“Ethics in Media (The Relevance of Copy Right Act in Media)”

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A
Dissertation on
“Ethics in Media (The Relevance of Copy Right Act in Media)”
By
Shashikant Bhagat
Nalsar Pro ID No. MLH39_09
A Project Paper Submitted in Partial fulfillment of P.G. Diploma in
Media Laws for Module – II (Media – The Legal Framework)
December 2009
Nalsar University of Law (Nalsar Pro), Hyderabad

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Table of Contents
Sr. Heading Page
No. No.
01. Introduction: - 3-6
02 Case 7-8
03. The Relevance of Copyright Act in 9-14
India
04. Term of Copyright 15-17
05. Broadcast Reproduction Right 16-16
06. Copyright Piracy 17-23
07. Conclusion 24-24
08. Bibliography 25-25

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INTRODUCTION

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Media ethics is the subdivision of applied ethics dealing with the specific ethics
principles and standards of media, including broadcast media, film, theatre, the
arts, print media and the internet. The field covers many varied and highly
controversial topics, ranging from war journalism to Benetton advertising. Like
ethics the law seeks to balance competing aims. In most countries there are
laws preventing the media from doing or saying certain things when this would
unduly breach another person’s rights? For instance, slander and libel are forms
of defamation, a tort. Slander occurs when a person’s good name is unfairly
slurred. Libel is concerned with attacks on reputation through writing. A major
area of conflict is between the public’s “right to know”, or reputation through
writing. A major area of conflict is between the public’s “right to know”, or
freedom of the press, and individual’s right to privacy. This clash often occurs
regarding reporting into the private lives of public figures. There are restrictions
in most countries on the publication of obscene material, particularly where it
depicts nudity, desecration of religious objects or symbols (blasphemy), human
remains or violent or sexual.
Areas of Media Ethics: -
Ethics of Journalism: -
The ethics of journalism is one of the most well-defined branches of media
ethics, primarily because it is frequently taught in schools of journalism.
Journalistic ethics tends to dominate media ethics, sometimes almost to the
exclusion of other areas.
i) News Manipulation – News can manipulate and be manipulated.
Governments and corporations may attempt to manipulate news
media; governments, for example, by censorship, and corporations by
share ownership. The methods of manipulated may not be aware of
this case.

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What we have seen in Mumbai in the last ten days is a new low in politics. A
politics like this is deadly for our democracy. Regional chauvinism and parochial
politics are being played out at the expense of some very poor people.
MUMBAI is in headlines for last few days and we have seen some very
parochial politics being played in Mumbai and in the country over all.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) activits are on rampage against North-
India migrants in Mumbai and Maharashtra. The ‘bhaiyyas’, common pejorative
for North-Indian living in Mumbai, are being targeted because MNS believes that
these migrants, especially from Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Bihar are creating
nuisance in the city and are taking the share of Marathi people.
Raj Thackeray is struggling to gain some political relevance and ahead of 2009
assembly polls, he has aroused regionalism to meet his vested interested. He
wants to project himself as a true savior ‘ Marathi Manus’. But he has touched a
new low in the politics by pitting people of one region against another. Such
tactics can be very deadly and may lead to total chaos and unrest in Mumbai.
This can be well controlled if the media would have not come in the picture and
manipulated the news.
ii) Truth – truth may conflict with many other values.
Public interest – revelation of military secrets and other
sensitive government information may be contrary to the
public interest, even if it is true. The definition of public
interest is hard.
Privacy – Salacious details of the lives of public figures is a
central content element in many media. Publication is not
necessarily justified simple because the information is true.
Privacy is also a right, and one which conflicts with free
speech.
Fantasy – fantasy is an element of entertainment, which is
a legitimate goal of media content. Journalism may mix
fantasy and truth, with resulting ethical dilemmas.

