Theme of the project

Copyright and Technology

Issue of the topic

“Challenges in protection of copyright in digital age - Assessing the Impact of Digital
Distribution Technologies on Copyright Infringement”
 Aims and Objectives
To explore the impact of emerging technologies on copyright laws and the legal challenges of
infringement in the digital age. Analyse how technologies like AI, blockchain, and digital
platforms affect copyright enforcement.
Hypothesis
Technological advancements have outpaced traditional copyright laws, leading to increased
challenges in protecting intellectual property rights.
Research Questions
How have technological advancements influenced copyright infringement?
What reforms are needed in copyright law to accommodate emerging technologies?
Research Methodology
For the purpose of completing this project I have used primary as well as secondary sources of
information. Primary sources include the book from the library whereas secondary sources
include websites and articles.
INTRODUCTION
The digital era has revolutionized the way we create, consume, and distribute content. With the
rise of digital technologies such as the internet, social media, and mobile devices, it has become
easier than ever to create and share digital content, including music, movies, images, and text.
However, this digital landscape has also brought many challenges to copyright protection. In the
digital era, copyright protection has become a major concern for content creators, publishers, and
users alike. The ease of reproduction and distribution of digital content has made it difficult to
prevent piracy and copyright. Infringement. Additionally, tracking ownership and enforcing
copyright laws can be a complex and costly process.
The concept of balance in copyright and technology refers to the delicate equilibrium between
protecting the rights of creators (copyright holders) and ensuring that technology can innovate
and facilitate access to information, culture, and creativity. As technology rapidly evolves, it
challenges traditional copyright frameworks, which are often slower to adapt. Maintaining this
balance is crucial for both encouraging creative works and allowing technology to benefit society
without stifling innovation.
The term "Balance in IP Law” has not ever been mentioned in earlier IP treaties and legislation,
the 1883 París Convention, the 1886 Berne Convention or the 1891 Madrid Agreement, none of
the TRIPS Agreement has ever referred to the term until 1996.
The TRIPS Agreement was the first major international treaty to use the term “balance” in
Article 7 in the context of objectives of IP protection: “The protection and enforcement of
intellectual property rights should contribute to the promotion of technological innovation and to
the transfer and dissemination of technology, in a manner conducive to a balance of rights and
obligations”
The 1996 World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty (WCT) recognizes “the
need to maintain a balance between the rights of authors and the larger public interest,
particularly education. Research, and access to information.” In a similar vein, the 1996 WIPO
Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) recognizes “the need to maintain a balance
between the rights of performers and producers of phonograms and the larger public interest,
particularly education, research, and access to Information.
The technological change is characterised by a high rate of innovation and an unpredictable
outcome and because the innovation is rapid and unpredictable, the adaption of copyright law
lags behind the introduction of new technological advancements.
Copyrights
Copyrights are indeed one of the oldest forms of intellectual property it calls for originality and
creativity. Copyrights will be protected whether the work id registered or not, even the work is
done by anonymous or pseudonymous artist is protected as copyrights. According to WIPO A
copyright (or author’s right) is a legal term used to describe the rights that creators have over
their literary and artistic works. Works covered by copyrights range from books, music,
paintings, sculpture, and films to computer programs, databases, advertisements, maps ect.
Copyright protection exists not only during the lifetime of the author but also beyond it. WIPO’s
Berne Convention for protection of Literary and artistic works which goes back to 1886 provides
a time limit for copyright to subsist. It is 50 years after the death of the creator after the
expiration of the period the work would fall in public domain. India follows the principle of life
+ 60 years.
There are various dimensions of the copyrights:
Economic rights are a right in which author can authorize others to use a work in various ways
like Distribution rights, broadcasting rights adaptation rights etc. Creators usually interested in
commercializing the creations and they transfer these rights to professionally equipped entities
which commercialize these products efficiently and effectively.
Moral rights are integral to the creator that requires recognition and respect for the integrity of
his work. The author who exercise these rights can choose to restrict any mixing or modification
of his right or even restrict sharing of a work.
Neighbouring rights are the rights in which work done by certain persons or organization is
being covered. While Copyrights protect the work done by authors neighbouring rights protected
the work done by all others associated with the work of creation. For e.g. in case of a novel work
is done by author is a creator, the publisher also have some rights over it.
What is Copyright Infringement
The unauthorized use of the work protected by registered copyright is referred to as copyright
infringement. Thus, it is the unauthorized use of someone else’s copyrighted work that violates
the owner’s rights, such as the right to reproduce, distribute, exhibit, or perform the protected
work. When copyright is infringed is specified in Section 51 of the Copyright Act. Section 51 of
the Act states that a copyright infringement occurs if:
 Any act that only the copyright holder is authorized to perform is carried out by a person
without the copyright holder’s consent.
 Unless he was unaware or had no cause to suspect that such consent will result in a
breach of copyright, a person permits the use of the location for selling, exhibition,
communication, or distribution of an infringing work.
