India presents copyright reform bill

The awakening giant India has recently given its copyright law an overhaul that needs to bring it in line with the digital era and with international treaties. India’s copyright policies have so far ignored the 1996 WIPO Internet Treaties. This bill, which has been in preparation since 2005, is expressly designed for compliance "with the provisions of the two WIPO Internet Treaties, to the extent considered necessary and desirable." It also contains articles on banning DRM circumvention.

There is good cause to improve on the current copyright law, as piracy is rampant in India. According to the International Intellectual Property Alliance, in a report to the US government that was quoted by Ars Technica: "The piracy rate for music in the online space is estimated at 99% (...) India was among the top 10 countries in the world for illegal filesharing (P2P) activities (...) In one case, pamphlets were being distributed with the morning newspaper offering pirated software and referring readers to the website www.cd75dvd150.20m.com to place orders (...) It is estimated that India's cable companies declare only 20% of their subscribers and that the piracy level in this market is at 80% with significant losses."

Still, the effects of the bill will not likely change things dramatically. The bill proposes little when it comes to copyright enforcement on the Internet and does allow DRM circumvention when used for private purposes. While this is unquestionably fairer to users as it provides a legal basis for fair dealings such as home copying, it also makes enforcement very hard, as all the necessary tools will be freely available.

26 April 2010