An artist or creator of a new literary, artistic or musical work must ensure that the work is protected from any form of copyright infringement or illegal use. Intellectual Property Rights provided under Copyright protect the creation of an artist from anyone who tries to use or remake the creation illegally without prior approval or license from the creator.
A copyright is a right under IPR laws in India i.e., copyright law India and copyright rules, 2013 provided to the creator of any literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work and producer of any cinematograph film and sound recording. A copyright entitles the owner to the right of reproducing the protected work, communicating it to the public, adapting and translating the work in any other form. Any person who illegally uses makes, adapts or translates a copyright protected work would be liable to punishment under copyright laws in India for copyright infringement.
The creator, owner or legal representative of a copyrighted work has to take prompt action in case of copyright infringement in India. The legal copyright procedure in India against any illegal use of protected work begins with a copyright infringement notice sent to the person. With most of the copyright protected content posted over the internet, cases of copyright infringement are on the rise.
When it comes to online copyright infringement, the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) or the internet intermediaries play an important role in protecting intellectual property rights of copyright owners in India. Under the law, Section 79(1)(c) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 prescribe the duty of intermediaries to observe due diligence and ensure that patent, copyright, trademark or any other proprietary rights of an owner are not violated in transmission or storage of any electronic data.
What is a Copyright Takedown Notice?
Copyright takedown notice is sent if an intermediary publishes or displays a link to any copyright protected work that amounts to copyright infringement cases in India or piracy, the owner can send a takedown notice for copyright infringement in India and get the link or content removed from the intermediary’s website. A takedown notice or copyright infringement notice is a letter or complaint sent to a website administrator stating that material hosted by the website has infringed copyright of the owner and they ask such material to be removed from the website.
In the USA, laws governing takedown notice are given under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The law provides stricter punishment for copyright infringement and provides immunity to Online Service Providers and ISPs located and registered in the USA, like YouTube in case of copyright infringement. However, there are no such specific laws in India that provide for takedown notice for copyright infringement. Though the copyright law in India provides for copyright infringement penalties in India.
How to file a Copyright Takedown Notice in India?
The Copyright Rules, 2013 provides the procedure and requirements to send a copyright takedown notice. Rule 75 of Copyright Rules, 2013 states that a copyright infringement notice must be in form of a written complaint and contain the following details:
- A complete description of the work with adequate information about the work. The description must be detailed and not vague as there are millions of similar content posted constantly over the internet. Websites like YouTube or Facebook must be able to identify the copyright protected work clearly to take it down.
- Details of the complainant that proves their ownership or exclusive license in the copyright protected work. If the complainant is a licensee, the license agreement must be attached with the copyright takedown notice.
- Details of the material posted on the website and proof that they are not covered under Section 52 of the Copyright Act, 1957. It must be explained that the material posted is not in fair use and amounts to infringement of the owner’s copyright.
- Information about the location where the transient or incidental storage of copyright work took place. A link or URL of the infringing material must be included in copyright takedown notice. A link enables the website host to quickly take it down.
- Information of the person who is responsible for uploading the copyright protected work on the website.
A copyright takedown notice directs the receiver that if the copyright infringing work is not taken down for 21 days within 36 hours of receiving the notice, an infringement suit will be filed against them.
A court order must be obtained within these 21 days to support the takedown notice. The order restrains the website host or ISP from allowing access to infringing material. The copy of court order must be sent to the ISP or website host within the stipulated period, else the owner cannot file an infringement suit at a later stage.
A copyright takedown notice must be sent only after the owner consults a copyright (IPR) lawyer in India to fully understand the legal procedure and make sure that a substantial case is made that does not fall under any category of Section 52 of the Copyright Act, 1957. Need help to send a copyright takedown notice? Hire the best Copyright (IPR) lawyers from MyAdvo. Email us at info@myadvo.in or call now at 9811782573.
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