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Taste – Photo journalists who cover war and disasters
confront situations which may shock the sensitivities of their
audiences. For example, human remains are rarely
screened. The ethical issue is how far should one risk
shocking an audience’s sensitivities in order to correctly and
fully report the truth.
(iii) Conflict with the law – Journalistic ethics may conflict with the
law over issues such as the protection of confidential news sources.
There is also the question of the extent to which it is ethically
acceptable to break the law in order to obtain news. For example,
undercover reporters may be engaging in deception, trespass and
similar torts and crimes.

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Case
There are some stories that simply don’t make the news, while others
more than make up for it in terms of volume, even though both may be
in the same zone. Let’s look at a few random examples:
• Amitabh Bachchan’s house getting flooded is news, 1.3 million
people in Bihar and Orissa losing their homes due to floods is not
news.
• Prince Stuck at the bottom of a well is news, while a Dalit boy burnt
alive for daring to pull water out of a well is not new.
• Gay people protesting in Australia is news, Landless marching to
Delhi- in the largest march since Independence is not news.
• The Sensex at 20,000 is news; companies laying off people due to
the strengthening rupee is not news.
• Discriminating against Shilpa Shetty is news; Discrimination
against Muslims & Dalits is not news.
• Bobby Jindal is welcome news, Mayawati is not.
• And SRK on a high protein diet to get his six packs is news, but,
millions not having any diet to speak about is not news.
Case

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From TOI:
Delhi Police on Friday detained for questioning a TV channel reporter who
conducted a sting operation on a government school teacher in an attempt to
show that she was running a prostitution racket. Prakash Singh, the television
reporter of Live India, was asked to join investigation by the police but he
refused. He was ultimately picked up for investigation on Friday”, a senior police
officer said. His detention comes a day after police arrested a girl who appeared
in the TV sting operation posing as a student. She was arrested on charges of
“criminal conspiracy, cheating and fabricating false evidence”. All very fine, but
what about the owners and promoters of “Live India TV” – what is their
punishment for having systems and processes that
a) Allows for a story like this to go on, without verification. What were the
editors and others doing, or is Live India TV – the bastion for unedited
user generated content.
b) Allows an innocent person to be defamed, defaced, derided, and wrongly
outed.
c) Through their irresponsibility and avarice, puts all our freedoms in peril.
Can we please see their broadcasting license withdrawn and heavy punitive
damages for this action? There is no point in just penalizing the guy on the
ground. A system that allows and encourages this sort of damages ought to
face the consequences. Sting operations are needed to ensure that instead
of penalizing organizations misusing ‘sting’ – we end up debating ‘sting’ itself.
And, it is time that we – instead of banning techniques, look at penalizing
organizations that condone poor and faulty journalism. Misuse of journalistic
powers and broadcasting licenses ought to be dealt with by the industry, the
government without exceptions. And as far as the victim of this sting is
concerned – the poor teacher. Stuff like this never goes away. Her name, her
address, her looks are plastered all over the place. The arrest of this
‘journalist’ will not make it go away.

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The relevance of Copy Right Act in Media
Introduction

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The Copyright Act, 1957 came into effect from January 1958. This Act has
been amended five times since then, i.e., in 1983, 1984, 1992, 1994 and
1999, with the amendment of 1994 being the most substantial. Prior to the
Act of 1957, the law of copyrights in the country was governed by the
Copyright Act, 1911 to India. Even the Copyright Act, 1957 borrowed
extensively from the new Copyright Act of the United Kingdom of 1956. The
Copyright Act, 1957 continues with the common law traditions.
Developments elsewhere have brought about certain degree of convergence
in copyright regimes in the developed world. The Indian Copyright Act today
is compliant with most international conventions and treaties in the field of
copyrights. India is member of the Berne Convention of 1886 (as modified at
Paris in 1971), the Universal Copyright Convention of 1951 and the
Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
Agreement of 1995. Though India is not a member of the Rome Convention
of 1961, the Copyright Act, 1957 is fully compliant with the Rome Convention
provisions.
Two new treaties, collectively termed as Internet Treaties, were negotiated in
1996 under the auspices of the World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO). These treaties are called the WIPO Copyrights Treaty (WTC) and
the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT). These treaties
were negotiated essentially to provide for protection of the rights of copyright
holders, performers and producers of phonograms in the Internet and digital
era. India is not a member of these treaties as yet. The section 9 of the
copyright act. The copyright office is to be under the immediate control of a
registrar of copyrights to be appointed by the central government, who would
act under the superintendence and directions of the central government.
Section 11 of the copyright act requires the central government to constitute
a copyright board headed by a chairman with not less than two and not more
than 14 other members. Registrar of copyrights is to be secretary of the
copyright board. Section 12 of the copyright act also lays down the powers of
the copyright board and deems it to be a civil court for the purposes of
sections 345 and 346 of the code of criminal procedure, 1973 and also that
all the proceedings of the board would be deemed to be judicial proceedings
within the meaning of sections 193 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code.

