Bill C - 11 introduce new copyright provisions

It is noteworthy that we have been talking about in the past the way Indian Copyright Amendment Bill received great felicitation and welcome from the artists society all across the nation. This time Canadian Copyright amendment bill C-11 also arrived with interesting provisions and amendments. In one of the provisions i.e. Clause 7, the ownership of copyright for commissioned photographs is discussed. This clause talks about :

“ the limited rights being granted to the person who portrayed or commissioned the photograph for personal or non commercial use , subject to any contract specified otherwise...”

This is a beneficial provision for artists who are at times devoid of related rights on the commissioned photographs and works. Another interesting attribute is Clause 22 on  “Fair Dealing”.  Under section 29.21 of this clause, an exception is added for the content generated by non commercial users. This is termed as “Mash up exception”.  The clause reads:

“ As per this exception , the consumer has a right to use in a non-commercial context , a publicly available work in order to create a new work. This exception is subject to conditions namely the identification of the source, legality of the work, and absence of substantial adverse effect on the exploitation of the original work…”

Also section 29.22 and 29.23 of this clause talks about “ Format Shifting” and “ Time Shifting”  provisions respectively. Under these provisions the consumers could use Format and Time shifting for private purposes. On a more practical way, for example the consumers may be able to listen to an internet recorded audio or video on their systems at a convenient time or format shift audio on their gadgets like mp3, ipods etc without violating copyright restrictions. But this being subject to limitations like legality of the work obtained and private use clause. Amended Clause 22 states:

“ The purpose of this amendment is to clarify that the exception only applies for private purposes of the individual who owns the music or records the program, and not anybody else’s private purposes...”

Certain other interesting attributes of this bill talks about Technological Protection measures and Safe harbour provisions for ISPs. Full text can be read here. Overall, the proposed amendments touch every aspect of copyright and offer us in depth insight into a modern copyright law.

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Copyrights: Conventions and Treaties available

We have recently witnessed the great Indian Copyright Amendment Bill being passed in the parliament this year and the kind of felicitation it received from the artists, musicians, performers and writers community in India. The life long and equal royalty issues have been the crux of the arguments. In the background of this topic, there are many other significant international treaties protecting the copyrights, broadcasters rights, performers rights and phonogram producers rights worldwide. Some of them are stated as under:

Berne Convention: India is a contracting party to Berne Convention since 1^st April 1928  Berne Convention protects the literary and artistic works of all the member contracting states. The protection also extends to Cinematographic Works, Works of Architecture and Certain Artistic Works. Under  Article 5 of the Berne convention :

“Authors shall enjoy, in respect of works for which they are protected under this Convention, in countries of the Union other than the country of origin, the rights which their respective laws do now or may hereafter grant to their nationals, as well as the rights specially granted by this Convention…”

Rome Convention:  India is also a contracting party to this convention since 1961. Rome Convention extends protection to “related rights” like performances of performers, producers of phonograms and broadcasters. Protection under this convention lasts for a period of 20 years computed from the end of year during which such work is fixed.

“ Protection must last at least until the end of a period of 20 years computed from the end of the year in which: (a) the fixation was made, for phonograms and for performances incorporated therein;  (b) the performance took place, for performances not incorporated in phonograms;  (c) the broadcast took place, for broadcasts……”

WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT): Although India is not a contracting party to this treaty, the treaty was adopted in Geneva on December 20, 1996.  This treaty aims at protecting the rights of performers and producers of phonograms in a uniform and efficient manner. Article 15 of the treaty  talks about equitable remuneration assigned to performers and producers of phonograms. 

“Performers and producers of phonograms shall enjoy the right to a single equitable remuneration for the direct or indirect use of phonograms published for commercial purposes for broadcasting or for any communication to the public…”

  

Hence these were some notable treaties and conventions for internationally protecting the copyrights and related rights of performers, authors, broadcasters and phonogram producers. It is worthwhile to notice the provisions and rights extended under these conventions to value your creative works. 

