Micro-Clips And Copyright: A Comparative Study Of India, The United States And The European Union
- IJLLR Journal
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
Sicily Sojan, LLM, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bangalore
ABSTRACT
The exponential rise of short-form digital content has revealed the structural weaknesses in the Indian copyright regime. The current framework of copyright exceptions under §52 of the Copyright Act, 1957, sets out a number of specific exceptions to fair dealing, but it was never intended to deal with the fragmented nature of digital copyright infringement in the form of brief audiovisual “micro-clips” of content through platform-based systems of content distribution. The aim of the paper is to assess whether the current regime of copyright law maintains a proper balance between proprietary rights and constitutional freedoms of speech provided under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India.
The paper begins with the doctrinal basis of Indian fair dealing principles. The methodology to be adopted for the research in the paper would include a doctrinal and comparative law research on Indian cases on fair dealing and substantiality, proportionality of constitutional freedoms of speech as assessed by the Indian Supreme Court, and comparative law on fair use cases in the United States and copyright law in Europe. Furthermore, it examines the relevant literature and highlights the analytical gap in the context of micro-clips. Then it analyzes the judicial approach to excerpt-based infringement and market harm. Later in the paper it considers the constitutional aspect through proportionality. Finally, the paper outlines a calibrated two-tier model of micro-licensing. The paper argues that a structured recalibration of this nature will be beneficial for doctrinal clarity, continue giving economic incentives, and align copyright enforcement with constitutional free speech norms in India's digitally evolving public sphere.
Keywords: Copyright law, Fair dealing, Micro-clips, Performers’ rights, De minimis doctrine, Safe harbour.