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Meaning of copyright: - (1) For the purpose of this Act, “copyright” means the
exclusive right, by virtue of and subject to the provisions of, this act,
(a) In the case of a literary, dramatic or musical work, to do and authorized
the doing of any of the following acts, namely: -
(i) To reproduce the work in any material form;
(ii) To publish the work;
(iii) To perform the work in public;
(iv) To produce, reproduce, perform or publish any translation of the
work;
(v) To communicate the work by radio-diffusion or to communicate to
the public by a loud-speaker or any other similar instrument the
radio-diffusion of the work;
(vi) To make any adaptation of the work;
(vii) To do in relation to a translation or an adaptation of the work any of
the acts specified in relation to the work in clauses (i) to (iv);
(b) In the case of an artistic work, to do or authorize the doing of any of the
following acts, namely: -
(i) To publish the work;
(ii) To include the work in any cinematograph film;
(iii) To make any adaptation of the work;
(iv) To do in relation to an adaptation of the work any of the acts
specified in relation to the work in clause (i) to (iii),
( c) in the case of a cinematograph film, to do or authorize the doing of any
of the following acts, namely: -
(i) To make a copy of the film;

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(ii) To cause the film, in so far as it consists of visual images, to be
seen in public and, in so far as it consists of sounds, to be heard in
public;
(iii) To make any record embodying the recoding in any part of the
sound track associated with the film by utilizing such sound track;
(iv) To communicate the film by radio-diffusion;
(v) In the case of a record, to do or authorize the doing of any of the
following acts by utilizing the record, namely: -
(i) To make any other record embodying the same recording;
(ii) To cause the recording embodied in the record to be heard in
public;
(iii) To communicate the recording embodied in the record by radio-
diffusion.
(2) Any reference in sub-section (1) to the doing of any act in relation to a work
or a translation or an adaptation thereof shall include a reference to the doing of
that act in relation to a substantial part thereof.
Special provision regarding copyright in designs registered or capable of being
registered under the Indian Patents and Designs Act, 1911: - (1) Copyright shall
not subsist under this act in any design which is registered under the Indian
Patents and Designs Act, 1911 (5 of 1911).
(2) copyright in any design, which is capable of being registered under the
Indian Patens and Designs Act, 1911 (2 of 1911), but which has not been so
registered, shall cease as soon as any article to which the design has been
applied has been produced more than fifty times by an industrial process by the
owner of the copyright or, with his license, by any other person.
No copyright except as provided in this Act: - No person shall be entitled to
copyright or any similar right in any work, whether published or unpublished,
otherwise than under and in accordance with the provisions of this act or of any
other law for the time being in force, but nothing in this section shall be

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construed as abrogating any right or jurisdiction to restrain a breach of trust or
confidence.
Work in which copyright subsists: -(i) Subject of the provisions of this section
and the other .
Moreover, Copyright is intellectual property, which is valued by all societies
which believe in rewarding individual effort and enterprise.
Copyright essentially means the exclusive right of an author of a creative work to
dispose of his work in return for remuneration.
Copyright seeks to achieve many objectives:
• It protects the creators of artistic and literary work from being unfairly
denied the fruits of their labour;
• Copyright acts as an incentive for authors to create new works and thus
aids cultural progress;
• It promotes the cause of national prestige by giving the protection
necessary to enhance the cultural heritage of a country.
Copyright performs certain important practical functions:
• It ensures that the remuneration due to an author is shared equitably
among the ultimate consumers, i.e. purchasers of books, etc.
• It provides a simple solution to the tortuous problems of renumerating
authors across national boundaries;
• It helps strike a satisfactory balance between the legitimate needs of
society for access to material of importance for the enjoyment of a full life
on the one hand, and the equally legitimate right of creators of such
material to remuneration.
The Copyright Act 1957:

