Co-authored by: Nehan Sethi and Mishaal Nathani
Intellectual Property law ("IP law") has proved to be a complex but extremely important sector of the law in the past few years - especially with the advent of social media. The WIPO defines IP as the "creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce." IP is usually protected globally via instruments such as copyright, trademarks, and patents. IP law aims to provide protection to the original creator of the work while ensuring that creativity and innovation are not unfairly hampered.
Section 17 of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957, deals with the concept of "first owner." According to Section 17(a) of the Indian Copyright Act, the "first owners" of a literary work are the authors of that particular work. As per Section 13, the Copyright Act protects a closed list of different kinds of works. Thus, you automatically get copyright protection as soon as you create original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work, including illustration and photography, as well as original non-literary written work.
Naturally, there's still a fair amount of ambiguity around this subject and a lot of questions do arise. Can I repost a picture on Instagram? Can I retweet? Is it okay to post a cover of another artist's song on YouTube? Can I use a song on my video?
In 2017, singer Frank Ocean was seen wearing a t-shirt that said: "Why be racist, sexist, homophobic or transphobic when you could just be quiet?" The t-shirt was made by the company Green Box Shop - a company run by an 18-year-old, Kayla Robinson. However, it soon came to light that the quote had been reportedly copied from a tweet by someone else named Brandon Male in 2015.
The key takeaway is that the online use and sharing of work on social media is not copyright free. As an average user, it is important to be aware if you need a license before sharing someone else's work and it is important to give credit where it is due. If you're a creator of content and find out that your content is being shared without your permission, social media platforms do have online tools which allow you to have the material removed.