 Someone brings in pirated copies of a work.
 Without the copyright holder’s permission, someone reproduces his work in any way.
Types of copyright infringement
Infringement of copyright can take place in two ways: primary infringement and secondary
infringement. If one likes, they can be called direct and indirect infringement.
Primary infringement: Primary infringement indicates the actual deed of making infringing
copies of the work of the copyright holder, for example, making a recording of a new
cinematograph film and then uploading it on the websites.
Secondary infringement: This type of infringement means contributing to the principal act of
copyright infringement. It is a legal theory that makes a person responsible for copyright
infringement for partaking in activities such as selling, distributing, and importing infringing
copies and providing a place that can be used for communication of work to the public.
The challenges of copyright in the digital age
The digital age has presented a multitude of challenges for copyright holders. One of the primary
challenges is the ease with which digital content can be replicated and distributed without the
permission of the creator. This has led to rampant copyright infringement, with unauthorized
copies of movies, music, books, and other creative works being shared freely across the internet.
Another challenge is the difficulty in identifying and tracking instances of infringement. With
millions of Users and vast amounts of content being uploaded daily, it is a monumental task to
monitor and enforce copyright protection. This has created a cat-and-mouse game between
copyright holders and infringers, with new strategies and technologies constantly emerging on
both sides.
Digital Era And Copyright Infringement- Issues
Easy Accessibility Online
Now days the use of internet and online based systems has increased manifolds and it is no more
a complex task to gather or collect any data from the internet. Any user can easily copy, duplicate
or access the data without the permission of the author and it is difficult to trace them back due to
the issues of privacy and other matters.
Complex Ownership:
In the digital age, ownership of copyrighted materials can be difficult to establish. With the ease
of reproduction and distribution, it can be hard to determine who the original owner of a
particular work is, or who has the right to distribute it.
High Cost of Enforcement:
Enforcing copyright laws in the digital age can be a costly and time-consuming process. With so
much content available online, it can be difficult to identify cases of copyright infringement and
take legal action against those responsible.
People’s Attitude
Another issue with the copyright infringement in digital era is that general people have a myth in
mind that they can copy any data from the internet or other sources without any authorization.
However, it is not so and such use will be unauthorized unless and until the permission of the
owner has been taken, or he has been referenced or if the information has been made available by
the government.
‘Fair use’ mechanism
Section 52 of the Copyright Act, 1957 embarks upon some situations that can be treated as
exception to the copyright infringement. In such provisions, the concept ‘fair use’ of copyrighted
work is provided which allows the fair use of some original works in certain cases. This liberal
approach has made people to copy the original work under the shed of fair use and then use such
data for any unauthorized publication and it becomes difficult to trace and prevent such
unauthorized access of data.
Lacking of Copyright law
The time, at which the copyrights act was created in 1957, the digital concept of copyright
infringement was not known to the framers of the legislation. Hence, a proper mechanism in
order to protect and combat the digital copyright infringement was lacking. It was only after the
World Copyright Treaty 1996 at Berne convention and the WIPO Performance of Phonogram
Treaty 1996 that the rights of digital work were recognized and online protection to copyrighted
works were brought into play. It is after these treaties that India amended its act of 1957 several
times and brought the Amendment act in 2012.
This act recognized the online protection concept of copyrighted works to some extent but still a
proper mechanism for preventing the unauthorized access of data due to the current fast track
technology has been lacking in the legislation pertaining to copyright infringement.
User-Generated Content:
With the rise of social media and other user-generated content platforms, it has become easier
than ever for individuals to create and share their own content. However, this can also make it
difficult to determine who owns the copyright to a particular work, and to enforce copyright
laws.
Peer to Peer (P2P) file sharing
In general, file sharing refers to the electronic sharing of digital files (music, audio recordings,
movies, television shows, games, and computer software, for example). Peer-to-peer is a method
of exchanging files without the use of a middleman server. P2P technology was not designed to
facilitate copyright infringement, but it is increasingly being used to download illegally
copyrighted materials.
Wide impact of Multimedia and Social media
Multimedia is a much broader concept consisting of text, sounds, audio-video, images, graphics
etc. The copyright protection has been provided to a variety of works such as software programs,
films, videos, musical works like sound or audio, photographs etc. Under the wider ambit of
various rights provided to the owners of a copyright, it becomes difficult to manage between the
protection and infringement of the copyrighted works.
Social media on the other hand has provided a wide range of activities such as sharing of
information, material, images, videos etc which can pose to be a large hindrance in the path of
copyrighted law as there is general notion that all information available on social media is freely
accessible which is actually a false assumption. Also, the privacy and security matters on the
social media make it much difficult to prevent the duplication of copyrighted works.
Balancing Access and Protection:
While copyright protection is important, it is also important to balance this protection with the
need for access to information and creative expression. Finding the right balance between access
and protection can be a challenge in the digital age.

