Copyright is the Intellectual Property Right that safeguards original works of authorship, such as literary works, music, dramatic works, pantomimes and choreographic works, sculptural, pictorial, and graphic works, sound recordings, artistic works, architectural works, and computer software.
In India, copyright is protected under the Copyright Act, of 1957. Section 14 of the Act provides the meaning of copyright.
The use of copyright-protected work without the authorization of the owners is known as copyright infringement. It occurs when a third party infringes on the rights of the copyright holders.
The Cambridge Dictionary describes digitalization as the process of changing something to a digital form (a form that can be stored and read by computers).
In the present era, digitalization has become a very important as well as indispensable component facilitating development. Almost every kind of data is available in a digital form. Data can be created, stored as well as transmitted digitally. However not unlike any other invention, digitalization has its demerits as well. It acts as a boon as well as a bane.
One of the negative effects of digitalization is that it has increased the possibility of copyright infringement. Some of the ways in which digitalization acts as a threat to copyright protection are as follows:
Piracy- Piracy refers to the act of illegally reproducing or disseminating copyrighted material such as computer programs, books, music, and films. It leads to the violation of the rights of the authors, performers, artists, and creators of copyrighted work. Software piracy is the unauthorized use of copyrighted software. Copying, downloading, and selling software in an unauthorized manner amounts to software piracy. A number of acts amount to software piracy including unauthorized personal use of the software, unauthorized use of software for commercial purposes, production of software, and dissemination of illegal software by borrowing with computer technology.
Linking- Linking allows a user of a website to visit another through a link address that is shared on the website. Connecting often leads to the infringement of the rights of the owner of the linked webpage. It may lead to a presumption that the two linked sights are the same and hence lower the significance of the linked site. There is a landmark case that deals with interlink and copyright infringement which is Ticketmaster Corporation V. Microsoft Corporation. Ticketmaster filed a suit for infringement against Microsoft for unauthorized deep linking to the Ticketmaster Website. It was held that deep linking did not violate copyright law as there was no direct copying.
Social Media- Social media platforms have emerged on a very large scale and are widely used for the purpose of connecting to people all over the world. Copyright breaches have emerged from the popular habit of sharing content such as pictures, videos, photographs, write-ups, etc on social media. There is a misconception that all content published on social media is open. Unauthorized sharing of content can lead to copyright infringement. Copyright-protected materials must not be stored, reposted, or shared.
Fair Use Doctrine and Anti-Circumvention Laws- Section 52 of the Copyright Act deals with the concept of fair use which permits parts of copyrighted materials to be used without the owner’s authorization. Responsible treatment of any work that isn't a software application for secretive use, such as study, critique, or review of that work or any other work, coverage of current trends and market events, including the publication of a speech delivered in open, isn't a breach of the work. Anti- Circumvention laws provide strong protection to copyright owners by giving them exclusive rights over their work for a certain period of time excluding the public from gaining access to it. However, anti-circumvention laws are not implemented in India.
Digitalization has come forward as a major threat to the enforcement of intellectual property rights. However, it is a necessary evil without which the progress of mankind will be slowed down. At the same time, copyright protection is significant as well. The rights of the creator must be safeguarded against any kind of infringement owing to the skill and effort behind it. Copyright laws need to evolve along with the evolution of technology.
The Copyright Act, 1957
William L. Hosch, “ Piracy copyright crime”, Britannica (July 17th,2023, 3:07 pm) https://www.britannica.com/topic/piracy-copyright-crime
Deepthi R., Software Protection from Piracy under Indian Copyright law a critical study, Shodhganga (July 17, 2023, 3:45 pm) http://hdl.handle.net/10603/388713
Kanika Dawar, Copyright Protection in Digital Era, Kanika Dawar & Ashwin Sudarshan & Dr Chitra BT, International Advanced Research Journal in Science Engineering and Technology (July 17th , 5:00pm) https://iarjset.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/IARJSET.2021.86105.pdf
