Copyright Amendment Bill likely to solve royalty disputes

Lex Orbis

Manisha Singh Nair

[email protected]

The issue of copyright ownership vis-à-vis movies came under the spotlight in India recently over a row involving the Bollywood blockbuster '3 Idiots'. The movie is based on the bestseller 'Five Point Someone', which was authored by Chetan Bhagat, while the row was over insufficient credit being given to the author – with the author's name said to having been displayed without the due prominence it deserved.

Chetan Bhagat alleged the violation of moral rights as a result of a mere mention among several entries in the rolling credits. He strongly asserted his rights stating that the movie was substantially based on the plot and the characters of the novel. The producers however denied this, asserting that the novel constituted only 5-7% of the movie.

Despite the row, the parties appeared to settle the issue amicably and refrained from initiating litigation at the Court.

The present reading of the Copyright Act, in accordance with Section 17 (b), stipulates that, in cases of a cinematograph film, the producer becomes the first owner of the copyright. The section reads:

17. First owner of copyright:- Subject to the provisions of this Act, the author of a work shall be the first owner of the copyright therein:

Provided that--

(b) Subject to the provisions of clause (a), in case of a photograph taken, or a painting or portrait drawn, or an engraving or a cinematograph film made, for valuable consideration at the instance of any person, such person shall, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, be the first owner of the copyright therein;

In other words, where composers, writers and lyricists are engaged by the producer to compose music and write the script or lyrics, ownership of the copyright still rests with the producer. So the producer becomes the first owner of the copyright and not the authors. That is to say that all of the individual constituent elements that form an integral part of the film are assigned to the producer, who then adapts and incorporates these individual subjects of copyright into a cinematographic film.

In this regard, the latest Copyright Amendment Bill, which is due for discussion and ratification on the floor of the Parliament, proposes to make substantial changes to the system of royalty administration under the copyright regime. The proposed legislative change aims to entitle lyricists, music composers and writers to royalty when their works are used anywhere else except in cinematograph film and sound recordings. Therefore, authors shall not only be entitled to protect their moral rights, but will also have the right to demand royalty in realms beyond cinematography and sound recordings where their work may be used.

Assignment of rights, which plays a prominent role in this respect, is dealt with under Section 18 of the Copyright Act, 1957. The section pronounces that:

18. Assignment of copyright:- (1) The owner of the copyright in an existing work or the prospective owner of the copyright in a future work may assign to any person the copyright either wholly or partially and either generally or subject to limitations and either for the whole term of the copyright or any part thereof:

Provided that in the case of the assignment of copyright in any future work, the assignment shall take effect only when the work comes into existence.

(2) Where the assignee of a copyright becomes entitled to any right comprised in the copyright, the assignee as respects the rights so assigned, and the assignor as respects the rights not assigned, shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as the owner of copyright and the provisions of this Act shall have effect accordingly.

Section 19(9) of the proposed Bill protects the creators of underlying lyrics, scripts, music composers etc. from contractual exploitation by stipulating that such creators can demand a share in royalties if their works are exploited by producers in new 'mediums' or 'contexts'. The section reads:

No assignment of copyright in any world to make a cinematograph film or sound recording shall affect the right of the author of the work to claim royalties in case of utilization of the work in any form other than as part of cinematograph film or sound.

The Bill has been introduced to the Rajya Sabha upon whose ratification the same will be passed on for the President's assent. If the Bill comes to force, disputes such as that in the case of '3 Idiots' will cease to arise, the law itself providing a scheme for distribution of royalties. Only the outcome of the parliamentary vote on the ratification of the Bill is likely to give a clue to the future of authors, lyricists and others in terms of their due share of royalty in their works.