Governing principles for deciding the infringement

The governing principles for deciding the infringement of copyright are as under:
a. There can be no copyright in an idea, subject matter, themes, plots or historical or
legendary facts, and violation in such cases is confined to the form, manner and
arrangement and expression of the idea by the author of the copyrighted work.
b. Where the same idea is being developed in a different manner it manifests that the source
being common, similarities are bound to occur. In such cases, the Courts should
determine whether or not the similarities are on fundamental or substantial aspects of the
mode of expression adopted in the copyright work. In order to be actionable, the copy
must be a substantial and material one, which leads to the conclusion that the defendant is
guilty of an act of piracy.
c. One of the surest and safest tests to determine whether or not there has been a violation of
copyright is to see if the reader, spectator or the viewer after having read or seen both the
works is clearly of the opinion and gets an unmistakable. Impression that the subsequent
work appears to be a copy of the original.
d. Where the theme is the same but is presented and treated differently so that the
subsequent work becomes a completely new work, no question of violation of copyright
arises.
e. Where, however, apart from the similarities appearing in the two works, there are also
material and broad dissimilarities which negate the intention to copy the original and the
co-incidences appearing in the two works are clearly incidental, no infringement of the
copyright comes into existence.
 f. Piracy must be proved by clear and cogent evidence after applying the various tests laid
down for the purpose.
g. Fair dealing with any work has been kept out of the mischief of the Copyright Act
h. Court may take the assistance of an expert in complicated and technical aspects of the
violation of copyright(s).
i. The test to detect piracy is to see whether mistakes and deviations occurring in the have
also been reproduced,
j. Law restraining human enterprise should be liberally construed and therefore copyright
Act should not be interpreted so as to shut out research and scholarship.
k. The burden lies on the plaintiff to satisfy the court that the defendant has infringed his
copyright.
l. Innocence is no defence to a charge of infringement.
m. An infringement is in the nature of an invasion of a right of property and therefore
intention of the infringer is immaterial provided there is infringement.
n. For determination of the question of infringement, the results and not the intention are
relevant.
o. The owner of the literary work could bring action for infringement of copyright even
though the literary work was not registered. Non-registration of work does not prevent an
action for infringement.
Therefore, in determining the question of infringement, the ultimate test is to find out whether
there has been a reproduction of plaintiff’s work in the defendant’s work to a substantial or
material extent. The principle behind this is that the defendant is not at liberty to avail himself of
the labour which the plaintiff has put for producing his work. In order to constitute infringement,
firstly, there must be sufficient objective similarity between the infringing works and, secondly,
the copyright work must be the source from which the infringing work is derived, but it need not
be direct source.
There must be substantial copying of the work. In order to decide this one needs to ascertain,
firstly, the volume of the material taken, bearing in mind that quality is more important than
quantity. Secondly, how much of such material is the subject matter of copyright and how much
is not. Thirdly, whether there has been animus furandi, i.e. an intention to steal for the purpose of
saving him labour, on the defendant’s part. Fourthly, to ascertain the extent to which the
plaintiff’s and defendant’s works are competing. In most cases, there would not be any direct
evidence of copying, thus, surrounding circumstances have to be considered. There can be
infringement by indirect copying also. A work may be copied from the pre existing copy of the
same work.

