A brief outlook on the modern world filled with progressing technologies and a strong emphasis on online business will show just how crucial the idea of intellectual property actually is. Thus, due to the existence of the internet, social networks, and other forms of digital content, the protection and regulation of IP rights became a challenging issue. Currently, rapid advancements in technology specifically in Information Technology and Communications (ITC) have significantly influenced the generation, management, and protection of intellectual property. With the changing trends in the use of digital technologies, dynamics with reference to IP rights are intricate with regard to nations like India. This post revolves around the topic of IP in the digital world, its threat, and how it can be protected efficiently.
The protection of ideas and information started perhaps in the period of printing and inventing. It was notionally created to prevent individuals from using inventions that other people developed, giving inventors legal tools to defend their creative properties. For quite some time now, the laws in the protection of IP have been changing every now and then to meet the ever-emerging forms of expression and emerging technologies.
Digital technology is pervasive across our daily lives and is a very influential determinant of new and unique patterns of information creation and distribution. The internet, social media, and other digital platforms have created massive opportunities for people to create content and share them all over the world. This shift has required reconsideration of previous IP laws that were provided in information-based fields due to the issues and opportunities brought across by novel mediums.
To begin with, the production and use of IP has changed its characteristic features in the context of the digital revolution, where the main types of IP new to the new centuries include software, digital media, and other online content. The Indian software industry also disclosed problems connected with piracy and other illegitimate uses of digital products.
The security of intellectual materials is increasingly being threatened by the convergence of information technology and broadcasting. In the 20th century, copyright served as an example of how law was able to keep up with the rapid advancement of technology. The advent of digital technologies has presented the most recent obstacle. Its response led to the 1996 adoption of the two WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) Digital Treaties. Globalization, digitalization, convergence, and advancements in broadband communications have significant effects on all regulatory frameworks, particularly those pertaining to broadcasters’ rights.
For copyright protection, it is imperative that the work or expression be permanently established in a tangible medium. An eligible work of authorship immediately gains protection as soon as it has been adequately corrected. When a piece of art is stable enough to be viewed, copied, or shared in any other way for an extended amount of time, it is considered fixed. A work may be embedded in a physical object in any form—written, printed, photographic, sculptural, punched, magnetic, or any other stable form—or it can be fixed in words, numbers, notes, sounds, pictures, or any other graphic or symbolic indicia. It can also be perceived directly or through the use of any currently available machine or device. In essence, a work’s fixation should enable perception, replication, or communication of the work—either directly or through a machine. Compact discs (CDs), optical disks, CD-ROMs, floppy disks, digital tape, and other digital storage devices are a few examples of stable media on which works can be stored and from which they can be viewed, duplicated, or shared via a machine or other device.
In the case of Microsoft Corporation Vs. Kira (2007 SCC OnLine Del 1209) the High Court of Delhi found the software programs to which the plaintiff is an owner are subject to Indian Copyright Law and the defendants’ distribution of copies of the plaintiff’s software are in fact, an infringement of the plaintiff’s copyrights to his/her intellectual properties. Another aspect of the unconstitutional conduct that the defendants employed in the course of the case is trademark infringement and piracy, as they sought to produce figments and sell them off as the plaintiff’s. Thus, the defendant was asked to pay compensatory damages to the plaintiff.
However, if there is too, strengthening of the copyrighted material then it will put a strain on the creativity of the person. This is shown in the case of Myspace Vs. Super Cassettes Industries Ltd. (2016 SCC OnLine Del 6382) High Court of Delhi held that MySpace can claim protection from liability as an Internet intermediary under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and that the provisions of the DMCA do not apply in this case. The court also held that MySpace had knowledge of continuing infringement despite notice and that the impugned order was implementable. However, the court held that MySpace is shielded from liability by virtue of Section 52(1) (b) and (c) of the Copyright Act, 1957.
Many times a website may stream copyrighted movies that may not fall within the domain of facilitating access or providing links, there must be measures taken to combat infringing of intellectual property rights. In the case of Utv Software Communication Ltd. Vs. 1337X.To (2019 SCC OnLine Del 8002) Plaintiffs filed eight suits against thirty websites for copyright infringement on the internet. The plaintiffs sought a website blocking order to disable access to the defendant’s websites within India and to implement orders passed by the court. Delhi High Court opined that the defendant websites were liable for copyright infringement under Section 51 of the Copyright Act, 1957. The Court took into consideration the laws that are in place in other countries regarding the blocking of websites and noted that at least 45 countries have adopted and implemented measures to ensure that ISPs take action to disable access to websites that violate copyright or are legally required to do so. The Court further pointed out that FIOLs and Rogue Websites are the main online venues for music and movie infringement. The Court discovered that, worldwide, courts look at whether a website’s main intent and impact are to encourage infringement rather than just looking at how much content is illegal. According to the Court, a website blocking order shall only be approved if it is determined that it is both “necessary” and “proportionate.”
The internet is a global network, and this is particularly a problem for IP rights as it is not clear in which jurisdiction the particular case ought to be tried. Because a piece of content uploaded in a country is accessible to everyone in the world, it becomes extremely hard to use these laws coherently. This has due to the increased cases of cross-border infringements of IP and caused people to clamour for cooperation and legal standardization among the countries.
AI as well as blockchain pose both opportunities and threats when it comes to technological innovations and IP. On the one hand, AI can help with IP management and protection while on the other hand, there is the issue of the authorship of AI-created work. The possible solutions to the problems mentioned above are the use of blockchain technology but its general acceptance and legalization are currently lacking.
Thus, even in the digital environment, the protection of intellectual property continues to be an important factor for both persons and companies. Even as the vulnerabilities related to safeguarding IP have increased due to the emergence of modern technologies and the interconnected world, there are definite measures and cooperation at the global level to protect such rights. If this and other instances of infringement are not addressed then creators and manufacturers alike will lose the ability to innovate in the digital age.
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