Compulsory licenses under copyright law are applicable exclusively to the playing of songs on radio and television and do not extend to the internet.

the Bombay High Court clarified that compulsory licenses under copyright law are applicable exclusively to the playing of songs on radio and television and do not extend to the internet. This decision was made by a division bench of the court, which upheld an earlier order by a single judge

An Examination of Rule and Its Implications in Copyright Law

The legal aspects related to copyright and commercial rentals in India, particularly in the context of the music industry. It refers to specific rules and sections of the Indian Copyright Act and focuses on the interpretation of Section 31D, which deals with statutory licensing of copyrighted works for radio and television.

Key Points:

1. Rule 29(4) Details: highlighting the specifics of Rule 29(4) of the Indian Copyright Act. It emphasizes that this rule pertains exclusively to radio and television broadcasting and outlines the required particulars for notices related to communication of copyrighted works.
2. Rule 31 and Bifurcation: Rule 31, which determines the calculation of royalties, and notes that this rule also distinguishes between radio and television broadcasts. It mentions that this distinction is reiterated in subsequent subsections of Rule 31.
3. Internet in Mind: that when Section 31D, which deals with statutory licensing, was introduced, the legislature likely had the internet and its services in mind, even though the section expressly mentions radio and television. This suggests that the omission of the term “internet” was intentional.
4. Section 31D(1) vs. Section 31D(3): It points out that Section 31D(1) grants an entitlement but is subject to the provisions of Section 31D, including Section 31D(3), which defines the scope of Section 31D. This means that Section 31D(3) specifies the areas in which Section 31D applies.
5. Rajya Sabha Standing Committee Report: the Rajya Sabha Standing Committee Report may have primarily considered the challenges faced by radio stations when discussing Section 31D. It argues that Section 31D was not intended to allow commercial entities to exploit copyrighted works without consent.
6. Downloads and Commercial Rentals: The briefly touches upon the issue of downloads made for the Wynk App and whether they constitute commercial rentals under the Copyright Act. It discusses the definition of commercial rentals and concludes that caching by the Wynk App can be seen as a commercial rental since it is part of Wynk’s commercial service.
7. Fair Dealing Not Argued: Finally, that there has been no argument presented regarding fair dealing or fair use under Section 52(1)(a)(i) of the Copyright Act in Wynk’s case.
8. judgement