Digital rights management (DRM) and its impact on copyright

Digital rights management (DRM) has emerged as a technology-driven solution to protect
copyright in the digital era. DRM refers to the use of encryption and access control technologies
to restrict the unauthorized use and distribution of digital content. It allows copyright holders to
set permissions and limitations on how their works can be accessed, copied, or shared.
While DRM has its advantages in safeguarding copyright, it has also faced criticism for being
overly restrictive. Some argue that DRM limits the rights of consumers, hindering their ability to
access and use copyrighted content for legitimate purposes. Additionally, DRM systems can be
prone to vulnerabilities and can be circumvented by determined infringers, rendering them
ineffective in certain cases.

Remedies against infringement of Copyright in Digital Domain

The threats of infringement of Copyright in the digital domain have given rise to certain
preventive measures which ensure that the rights and interest of the owner or creators are
protected. Some of the important remedies available are:
Blockchain Technology
It is highly secured decentralised public ledger that is used to record peer to peer transaction. In
each transaction that occurs, the parties agree to details to encode it into the block of digital data
which is uniquely signed or identified. It is due to its functioning that it is considered an
excellent technology to resolve the problem of copyright in Digital Domain. Impact of digital
technology on intellectual property is not only negative, but also it has some positive influences,
as digital technology made the invention and creativity easy and efficient and also helps to catch
violators quickly. However, following are some of the ways to protect the digital/intellectual
property –
Cryptography
The oldest method of ensuring the security and privacy of data transmitted via networks is
cryptography. The information is scrambled (or encrypted) to make it incomprehensible or
difficult to understand, and only the authorized user can decode it (or decrypt it). Cryptography,
however, only safeguards the work during transmission or distribution.
Technology for Digital Watermarks
A digital watermark is a signal or pattern that is placed into a digital document. It resembles the
electronic on-screen logo that TV broadcasters employ. The work is identified by a special
identifier. Information about ownership, sender, recipient, etc., as well as information about
copyright permission, may be included in the message. A watermark generator, embedder, and
watermark detector decoder make up the system. These watermarks can be removed by the
authorized user using a preset algorithm. The technology of watermarking is widely utilized to
safeguard multimedia productions.
Digital Signature Technology
A digital signature includes the sender’s and/or receiver’s identities, as well as the date, the time,
and any special codes. Digital goods can include this information. A software product is digitally
bound and marked in preparation for distribution to a specific buyer. Digitally signed fingerprints
ensure the authenticity of documents and stop unauthorized copying.
Electronic Marking
Using this method, the system creates a special mark that is automatically linked to each copy of
the document. When documents are printed, copied, or faxed, this technique is employed to
safeguard copyright as well as in electronic publishing.

Remedies for Infringement of Copyright

Civil Remedies
 Section 55(1) of the copyright act, provides that the copyright holder is entitled to remedy
by way of Injunction. The injunction is the most effective remedy in case of copyright
infringement. Injunction refers to the judicial process by which one who is threatening
the legal rights of someone is restrained to continue his acts or is ordered to restore the
matter to the position in which they stood before the action.
 Section 55(1) of the copyright act, further provides that the copyright holder is entitled to
damages for copyright infringement. The purpose of providing the damages to the
copyright holder is to restore him to the earlier position. There are various factors that
determine the amount of damages to be paid to the copyright holder. Generally, the
damages are awarded for the amount that the copyright holder would have got if the
person had obtained the license from him. However, there are various other factors as
well, that determines the amount of damages like the loss of profit to the copyright
holder, loss of reputation, decrease in the sale of the copyright holder’s work etc.
Criminal Remedies
 The copyright holder con toke criminal proceedings against the infringer. The criminal
remedy is not on olternative to the civil remedy but is complementary to it. Thus, the
copyright holder can bring both civil and criminal proceedings simultaneously.
 Section 63 of the Copyright. Act, states that copyright infringement is a criminal offence.

Conclusion
The digital era has brought many challenges to copyright protection. However, it has also
provided new tools and technologies to help content creators and publishers protect their rights.
By implementing measures such as digital rights management, watermarking, and educating
users on copyright laws, it is possible to address the challenges presented by the digital era.
While digital distribution offers greater access and convenience for consumers, it also
complicates the measurement of infringement and its financial consequences. Accurate
assessment requires robust methodologies to differentiate between unauthorized and legitimate
use, and to gauge the full scope of piracy's impact. By improving these assessment techniques,
stakeholders can develop more effective strategies to protect intellectual property and ensure that
copyright laws adapt to the evolving digital landscape. It is important to continue to monitor
emerging technologies and their impact on copyright protection, and to find a balance between
access and protection. With the right measures in place, we can continue to promote creativity,
innovation, and responsible use of copyrighted materials in the digital age.

Bibliography