Digitalization of Copyright: Remedies on Infringement

The digitalization of creative content poses a more serious threat to copyright law than did earlier episodes of technological advancements. A particularly significant aspect of that challenge is that digital technologies continue to increase the ways in which individual can consume and enjoy creative works-for example, by “ripping” music files from a CD to store on a computer or portable music device- despite the fact that copyright law does not explicitly permit those uses without authorization of the copyright owner. At the same time, advancements in digital technology provide copyright owners with growing capacity to either restrict or charge for subsequent use of creative work. Furthermore, copyrighted works in digitalized form can be flawlessly and inexpensively be copied, reproduced and instantaneously be distributed worldwide. The present paper seeks to study, observe and analyze the changing contexts of digital world vis-à-vis copyright laws. The research is further devoted to the study of the Indian scenario as regards applicability of copyright law to the digital world. The Copyright amendment Act, 2012 has introduced significant changes with regards to the copyright law and internet. The same is reflected through this research paper. Apart from the studying the Indian position, emphasis has also been laid on systems prevalent in the global world of intellectual property rights, dominated by WIPO treaties, various international conventions and the likes of it. The researcher aims to obtain certain objectives through the conduction of the present research so as to have a broader perspective of the subject and recent developments in law. The research is limited to the study of internet work and copyright laws. The present work deals with issues of copyright over internet work, for instance, excessive and unlimited use of materials available over the internet such as research studies, songs, works of art etc... Furthermore, the research also deals with the remedies available on such infringement and contains suggestions as regards the same. An attempt has been made to take into account the laws of a few other countries on the subject and a comparative analysis of the same with India.