Inspiration or imitation? Copyright battles rage in the copy-paste age

Earlier this month, a Delhi gallery quietly exhibited a painting by artist Anita Dube featuring lines from poet-activist Aamir Aziz’s protest poem ‘Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega’. The words rang loud, but the poet’s name didn’t. These weren’t anonymous verses floating through the internet. Aziz’s poem has been performed widely since 2019, and even read aloud by Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters at a global protest. According to Aziz, the lines were used without his “knowledge, consent, credit or compensation”. After a public backlash, Dube issued a statement acknowledging the “ethical lapse”. But she’s hardly the only one. In India’s creative circles, copyright slip-ups are par for the course. Sometimes deliberately and sometimes without knowing, ‘borrowers’ cross the line, and creators aren’t sure how to draw one.IP ignorance“It’s absolute and complete ignorance,” says Chander Lall, a senior advocate specialising in Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) law. “I’ve worked with the film, music and fashion industries and across the board, there’s just no awareness. We’re not an intellectual property-savvy country. And unfortunately, our creators are often the least informed.”He recalls a moment that sums up the disconnect. “When Shabana Azmi was in the Rajya Sabha, I was with the Motion Picture Association of America. They used to watch movies on CDs from a video library when I told her that most video libraries in the country were illegal. She was shocked. They were all distributing pirated CDs,” he says, recounting how the idea of piracy as theft hadn’t quite registered for even an acclaimed actor and parliamentarian.“These things happen more than we realise,” says Rakesh Nigam, CEO of The Indian Performing Right Society. “Whether Dube intended it or not, if it’s Aamir’s work, he has a case. And the irony is that her painting is protected too. No one can just take it and start printing mugs or T-shirts. But when it’s our own work, we guard it fiercely. When it’s someone else’s, we don’t. That’s the gap we need to address.” medium120663781Credit isn’t consent“The ‘giving credit’ argument is not a legal defence. It’s just acknowledging plagiarism,” says Lall. “India doesn’t recognise ‘de minimis’ (small infringements) like the US. We’ve just absorbed the idea that if you use a small bit and say thanks, that’s enough. But acknowledgment doesn’t cut it.”If you’re using someone else’s material, even if the intent is right, you still have to get their permission,” says Lall, offering a personal example. “I wrote a book once and wanted to use a passage from ‘Train to Pakistan’. I had to call Khushwant Singh’s daughter, pay an amount agreed on and take a license.”Section 52 lists some exceptions (private or personal use, criticism or review, reporting of current events, and use for judicial proceedings) but outside that, it’s infringement. “Even photocopying a textbook for students is infringement,” explains Lall.That’s what Syeda Tanzeela Husain found herself fighting for in 2023, when her artwork appeared in a Saregama music video for 'Kabhi Aar Kabhi Paar Trap Mix'. “Her art is clearly visible in the video. Her name is not,” her husband Yaseen Anwer wrote in a Facebook post urging the label to “do the right thing.” Husain says the Aamir Aziz episode prompted her to speak up. Saregama later issued a statement saying the video had been released “in good faith”. but a content provider had made “misleading written assurances”. They eventually licensed the image from Husain, gave her credit, and compensated her.Since India is a signatory to both the Universal Copyright Convention and the Berne Convention. creators here get the same protection as those abroad. Lall says creators don’t even need to register the work. “The moment you create it, copyright kicks in, globally.”A great framework but still not everyone wants to use it. Back in 2001, when Lall was leading Hollywood’s anti-piracy campaign in India, he tried to rally Bollywood. “I told Indian producers, ‘This year, we’ll fund it. Next year, will you contribute?’ They wouldn’t. Films cost Rs 20-40 crore, but no one would allocate even one crore to fight piracy.”Today, while music and film still face the biggest violations, they have systems in place and act against rogue websites. The music industry has performance royalties and licensing models for restaurants and events to prevent lifts. However, visual art and the spoken word still fall through the cracks. “Big names ignore violations, and smaller ones can't afford it or don’t trust the system. And frankly, they’re not always wrong. Even judges sometimes don’t understand IP,” says Lall.“Look, IP is vast,” says Nigam. “You also have trademark misuse like counterfeit logos on T-shirts and patent infringement, especially in pharma with low-quality knockoffs.”And what about compensation? Do artists need to share revenue when they borrow from someone else? “It’s all contractual,” says Lall. “You’re not bound to pay anything unless there’s a written licence. You can license a poem for Kindle only, or for one cushion print or for a single theatre screening. It’s all about negotiation.” mediumCheating chatbotsArtificial intelligence is powering a fresh assault on intellectual property rights, with chatbots churning out any picture as fast as one can create a prompt. Add to that the content soup of memes and reels. “Infringement has become faster, easier, and harder to catch,” says Nigam.A recent viral trend saw users across the world generate portraits in the unmistakable style of Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki. But can Miyazaki sue OpenAI? Not quite, says IP and art lawyer Subhash Bhutoria. “The Studio Ghibli trend raises questions around signature style. But style isn’t copyrighted. It’s conceptual,” he explains. “That falls under an emerging concept in art law called 'visual persona', just like personality rights.”Fashion is another minefield because copying is rampant. Most designers shrug, ‘What can we do? It’s everywhere from Khan Market to Chandni Chowk’. But a few persist. Just last month, Delhi-based fashion designer Anupamaa Dayal decided to sue a South American apparel brand, Rapsodia, alleging that her designs had been ripped off. Ritu Kumar once won a copyright case against a Kolkata-based designer who lifted her sketches. Suneet Varma sued Aki Narula for copying his Fall 2003 design worn by Rani Mukerji in ‘Bunty Aur Babli’, seeking Rs 2 crore in damages. And Rohit Bal, frustrated by rampant copying, once said the legal route was “long and cumbersome”, which is why many settle for public naming and shaming.Bengaluru-based artist Nidhi Mariam Jacob knows the feeling. Her floral motifs have shown up on wallpaper, fashion and design catalogues. In 2022, a Kolkata label lifted one of her intricate garden-style paintings for a jacket that was later seen on Aishwarya Rai at Cannes. It was her friends and followers who flagged it. The incident pushed her to consult a lawyer and call out the brand in a video that went viral. Yet, little changed. “Everyone told me these cases just drag on and drain you. They don’t lead to compensation.” Now, she relies on her Instagram community to flag rip-offs. “The brands delete comments and quietly pull the work down.”For Rajat Sharma, the line was crossed the moment he saw his father’s painting being sold online. Fifteen years ago, renowned Pichwai artist Rajaram Sharma had created the Swaroop Utsav Series, a painstaking depiction of 24 forms of Shrinathji using real gold and silver on handmade paper. The originals aren’t even for sale. But two months ago, Rajat received a screenshot showing what looked like a near-identical copy listed on Instagram. When he posed as a buyer, the seller offered all 24 paintings at Rs 15,000 each and even said they could “add a signature” but might ruin the look. “I told them I was the artist’s son. After that, they went silent.” The copied work remains on sale. “How much can we chase these people?” Rajat isn’t seeking compensation. “I want to create awareness. Shrinathji is a common subject but copying someone else’s exact composition and style for commercial gain… that’s wrong.”And it’s not uncommon. “At any given time, Delhi high court is hearing at least ten matters involving books, films or stolen concepts,” says IP attorney Imran Ali, currently representing an Indian scriptwriter against TV personality Bear Grylls. “Ideas aren’t copyrighted but once they take the shape of an email, pitch, or a deck, they become evidence,” points out Ali. “That holds up in court.”