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Copyright extends only to the expression of an idea, not to the idea itself. There
cannot, therefore, be copyright in historical facts which form the basis of more
than one book or film.
To whom is copyright available?
Authors of original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work (including
cinematograph films, videos, CDs & gramophone records).
For how long does copyright exist?
The lifetime of the author plus 50 years from the date of his death.
In the case of photographs, for a fixed term of 50 years from the beginning of the
calendar year following the year of publication.
In the case of anonymous works, 50 years from the date of first publication.

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Term of Copyright
Term of copyright in published literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works: -
Except as otherwise hereinafter provided, copyright shall subsist in any literary,
dramatic, musical or artistic work (other than a photograph) published within the
lifetime of the author until fifty years from the beginning of the calendar year next
following the year in which the author dies.
Explanation – In this section the reference to the author shall, in the case of a work
of joint authorship, be construed as a reference to the author who dies last.
Term of copyright in posthumous work: -
(1) In the case of literary, dramatic or musical work or an engraving, in which
copyright subsists at the date of the death of the author or, in the case of
any such work of joint authorship, at or immediately before the date of the
death of the author who dies last, but which, or any adaption of which, has
not been published before that date, copyright shall subsist until fifty years
from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the
work is first published or, where an adaption of the work is published in any
earlier year, from the beginning of the calendar year next following that year.
(2) For the purpose of this section a literary, dramatic or musical work or an
adaptation of any such work shall be deemed to have been published, if it
has been performed in public or if any records made in respect of the work
have been sold to the public or have been offered for sale to the public.

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Terms of Copyright in Photograph: - In the case of a photograph, copyright shall
subsist until fifty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the
year in which the film is published.
Terms of Copyright in Cinematograph Films: - In the case of a cinematograph
film, copyright shall subsist until fifty years from the beginning of the calendar year
next following the year in which the film is published.
Terms of Copyright in Records: - In the case of a record, copyright shall subsist
until fifty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in
which the record is published.

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Broadcast Reproduction Right: -
(i) Where any programme is broadcast by radio-diffusion by the government
or any other broadcasting authority, a special right to be known as
“broadcast reproduction right” shall subsist in such programme.
(ii) The Government or other broadcasting authority, as the case may be,
shall be the owner of the broadcast reproduction right and such right shall
subsist until twenty-fifty years from the beginning of the calendar year
next following year in which the programme is first broadcast.
(iii) During the continuance of a broadcast reproduction right in relation to
any programme, any person who,
(a) Without the license of the owner of the right:
(i) rebroadcasts the programme in question or any substantial part
thereof; or
(ii) causes the programme in question or any substantial part
thereof to be heard in public; or
(b) without the license of the owner of the right to utilize the broadcast for the
purpose of making a record, recording the programme in question or any
substantial part thereof, make any such record, shall be deemed to
infringe that broadcast reproduction right.

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COPYRIGHT PIRACY:
Introduction:
The world today has entered into an era of instant communication. A person sitting
in the remotest corner of India can enjoy live performance taking place in the far
away places like America or Africa, thanks to electronic (parallel) media. Telephone
and fax have made it possible to communicate oral or written message across the
globe within seconds. The computer-aided communication technologies such as e-

