Copyright In The Age Of Social Media Influencers: Indian Context
- IJLLR Journal
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
Pratham Srivastava, D.A.V. Degree College, Lucknow (Affiliated with the University of Lucknow)
In the vibrant digital bazaar of contemporary India, where a 15-second reel can catapult a small- town creator to national stardom overnight, the traditional boundaries of intellectual property are being tested like never before. The Indian creator economy, projected to reach a staggering ₹10,750 crore by 2027, has outpaced the legal frameworks designed to govern it. At the heart of this gold rush lies the Indian Copyright Act of 1957, a piece of legislation drafted in an era of printing presses and celluloid film, now forced to adjudicate the complex world of viral memes, reaction videos, and branded "day-in-the-life" vlogs. For the modern social media influencer, copyright is no longer a dry legal concept relegated to the backrooms of publishing houses; it is a live-wire issue that dictates their revenue, their reputation, and their right to remain on the platforms that host them.
The fundamental tension in the Indian influencer landscape arises from the "remix culture" that platforms like Instagram and YouTube actively encourage. While these apps provide built-in libraries of popular music and "remix" tools for video clips, many creators labour under the dangerous misconception that the existence of these tools grants them legal immunity. In the eyes of Indian law, copyright is a bundle of exclusive rights—the right to reproduce, perform, and communicate a work to the public. When an influencer uses a Bollywood track or a snippet from a trending web series, they are technically engaging in a "communication to the public" of a copyrighted work. The platform’s license with a music label often covers personal, non- commercial use, but the moment that content becomes part of a paid brand collaboration, the legal landscape shifts. This is the "Commercial Use Trap." A creator might safely dance to a T-Series track in a casual video, but if they do so while holding a branded protein shake, they may find themselves on the receiving end of a copyright strike or a cease-and-desist notice, as the brand’s commercial intent nullifies the platform’s standard licensing agreement.
Navigating the nuances of Section 52 of the Copyright Act—the provision dealing with "Fair Dealing"—has become the primary survival skill for Indian digital creators. Unlike the broad "Fair Use" doctrine in the United States, India employs a narrower "Fair Dealing" approach, which provides an exhaustive list of exceptions to infringement. Historically, these included private use, research, criticism, and review. However, the 2025 legal battle between Asian News International (ANI) and prominent YouTuber Mohak Mangal signaled a watershed moment for the industry. The dispute, which centred on the use of short news clips in commentary videos, highlighted the precarious nature of the "criticism or review" defence. While creators argued that their transformative use of the footage fell under fair dealing.
