DIGITAL RIGHTS

MANAGEMENT
POSITION OF LAW
INDIA TO GAIN OR TO
LOSE
DR. ANIRBAN MAZUMDER
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF JURIDICAL
SCIENCES
CALCUTTA

BACKGROUND OF
COPYRIGHT LAW
Indian Copyright Act has been
amended several times to respond to
challenges
posed
by
the
development of new technologies.
Amendments have been made in
1983, 1984,1992,1994 and 1999 to
accommodate satellite broadcasting,
computer
program
and
digital
technology.

IMPACT OF INTERNET
With the advent of new technologies, Internet
has become world wide duplicating machine
enabling people to make duplicate copies
and distribute them all over the world at low
cost.
International Intellectual Property Association
Special Report on India recorded loss due to
pirated musical products to $ 36.2 M and for
pirated software products to $ 1060 M.
Whether this data is an indicator for India to
adopt widespread DRM protection measures?

INFLUENCE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

Digital technology has not only created new
risks from right holders but also created
opportunities for widespread cost effective
distribution, as well as new tool for
controlling content.
Number
of
technologies
have
been
developed to make digital works difficult to
copy,
distribute
and
access
without
necessary permission. These technologies
are popularly known as Digital Rights
Management
(DRM)
or
Technology
Protection Measures (TPM).

DRMs
Access Control Method Digital Object
contents are encrypted and then wrapped
in a software envelope so that even if
some one receives a copy of it may read the
envelope but not the content without
paying royalty.
Rights Control Method it prevents
consumer from manipulating content.
Proprietary Viewer it prevents consumer
from unauthorised use if payment has
been made for viewing a material then it
can not be copied.

DRMs
Digital Watermarks it allows
authors to trace the source of a work
and any unauthorised distribution. If
a product has watermark with unique
identifier, any copy with watermark
can be linked to the original and
thereby can be traced the source of
unauthorised copies.

INTERNATIONAL TREATY
WIPO
Copyright
Treaty
and
WIPO
Performance and Phonogram Treaty 1996
has offered audio visual industry a legal
basis to protect their works through
technological measures.
Contracting parties are allowed to take
adequate and effective measures for
regulating devices and services intended
for technology defeating purpose Anti
Circumventing Provision.
Treaty doest not define DRM, rather leaves
it on member countries to define it.

RIGHT MANAGEMENT INFORMATION

Information which identifies the work,
author of the work and any rights in the
work and any number or code that
represents such information when such
information is attached to a product or
connected to any communication to
public.
Unlike DRM, RMI does not create a right
for authors but seeks to remedy if any act
induces infringement relating to such
product or service.

COPYRIGHT ACT

The objective of Copyright Act is to

offer balance between rights of the
authors and owners on one hand and
larger public interest, particularly
education, research and access to
information.

PROPOSED AMMENDMENT
65A. Protection of Technological Measures
(1) Any person who circumvents an effective technological
measure applied for the purpose of protecting any of the
rights conferred by this Act, with the intention of infringing
such rights, shall be punishable with imprisonment which
may extend to two years and shall also be liable to fine.
(2) Nothing in sub-section (1) shall prevent any person
from,
(a) doing anything referred to therein for a purpose not
expressly prohibited by this Act:
Provided that any person facilitating circumvention by
another person of a technological measure for such a
purpose shall maintain a complete record of such other
person including his name, address and all relevant
particulars necessary to identify him and the purpose for
which he has been facilitated; or

PROPOSED AMMENDMENT
(b) doing anything necessary to conduct encryption
research using a lawfully obtained
encrypted copy; or
(c) conducting any lawful investigation; or
(d) doing anything necessary for the purpose of
testing the security of a computer system or a
computer network with the authorisation of its owner;
or
(e) operator; or
(f) doing anything necessary to circumvent
technological measures intended for identification or
surveillance of a user; or
(g) taking measures necessary in the interest of
national security

PROPOSED AMMENDENT
Sec 65 B Protection of Rights Management
Information Any person who knowingly
(i) removes or alters any Rights
Management Information without authority
(ii) distributes, imports for distribution or
communicates to public without authority
copies of any work or performance, knowing
that electronic rights management
information has been removed or altered
without authority shall be liable for
imprisonment which may extend to two
years and shall also be liable to fine

PROPOSED AMMENDMENT
Provided that if the rights
management information has been
tampered with in any work, the
owner of copyright in such work may
also avail civil remedies provided
under Chapter XII of this Act against
the persons indulging in such
activities.

PROPSOED AMMENDMENT
Sec 2 xa Rights Management Information
means
(a) the title or other information identifying the
work or performance;
(b) the name of the author or performer;
(c) the name and address of the owner of rights;
(d) terms and conditions regarding the use of
the rights; and
(e) any matter or code that represents the
information referred to in Sub-clauses (a) to (d),
but does not include any device or
procedure intended to identify the user.

WHY AMMENDMENT
India has not signed WIPO Copyright Treaty,
so it is free from any obligation for enacting
such provision.
These provisions
creates TRIPs plus
standard which India is not obliged to create.
It is to be assessed whether it is necessary
for India to enact such provision.
Developed countries enter into international
intellectual property agreement only when
they are net exporter of intellectual property
to receive benefit from strengthened
international standard.

WHY AMMENDMENT
International
Intellectual
Property
Alliance
recommended India in 2007 to adopt standards of
WCT and WPPT.
Hollywood entertainment studios are lobbying for
these changes for tilting balance towards copyright
owners.
Commission on Intellectual Property, UK observed
For
developing
countries
where
Internet
connectivity is limited and subscriptions to online
resources
unaffordable,
anti
circumvention
legislation may exclude access to these materials
altogether and will impose heavy burden and will
delay participation of these countries to global
knowledge based society.

OBSERVATION
These provisions may concentrate
exploitation of copyrighted materials
with powerful corporations and it
may seriously erode common cultural
heritage.

Thank you