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mail and internet have added altogether a new dimension to today’s communication
process by making it more speedy, informative and economical. The ways through
which different types of information can be communicated have also undergone a
sea change. These days a film song can be put in or accessed by a single device
along with a textual message and even a painting. While all these have made
communication among people more effective and efficient both in terms of time and
cost, they pose the greatest threat to the copyright world. Modern communication
channels, being intensively relying on a variety of copyright products, are liable to
be pirated in large scale, if adequate precautions are not exercised.
Copyright is the given by law to the creators of literary, dramatic, musical and a
variety of other works of mind. It ordinarily means the creator alone has the right to
make copies of his or her works or alternatively, prevents all others from making
such copies. The basic idea behind such protection is the premise that innovations
require incentives. Copyright recognizes this need and gives it a legal sanction.
Moreover, commercial exploitation of copyright yields income to the creators and
thus making pecuniary rewards to individual’s creativity.
Though piracy was born by the end of the fifteenth century, it was only in 1710 the
first law on copyright in the modern sense of the term came into existence in
England. The law which was known as ‘Queen Anne’s Statute’ provided authors
with the right to reprint their books for a certain number of years. The 1710 law was
confined to the rights of authors of books only, and more particularly the right to
reprint. It did not include other creative works such as paintings, drawings etc.
which also by that time became targets of piracy, in addition to other aspects
relating to books (e.g. translation, dramatization etc.). To overcome this problem a
new enactment namely ‘Engravers Act’ came into existence in 1735. There followed
a few more enactments in the subsequent periods and ultimately copyright act 1911
saw the light of the day.
Developments in this regard also took place in many other advanced countries,
notably among them being France, Germany and the USA. In France a copyright
decree was adopted in 1791 which sanctioned the performing right and another
decree of 1793 established author’s exclusive right of reproduction. In Germany
author’s rights were recognized by a saxon order dated February 27, 1686. In
America the first federal law on copyright, the copyright law 1790 provided
protection to books, maps and charts.

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Copyright and National Economy:
Besides protecting creative potential of the society, copyright contributes to nation
on economic-front as well. The copyright based industries together generate huge
employment in the country of its origin. The national exchequer benefit from the
contribution made by these industries in the form of excise duty, sales tax, income
tax etc. from the production and sale of copyright products. Given the natural
demand for such products from across the national boundaries exports help
consolidate country’s foreign exchange reserves position.
While there is no two views on the economic importance of copyright, it is not easy
to assess it properly. The first and foremost difficulty arise in defining the copyright
based industries. In simplistic term copyrighted materials for their commercial
success. But the range of activities that come under the subject of copyright is so
wide that the task of defining the copyright industries classifications and they are
also not readily identified as an industries in the usual sense. This makes the issue
more complicated.
However, there is a general consensus on the activities that come under copyright
industries. It include printing and publishing of books, newspapers, journals & other
periodicals, production and sale of audio products (Cassettes/CDs), production &
distribution of cinemas, videos and cables, creation of computer software &
database and their distribution, radio and television broadcasting, advertising,
photography, dramatic and musical performances etc. The list is not exhaustive.
But the present study is confined to only the main segments of the copyright
industry and covers cinematographic works (including video), sound recordings,
literary works (main book publishing), computer software and performances.
Copyright Piracy:
Copyright piracy is a phenomenon prevalent worldwide. Piracy means unauthorized
reproduction, importing or distribution either of the whole or of a substantial part of
works protected by copyright. The author of a copyright work, being the owner,
enjoys certain exclusive right with respect to his or her works. These include right to
reproduce, to publish, to adopt, to translate and to perform in public. The owner can
also sell, assign, license or bequeath the copyright to another party if he wishes so.
If any person other than the copyright owner or his authorized party undertakes any
of the above mentioned activities with respect to a copyright product, it amounts to
infringement of the copyright. Copyright piracy is thus like any other theft which

