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Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice Advance Access published online on July 2, 2009
Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, doi:10.1093/jiplp/jpp095
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© The Author (2009). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

How prepared is the Indian entertainment industry to tackle the challenges posed by Web 2.0?

Nilanjana Sensarkar*
Legal context: In November 2007, a highly reputed Indian record company, Super Cassettes Industries Limited, took YouTube to court alleging infringement of its copyright in the Web 2.0 environment. This illustrates the growing concern among the entertainment industries worldwide regarding the role of online service providers in safeguarding their copyright materials in the user uploaded content world.

Key points: The issue of liability of internet middlemen gains significance in India due to its rapidly expanding information and communication industry and the unprecedented growth of its entertainment sector. In order to balance the seemingly opposing interests of the content owners and providers leading jurisdictions like the USA and the EU have incorporated safe harbour provisions in their copyright legislations to provide immunity to online intermediaries from direct and/or indirect infringement. However, similar provisions are lacking in India. The Indian Copyright Act, 1957 does not address the question of secondary liability for receiving, storing, or transmitting alleged infringing content. Thus, the focus shifts on the examination of the efficacy of India's Information Technology Act, 2000 and its proposed amendments. Analysis reveals the grave inadequacies in the existing law. The proposed amendments clarify the situation to some extent. However, their outcome is muddled, with the government's policy objectives remaining ambiguous. The Indian entertainment industry's response has been to collaborate with its counter parts worldwide in the adoption of risk mitigation strategies.

Practical significance: The overall significance of the aforementioned analysis for India lies in the promotion of legal clarity and certainty that becomes indispensible for the growth of its fledgling entertainment industry.

Correspondence: * Nilanjana Sensarkar is a Doctoral Candidate in Law, Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute, University of London. Email: n.sensarkar{at}qmul.ac.uk


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