[font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]MUMBAI: The [/font][font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]Bombay high court[/font][font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif] has said it is inaccurate to suggest that merely viewing an illicit copy of a film is a punishable offence [/font][font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]under the Copyright Act.[size=large]+[/font][/size]
[font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]"The offence is not in viewing, but in making a prejudicial distribution, a public exhibition or letting for sale or hire without appropriate permission copyright-protected material," [/font][font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]Justice Gautam Patel[/font][font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif] said. He asked Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to drop the line "'viewing, downloading, exhibiting or duplicating' a particular film is a penal offence" from the 'error message' and directed them to display a more generic message on URLS to be blocked for infringement of copyright.[/font]
[font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]He made the observation in an order last month when it was pointed out that an [/font][font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]ISP[/font][font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]had displayed a message that had sent viewers in a tizzy.[/font]
[font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]The HC had recently directed ISPs to block several URLs on a plea by [/font][font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]producers of the film Dishoom[size=large]+[/font][/size][font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif] against [/font][font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]piracy[/font][font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]. The court also directed ISPs to place an 'error message' on the blocked sites as a measure to ensure genuine e-commerce sites are not affected.[/font]
[font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]"Omprakash Dharmani from Tata Communications is present in court. He says the firewall being used by Tata Communications and almost all other ISPs has an inbuilt software limitation: it does not allow the display of a file in excess of 32 kb. This is an absurdly small size,'' Justice Patel said, expressing concern that the message must give enough details.[/font]
[font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]After hearing advocate Nikhil Rodrigues for the producer and senior counsel V Tulzapurkar for the ISP, Justice Patel said, "The basic purpose must be kept in mind, so that a person who is inadvertently adversely affected by a blocking order is made aware of his remedies and about which court he or she can approach for corrective or remedial action."[/font]
[font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]The court directed the ISPs to add a generic "error message'' to these blocked URLs to state that the site was blocked pursuant to an order of the court and that anyone with a grievance could contact the nodal officer of the ISP.[/font]
[font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif][size=large][font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif][size=large][font=proxima-semibold, 'roboto slab', roboto, arial, sans-serif]Top Comment[/font]
Certain websites (including torrent sites) are only being used by Indians to STEAL pirated movies,music,books and software ..causing Billions of dollars worth of losses to their Creators and the eco... [size=small]Read More[/size]manish
[/font][/size][/font][/size]
[font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]The message must also say, "Infringing or abetting infringement of copyright-protected content including under this URL is an offence in law. Sections 63, 63-A, 65 and 65-A of the Copyright Act, 1957, read with Section 51, prescribe penalties of a prison term of up to 3 years and a fine of up to Rs 3 lakh."[/font]
[font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]The judge said the ISP must appoint a nodal officer with a dedicated email address and respond to complaints within two working days. The order must be followed by all ISPs including Vodafone and MTNL, said the HC.[/font]
[font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif][font=proxima-semibold, 'roboto slab', roboto, arial, sans-serif]HIGHLIGHTS[/font]
[/font]
[font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Viewing-pirated-films-online-not-an-offence-Bombay-HC/articleshow/54009022.cms[/font]
[font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]"The offence is not in viewing, but in making a prejudicial distribution, a public exhibition or letting for sale or hire without appropriate permission copyright-protected material," [/font][font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]Justice Gautam Patel[/font][font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif] said. He asked Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to drop the line "'viewing, downloading, exhibiting or duplicating' a particular film is a penal offence" from the 'error message' and directed them to display a more generic message on URLS to be blocked for infringement of copyright.[/font]
[font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]He made the observation in an order last month when it was pointed out that an [/font][font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]ISP[/font][font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]had displayed a message that had sent viewers in a tizzy.[/font]
[font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]The HC had recently directed ISPs to block several URLs on a plea by [/font][font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]producers of the film Dishoom[size=large]+[/font][/size][font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif] against [/font][font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]piracy[/font][font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]. The court also directed ISPs to place an 'error message' on the blocked sites as a measure to ensure genuine e-commerce sites are not affected.[/font]
[font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]"Omprakash Dharmani from Tata Communications is present in court. He says the firewall being used by Tata Communications and almost all other ISPs has an inbuilt software limitation: it does not allow the display of a file in excess of 32 kb. This is an absurdly small size,'' Justice Patel said, expressing concern that the message must give enough details.[/font]
[font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]After hearing advocate Nikhil Rodrigues for the producer and senior counsel V Tulzapurkar for the ISP, Justice Patel said, "The basic purpose must be kept in mind, so that a person who is inadvertently adversely affected by a blocking order is made aware of his remedies and about which court he or she can approach for corrective or remedial action."[/font]
[font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]The court directed the ISPs to add a generic "error message'' to these blocked URLs to state that the site was blocked pursuant to an order of the court and that anyone with a grievance could contact the nodal officer of the ISP.[/font]
[font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif][size=large][font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif][size=large][font=proxima-semibold, 'roboto slab', roboto, arial, sans-serif]Top Comment[/font]
Certain websites (including torrent sites) are only being used by Indians to STEAL pirated movies,music,books and software ..causing Billions of dollars worth of losses to their Creators and the eco... [size=small]Read More[/size]manish
[/font][/size][/font][/size]
[font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]The message must also say, "Infringing or abetting infringement of copyright-protected content including under this URL is an offence in law. Sections 63, 63-A, 65 and 65-A of the Copyright Act, 1957, read with Section 51, prescribe penalties of a prison term of up to 3 years and a fine of up to Rs 3 lakh."[/font]
[font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]The judge said the ISP must appoint a nodal officer with a dedicated email address and respond to complaints within two working days. The order must be followed by all ISPs including Vodafone and MTNL, said the HC.[/font]
[font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif][font=proxima-semibold, 'roboto slab', roboto, arial, sans-serif]HIGHLIGHTS[/font]
[/font]
- Merely viewing pirated copy of a film not punishable under Copyright Act, says Bombay HC
- Says offence is in selling or publicly showing pirated films
- Asks ISPs to change ‘error message’ on blocked sites that had spooked viewers
[font=proxima-regular1, roboto, arial, sans-serif]http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Viewing-pirated-films-online-not-an-offence-Bombay-HC/articleshow/54009022.cms[/font]