India's copyright bill gets it right

India's new copyright bill sounds like a pretty good piece of work: it declares private, personal copying to be "fair dealing" (like US fair use) and limits the prohibition on breaking DRM so that it's only illegal to do so if you're also violating copyright. That means that you can break the DRM on your iPad to move your books to your Kindle or vice-versa. It also makes it legal to make, distribute and sell tools to accomplish this.

India Introduces Major Copyright Reform Bill Copyright

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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Anonymous

The problem is the life of a copyright is too long, and in a couple of cases, photographers and film directors, it extends that period of time. Any copyright law that doesn’t limit copyright to 10 years and under is not progressive no matter what else it states.
- Anonymous
  
  So if your write a book, Disney/Sony/Whatever only has to wait 10 years before they can make a film of it and not pay you a penny?
  
  Seems a tad unfair to me that.
  Copywrite is too long in general, but 10 years is crazy short, especially for written works by a single author.
Anonymous

I always kindof saw Stallman as Ganesha
- Church
  
  Stallman is Shiva.
Anonymous

I remember hearing on a radio show (in India) when I was a kid that making a copy of an audio/video cassette to gift to your relatives/friends or to save for later is not piracy. Selling/distributing it or showing it in public places without the copyright owner’s consent is. So in that perspective, the copyright law has always been pretty fair. The current bill seems to extend the concept to internet related sharing, since the previous one did not have any clarification in that regard, it being drafted before the internet was even invented.
BC2

Could someone please point out where in the original document any of this is substantiated? I’ve gotten used to fact checking Doctorow and Geist. Geist links to two articles: one is a non-searchable pdf with a lot of amendments (it’s difficult to decipher without the original document to see what it’s amending), and the second document is a news article from “livemint”. The livemint article says the copyright amendment gives more rights to creators, extends the length of copyright (“enhance the term of copyright for photographers to ‘life plus 60 years’ instead of only 60 years at present”), “The amendment seeks to bring the copyright Act, 1957 in line with the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Internet treaties”, and “The amendment also addresses the complaints of the music industry that has been complaining about ‘version recordings’ of original songs depriving music companies of royalties.”

In short, I can’t find anything at all that substantiates Cory’s claim that this is a more liberal copyright system.
teapot

It also makes it legal to make, distribute and sell tools to accomplish this.

Hey ACTA fans: Eat a steaming pile of spicy shit, you motherf*ers. What you gonna do now? Block all access to Indian internet traffic?

Thumbs up, India… Get moving on setting up some encrypted VPNs and lets get rocking :)
Anonymous

It’s about time SOMEONE gets it right. I expect to see a lot of corporate paranoia and anger over this, but I hope more countries (ie. the USA) follow suit.
- Anonymous
  
  GOOOOOOOOOOOOO India :D
Shodai

brb, moving to india
Anonymous

@ #39
In the non-searchable PDF that you mentioned, look for:

Page 10 – clause 31 – modifies section 52 (which lists things not to be considered as copyright infringements) – it now includes storage of any work in an electronic medium as not constituting infringement.

Page 12 – clause 36 – enables DRM cracking, including facilitation of DRM breaking unless it is for copyright infringement
Anonymous

Cue killing India’s backbone and revoking DVD CSS keys in 3 . . 2 . . 1 . .
Anonymous

Fair dealing is not “like US fair use”. It is more limited.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_dealing
Wordguy

I wonder what the implications of this will be if it becomes law, with respect to India’s dealings and relationships with the ACTA countries. Does ACTA address interaction with non-ACTA countries? How important is the Indian market to the ACTA countries?
- Anonymous
  
  India refused to sign the Non-proliferation treaty, and they still managed to get the support of the international community for their nuclear program, so I doubt they’ll bend over to sign the ACTA.
Brother Phil

So how long before the US starts leaning on them to bend their citizens over for the big 4?
Edward H.

Yay! India is really chock-a-block with good programmers- they’ll (legally!) lead the way in making the software for digital mobility.

