Copyright Protection in the Digital Environment: Indian Perspective and International Obligations

With the advancement in the digital technology, the distribution of the copyrighted material on the internet has brought about a drastic change in the pre-existing laws. Unfair use and illegal downloading of copyrighted material such as software, videos, songs etc. have developed into a major problem in the digital domain. To overcome these problems several technological and legal measures have been taken up such as development of tools like Encryption, Digimarc, Watermark, besides framing of various international treaties and agreements including TRIPS, Anti-counterfeiting trade agreement (ACTA), WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT), WIPO Performance and Phonogram Treaty (WPPT) etc. Indian Copyright Act after amendment of 2012 seems to be effective enough to resolve the issues concerned with infringements in the digital domain hence debate is going on if India should sign WCT and WPPT and the matter is still under consideration of the Government of India. The development in the digital environment has altered the boundaries for the copyright holders to look at the protection of copyrighted material through various techniques. The present article deliberates about the Indian Copyright Act, various international copyright treaties, limitations and exceptions provided by TRIPS and also looks towards the usefulness of various treaties available for the digital domain. Furthermore, steps to control the misuse of copyrighted material are also discussed. The article concludes with some suggestions and ideas that could be useful for regulating the unfair use and illegal downloading of the copyrighted material.