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leads to loss to the owners of the property. Besides economic loss, piracy also
adversely affects the creative potential of a society as it denies creative people
such as authors and artists their legitimate dues.
There are different ways through which piracy takes place. Computer software is
pirated by simply copying it onto another machine not authorized for its use. Book
piracy takes place when a book is reproduced by someone other than the real
publisher and sold in the market. A performer’s right is violated when a live
performance of an artist is recorded or telecasted live without his/her permission. In
a cinematographic work piracy generally takes place through unauthorized
reproduction of the film in video forms and/or displaying the video through cable
networks without taking proper authorization from the film producer (the right
holder). In fact, there are numerous other ways through which piracy of copyright
works take place. The nature and extent of piracy also vary across the segments of
the copyright industry. It is, therefore, necessary to discuss the nature and extent of
piracy problems segment wise. Such an attempt is made in the following
paragraphs.
Literary Works:
Piracy of literary works means illegal reproduction of books and other printed
materials and distribution/selling of these for profit. In India, the journals/magazines
and other periodicals are not pirated much. Here piracy of literary works generally
takes place in three principal ways. :
i) wholesale reprinting of text and trade books.
ii) Unauthorized translations and
iii) Commercial photocopying of books/journals. Many a time piracy takes
the form of publishing fake books, where authors shown in books are not
the real authors.
Sound Recordings:
The sound recording industry faces three types of piracy. First, there is a simple
way by which songs from different legitimate cassettes/CSs (and thus different right
holders) are copied and put in a single cassette/CD. These are then packaged to
look different from the original products and sold in the market. Second, there is
counterfeit, when songs are copied in to and packaged to look as close to the
original as possible using the same label, logos etc. These products are misleading
in the sense that ordinary end users think that they are buying original products.
The third form of music piracy is bootlegging, where unauthorized recordings of

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performance by artists are made and subsequently reproduced and sold in the
market. All these happen without the knowledge of the performers, composer or the
recording company.
Cinematographic Work:
Copyright in cinematographic works in more complex in nature as there exists a
variety of copyrights in a single work and many a times these rights are also
overlapping. The first right in a film is the ‘theatrical right’ i.e. the right to exhibit films
in theatres. The producer is the copyright holder. The distributors buy theatrical
rights from producers and then make some arrangements with the theatre owners
for actual exhibition to the public. The theatrical right are limited by territory and
time. Films are also released in video cassettes. In fact, these days viewing film at
home has become more popular than seeing the same at theatres. The producers
sell the video rights to another party, who makes video cassettes for sale in the
market. These cassettes are meant for ‘home viewing’ only i.e. one can buy a copy
of it for seeing at home with family members and friends. Such cassettes can not be
used for showing the film in cables or through satellite channels. Because showing
films in cables or satellite channels require acquisition of separate sets of rights
namely ‘cable rights’, and ‘satellite rights’.
Computer Software:
The piracy in computer software simply means copying and distribution of
computer programmes without the copyright holder’s permission. The
software industry, generally, consists of creation and distribution of computer
programmes. Creation of computer programme is similar to writing a novel or
other literary works and it requires intellectual skill and training in software
programming. Though a software can be written by individual programmer,
most of the major software’s are the outcome of group efforts, where medium
to large sized teams spend months or even years to write a complete
programme.

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Conclusion

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Piracy of copyrighted products is a problem as old as the copyright itself.
Only in recent years it has received prominence, especially in the academic
and policy circle. In India, no official estimate is available to indicate the
extent of piracy and associated economic loss. But perceptions are that the
piracy is a big problem.
The main reasons behind copyright piracy are poor enforcement and lack of
awareness on copyright matters. The copyright laws of India are as good as
those of many advanced countries in Europe and America, where concern
for copyright is at a high level. Punishments prescribed for violators are
stringent and comparable to those of many countries in the world but laws
alone can do little justice unless implemented properly. The enforcement
mechanism is weak in the country.
Even police personnel, who can play a major role in combating piracy, are
not fully aware of various provisions of the law. There is also lack of
adequate number of personnel who can fully devote to copyright crimes
alone. The police are more concerned with usual law and order problems
and copyright related crimes are attached least priority.
Bibliography: -
i) www.tcp.in

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ii) www.doctorndtv.com
iii) www.iglhrc.org
iv) www.christianlaw.org
v) www.davidmacd.com
vi) www.indianngos.com
vii) www.wikipedia.com
viii) www.dogpile.com
ix) www.google.com