INTRODUCTION-

Growing up in an Indian family which worships and discusses Bollywood like the global topics of Human Rights, we can’t help but talk about Bollywood songs and celebrities all the time. I remember my mom playing the new ‘lag ja gale’ and criticizing it for not being as good as the original one. She used to believe that these remakes and remixes are just copies and they infuriate the 90’s audience and don’t do justice to the original musicians or singers. That’s when I started to research and gain more insights about the translations, adaptations, inspirations in music industry from a legal perspective that talks about infringement and copyrights of owner’s work. In this article we are going to look deeper into the analysis and interpretations of law when it comes to music industry.

 We will essentially address Indian Copyright Law and its provisions that govern the law in copyrights of Music. Now, before talking about the law we should gather some facts related to music listening and music producing such as knowing about the music components and what categories of music actually get infringed or interest its audience. Music not only consists of a tune but lyrics, formatting, voice, digital editing, a melody. So, even when the Inspiration of a music or song by two artists is the same, they will need to prove that they produced something distinctive or unique that brings their identity to it. The Copyright law therefore protects the idea, the effort, the time and the creativeness that was behind someone’s work. Nobody, according to this law, can take away the originality or any component used effectively that shoes someone’s originality. These expressions of ideas are the founding steps of the ultimate produce and so the work you publish must be your mind’s creation for it to be copywritten according to the law.

CREATIVE INSPIRATION OR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT-

How do we know when we are copying something, its’ not causing any kind of an infringement? The answer to this question poses challenges of discussing the fine line between copying and creative inspiration.

To understand it further we will take help of an example- if we suppose that two artists have done the same work but the meaning or its portrayal is different, then it would be two distinct expressions of ideas and wont be infringing each other’s work, now, one may argue that since as per its audience it would seem same but we should consider the fact that taking inspiration from someone’s idea is seperate from copying it completely. While starting your work its natural that you seek inspiration and judge other people work in order to produce the best of what you can.

Talking about the Dan Brown’s novel Da Vinci Code, it was held that some historical background information had been copied as it is but the court weighed it’s subject matter for the question of Law as something that is publicly available wont be considered to be plagiarized because the original source of that history was made for the perpose of a usage like Dan Brown’s Novel.

Again, if we take into consideration J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter, it had characterization of a young wizard just like the already formed character Willy The Wizard. But that didn’t prevent him from not inventing a similar character but with his own labour and imagination into it. Similarly, music industry and its rights work.

ADAPTING COPYRIGHT MATERIAL-

There are two things to discuss under Adaptation of a musical production. First and foremost, we need to understand the extent of adaptation that can be made which can turn into an ongoing process or cycle. Secondly, the certainity that a permission would need to be obtained to adapt to someone’s work.

An adapted version of a work cannot be further adapted anymore as that will be against the Copyright Act. So , here we see the restriction to the extent of adaptations in music. It does not guarantee unlimited adaptation.

Adaptations in music would mean a complete transcription or arrangement of format of the music. In music, adaptation would mean reproduction and not inspiration to make a new content out of it.

Musical work under Indian Copyright Act, 1957

The laws related to copyrighting in music are basically and mostly effected by the section 2(P) of the Copyright Act,1957. It includes all the music related work along with the graphical notations that are being used. Why is the composer the owner of the musical work and not the singer who sang it is because the act does not anywhere include the words to be dealt with while singing or the actions of the singer. Music is more than just a mixture of lyrics and a tune it comes with a composition of melodies and digital editing to come out as it was supposed to be.

Further more, to know about the time period of your control over a copyright is mentioned under Section 22 of the Copyright Act,1957. This duration of holding a copyright would depend upon number of owners.

Section 2 (a)(iv) defines “adaptation” as arranging of a musical work as a whole. As observed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Indian Performing Rights Society v. Eastern Indian Motion Pictures Association, copywriting is not the soulful tune or the aesthetic sound of the music but the melody that was being reduced into printing and graphics.

In Gramophone Company of India vs Super Cassette Industries Ltd, the Delhi High Court observed the same by explaining how copywriting is to being understood and permitted.

PREMISE OF CONTROVERSIES AROUND SECTION 52(1)(J)

It talks about the Importance and nature of compliance with the laws while recording and to elucidate this necessity, we will point out some facts and judgements held in the case law of Gramophone Co vs Super Cassettes. Facts of the case include a defendant company trying to make a music on the adaptations of the original music. So, they obviously approached the owner of the music and agreed to pay the required sum of license fee also. But the owner refused about granting any of the copyrights for the same rather clearly and precisely refused to give even any part of it. Without caring about the infringement issues, they went on to produce the music ignoring the owner’s rights and exclusiveness of the recording.

It was held that since it did not by chance and luckily disapprove of or not obey the conditions of the above section, it could not be termed as infringement as it said that there existed no such need of acquiring the license for the same.

For the above reason this section was highly criticised and seemed to offend the original musical works.

CONCLUSION-

In recent times of digital advancement, we come across so many adaptations and translations in music that keep on entertaining us but we need understand and respect the legal aspect of copywriting in music industry because that is someone’s property and should not be infringed. To protect and promote creativity we should be aware of the sections provided above in my article as per the Copyright Act, 1957. Technological changes impact this industry as much as any other.