COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT OF RELIGIOUS ARTICLES
INTRODUCTION
The legal term “copyright” refers to the rights that authors and artists have over their works of art and writing. Copyright covers a wide range of works, including books, musical compositions, paintings, sculptures, motion pictures, computer software, databases, advertising, maps, technical drawings, and more. The copyright law in India is governed by the Copyright Act 1957. The main objectives of this law are two-fold: to protect the copyright of authors, musicians and painters, as well as of designers and other creative people; and to allow others to freely develop upon the ideas and knowledge contained in a work. India’s copyright laws date back to the colonial era of the British Empire.
ARE RELIGIOUS TEXT PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT?
Public domain religious scriptures do not qualify for copyright protection. This means that traditional religious texts, such as the Old Testament or the New Testament of the Bible, are not protected under copyright. On the other hand, modern translation and interpretation of religious texts may be copyrighted as original creative works.
For instance, the NIV published in 1978 is protected by copyright and use of the NIV would require permission or the conditions laid down by the copyright holder to use the text for any purpose.
The ‘Ramayana’ and the ‘Mahabharata’ are not protected. However, the television serial ‘Ramayana’ created by Ramesh Sagar or the ‘Chakravarti’s’ ‘Mahabharat’ are considered ‘Transformative Works’ and would be protected.
BHAKTIVEDANTA BOOK TRUST CASE
The copyright infringement case was brought by the Bhakti Vedant Book Trust, which was established by the founder of ISKCON, the International Society of Krishna Consciousness. Known as a deep intellectual, philosophical, and cultural emissary, Srila was instrumental in spreading the teachings of several Hindu scriptures in India and around the world. His works include many lectures and a number of books, most of which simplify religious scriptures so that they can be understood by laypeople. The main argument put forward by the trust was that the copyright in all these works, which were originally owned by Srila prabhupada after his death in 1977, had been passed on to the trust. Armed with that copyright, the trust took legal action against 4 websites, 5 mobile apps, and 4 Instagram handles accusing them of uploading and spreading the copyrighted content.
JUDGEMENT
A Delhi High Court has ordered Google and Meta, the two companies that own Instagram, to remove any works deemed to be “illegitimate” from their platforms. The order, which was issued on September 21, was made on the basis of a petition submitted by the spiritual leader, Sr. Sri Krishna Prabhu, known as the founder of ISKCON. The court ruled that while no copyright could be asserted for scriptures, adaptations of these works, known as “transformation works”, should be protected from piracy.
CONCLUSION
This case highlights the importance of comprehending the scope of religious copyright protection and the importance of safeguarding original creative works relating to religious texts, as well as the legal consequences of reproduction and distribution of religious copyrighted works without proper authorization.
Author:- AKSHITA JAIN, A STUDENT AT BHARATI VIDYAPEETH INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH
