Content creation: Intimidation could hurt innovation

Fix copyright law provisions so that makers of YouTube content can claim a fair share of rights

- RAHUL MATTHAN

When YouTuber Mohak Mangal spliced four seconds of Asian News International (ANI) footage into one of his video posts, he did not expect to be called upon to pay ₹50 lakh or else risk having his channel deleted. Faced with the threat of losing millions of subscribers, he did what he does best. He created a video on the extortion he believed he'd been subject to. As his post gained traction, other creators came out with stories of their own, claiming that they too had been asked to pay amounts ranging from ₹15 lakh to ₹50 lakh. In the face of escalating public outrage, ANI chose to sue, claiming that Mangal's allegations of extortion were defamatory; and all it had done was lawfully exercise its intellectual property rights. While the court will rule on the defamation allegations, of far greater significance are the intellectual property issues that have been brought to the fore. Unless we amend our existing laws, our creators will be unable to build on the work of those who came before them.

It is well-understood that there is no copyright on the news. After all, what is news other than a collection of facts over which no individual or organization can claim exclusive rights? But when the news is presented as video footage, the manner in which it has been laid out, the specific form and style in which the visuals are shot and so on are all expressions of creativity. This is entitled to protection under copyright law, and if Mangal did in fact use ANI footage without a licence to do so, it would, on the face of it, amount to a copyright violation.