Lens, Screen, And Copyright: A Global Perspective On Protection Of Cinematographic Films
Natasha Chauhan, Delhi Metropolitan Education, Noida, affiliated to GGSIPU
ABSTRACT
The global film industry is one of the rampantly rising industries, representing a conjecture of art, creativity, commerce and technology. In the global era of digitalisation and growing commerce, it is imperative to ensure the protection of the cinematographic films and works under the scope of Intellectual property law. This paper undertakes an analytical and comparative examination of Copyright protection in cinematographic films from a global perspective, illustrating the underlying challenges posed by non-uniformity of national laws, jurisdictional differences, implementation gaps, and pressing threats due to online streaming, piracy and cross-border dissemination.
The existing international framework provides for the minimum standards for the grant of Copyright protection vis-a-via cinematographic films. Nevertheless, the national legal and regulatory frameworks and enforcement regimes giving effect to these norms vary significantly across jurisdiction. Such non-uniformity give rise to ambiguity and gaps that undermine the rights of film creators, producers and various stakeholders. This paper attempts to comparatively analyse the protection scheme existing across multiple jurisdictions such as India, the United States, Greece and Indonesia, thus closely identifying not only the overlapping aspects but also the major inconsistencies among them. The research further explores how emerging distribution models, especially digital streaming platforms, challenges the traditional copyright framework.
Employing a doctrinal and comparative legal methodology, this research emphasises the pressing need for harmonization of copyright laws and stronger international cooperation for cross-border implementation. The paper concludes by proposing recommendation including model of best practices that incorporates international standards to develop an effective global cinematic ecosystem.
Keywords: Copyright law, Film Industry, Cinematographic works and films, Jurisdiction, Digital streaming, International Treaties, piracy, Authorship, originality.
