence of electronic gadgets. As piracy
increases, the annual sale of the leading companies falls because an exact copy
of original work is available on both the online and offline platforms. And
when the annual sale of these companies fall, it also affects the nation’s
economy because it leads to an increase in the unemployment level. Therefore,
it is imperative to control the pirated sale of any product. The followings are
the suggestive reforms:
1.
1.
Stringent punishment: Along
with the film industry, TV Cable and e-commerce industry are worst hit by the
grey market. So, in order to regulate piracy, stringent laws should be
implemented. In the Copyright Act, the punishment for copyright infringement is
very minimal. It should be increased from 3 years to 10 years which will not
only help in controlling the pirated product market but also decreasing the
presence of fake or duplicate products.
2.
Awareness: The
common public should be made aware of the piracy laws in India because the one
who is producing and spreading a pirated version of the audio, video, products,
etc. and the one who is using it, even after being aware of the fact that the
available goods or services are pirated, are equally guilty of the act.
3.
Websites should be
banned: Websites that are providing links to pirated
movies, music, etc. should be analyzed and banned immediately. As these
websites make a profit by the time a user is on the site or shares the link,
and due to their presence the creator suffers a loss.
·
Regulatory body: A
regulatory body should be established whose main motive should be to identify
the source of the piracy and to bring injunction orders against them.
What happens if you
sell pirated movies?
They uploaded
copies of the movie to an internet site for distribution. The charge of
uploading a copyrighted work carries a maximum penalty of 3 years in
federal prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or gross loss
made from the offense, whichever is more.
Is selling pirated
movies a felony?
A civil lawsuit
could hold you responsible for thousands of dollars in damages. Criminal
charges may leave you with a felony record, accompanied by up to five years
of jail time and fines up to $250,000.
Is buying pirated
DVDS illegal in India?
The act of piracy
is illegal in India. Despite that,
huge amount of content is leaked on websites for viewers' entertainment. Piracy
is a criminal act and the Government of India has finalised some punishment for
the same. ... Madras Rockers is one of the websites that allow users to downloaded
pirated films for free.
What kind of crime
is pirating movies?
FBI Anti-Piracy Warning:
The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of a copyrighted work is illegal.
Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain,
is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to five years in federal
prison and a fine of $250,000.
Is piracy a crime
in India?
The Indian
Laws rule piracy as Illegal but that has not affected these rise in
numbers of these sites. ... According to the Indian law, if a person is proven
guilty of knowingly helped anyone infringe and download copyrighted content it
would be considered a criminal act.