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Is residual Intellectual Property value worthy

While most of us pay due consideration to a business’s present Intellectual Property worth, it is indeed very interesting to observe what benefits a residual IP value brings to the table. Let’s begin with Patents. It is noteworthy that patents have an average lifespan of 20 years after which the sought after technology falls into the public domain. Although the technology will be easily replicable once it falls in the public domain but the residual value attached to the technology in the form of brand trademarks, service marks, industrial designs, copyrights etc can continue to grab attention of the buyers globally. In addition to that, the brand reputation earned within a period of twenty years is enough to withhold active interest of the potential buyers.

One potential option of utilizing the residual value of your Intellectual Property is Licensing Out. This is also a viable option especially when you have clients ready to adopt the much reputed brand Trademarks of your expired patents. Although the patents have expired but the brand trademarks continue to be in force as long you renew them. Thereby  imparting new business entrants a potential benefit to overcome barriers of entry by adopting these renowned trademarks through licensing deals. Similarly you may exercise other benefits of your residual IP associated with industrial designs and copyrights. At last to sum up, I would say although IP protection lasts within a stipulated period of time but the umpteen residual benefits associated with your intellectual property will be worthy enough to generate the moolah!

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IPAIRS 2.0 version launched

Indian Patent office has recently launched the new version of patent search interface IPAIRS 2.0. The interface is more streamlined and well structured for searching important patent data. Results are displayed in a well arranged format easy to comprehend. It is definitely a marked improvement over the earlier available search interface. Some of the key features introduced are multiple search operators, multiple search field combinations, non repetitive data and incremented search parameters. Overall, it is a user friendly and hassle free search version.

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World IP Day

Today on 26th April, 2012, we celebrate World Intellectual Property Day. We aim to foster Intellectual Property growth in the global economy and development of IP culture in business, educational and public organizations. This day is celebrated worldwide by IP enthusiasts and innovators. We hope to continue nurturing Intellectual Property culture and innovations in the years to come!

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Thinking of registering a Trademark

 Although the basic concept of trademark is quite clear to most of you, yet I get an ample number of queries on other facets of trademarks.  To begin with, a lot of people have a common dilemma on the following:

Territoriality:  Trademarks are territorial in nature i.e. a trademark registered in country X, will give protection to the mark in country X only and not in country Y. Although their may be incidences when a Mark has attained certain popularity or recognition amongst global consumers i.e. Well Known Marks. In that case as per Paris Convention and TRIPS agreement, the mark may acquire protection even without registration in respective countries.

International Registrations: If you wish to register your mark at international destinations, you may either file a TM application individually at each national office or you may exercise an option of filing a single centralized application through Madrid system provided that your country of domicile or commercial establishment is a contracting party under the system.

Duration: Trademarks shall be renewed in order to remain in force. Generally after subsequent interval of ten years for most countries, although this may differ from country to country.

Need:  It is upon you to register the mark officially. Although you may use your respective mark without any obligation to first register it. But looking at the current scenario where stringent competition leads to potential infringement of marks or brand names, it is advisable to formally register it. Registration gives you a formal edge in proceedings against future infringements.

Service or Trademark: Don’t be perplexed on the idea of which mark to register. It is fairly simple, service marks are trademarks used to identify services rather than products. Hence, if you have a service associated with your business , you may go for registering a service mark.

Certain Quality Goods:  In case, your products confer a certain quality, you may register for the certification marks. These marks are accredited by national organizations which are specialized for testing the quality of such products and confirming whether they qualify the set standards.

Collective Marks: These marks are primarily owned by associations or organizations which identify certain characteristics of goods and services i.e. quality level, geographical origin, accuracy, etc. Unlike trademarks, collective marks  can be used by all  members or enterprises adhering to such associations or organizations.

Is it for the logos and symbols only:  Not really. Infact with the recent advancements, certain countries may register a sound or a smell mark. Even the shape of goods, combination of colors, packaging or any other combination can be registered for trademark or trade dress protection in certain countries.
 

I hope we have provided answers to an initial set of queries which you might consider while registering your trademark. 

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Poll of the day

Poll of the day is updated frequently. Our readers may vote there and let us know what they think of the current IP issues in question. We will bring you more interesting IP polls and updates in the coming time. Stay tuned.

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