(And this will also benefit their economy, and methinks this was the Indian gov’t's main motivation.)
foobar

This is great, as long as P2P networks count as “private, personal copying”.
Anonymous

Region-encoding, region-locked players, and the DMCA exist so that the RIAA and MPAA don’t have to choose between the billions they reap from cheap sales in India and the billions they reap from higher sales prices elsewhere. It’s an engineered market inequity; in a free and fair market sellers have to choose between high price+low volume or low price+high volume, but by perverting the law enforcement system a sufficiently amoral seller can get both.

Now, India can sell region-unlocked DVD players to the world (like New Zealand used to) and we can all buy DVDs at Indian prices (roughly $2 brand new).

Yay! Capitalism! Free Trade! I sure wish Reagan and his successors hadn’t shut down market capitalism in the USA, but I guess I’ll buy from India if that’s where the American Dreame is living these days.
kaffeen

With all due respect to India (which has some really brilliant minds), I suspect that this is somewhat “convenient” for India right now. This benefits their commerce and they stand to profit from this. The fact that they specifically mention software/hardware components are “okay” to infringe copyright is the telltale sign in my opinion. I fully expect for this to be modified or retracted entirely, if and when, any companies that require more stringent copyright laws begin needing H2B Visa workers or corporate offices in India (recording/movie studios included). I know I am probably pessimistic, but I’ve seen first hand what they are willing to do in regards to the programming industry.
- ASM
  
  I disagree. We’re not seeing the same brain drain from India today as was the case 10 years ago. Many of India’s best and brightest are perfectly content staying at home now considering the country’s prosperity in the last decade. Rather than exporting raw talent, the Indian government would like to see these people stay at home as well.
  
  With this new proposal, they’re on the path to further grow their economy while preserving an individual’s right to fair use. Good for them.
  - kaffeen
    
    Big, small, and medium sized software companies are opening offices in India because of the talent there and the low cost of that talent (relative to other parts of the world). I agree the paradigm is shifting and they do not need to export talent because of this. It actually is much more financially rewarding to bring the talent home and they are succeeding at that.
    
    I hope I am wrong, but I can’t help but think this is potentially quite shrewd of them. For one, in the way I have already opined, but perhaps even more shrewd is the following.
    
    The “big money” in copyright is with RIAA/MPAA types (acronyms changing by way of country). Right now, those organizations (and the industry/companies they represent) are fighting a political battle; they are trying to legislate protection. India does not stand to benefit from politics, but I suspect they do have their eye (third eye?) on these organizations (and companies they represent). They are the most financially lucrative target.
    
    For someone who is willing to look long-term, it would be quite beneficial to play one “hand” (that being the smaller software/hardware companies that will create things to infringe) to gain an advantage at a later time (which is the ultimate goal). When the time comes they will be quick to play one “hand” against the other.
    
    For now, they will build the technology to counteract the RIAA/MPAA (it should be noted that this very technology will be something these organizations/companies will need to know intimately in the future so that they can defeat it).
    
    The “big fish” will come when the technology (and the minds that created it) have made politics a moot factor and thus the only viable way of fighting the war would be by way of technology. It is then, when the “big fish” will go to India (the most intimate source/creation of the technology). At that time, the black hats will turn into white hats.
- zio_donnie
  
  “I suspect that this is somewhat “convenient” for India right now”
  
  And your point is? I suspect that the various IP Mafias are promoting unfair laws for their convenience and profit too.
  
  India does the same but apparently passes a law that benefits 99% of the population instead of just a couple of big corporations.
  
  That is called a responsible government.
- Church
  
  ” I suspect that this is somewhat “convenient” for India right now.”
  
  Yeah, because they have no indigent media or software institutions.
  
  Oh, wait..
Superdude

WOW!!

I’m an Indian….and till just a few minutes back I wished that I was living in Europe or USA (cause of the amazingly fast internet speeds)….

But now I’m like….”DAMN!! Thats AMAZING!”

PS: Just an intriguing note to all those who wish to move in here….The speeds here are really pathetic….(As compared to other countries)

*Transfers a CBGB movie onto the Hard Drive with a smile*
Anonymous

I suppose, if you have enough nukes, you can do whatever you please. The bastards won’t like this. Not one bit…
Daedalus

I have no problem with India doing this because it benefits them. Heck, the reason IP enforcement is so FUBAR’d in the US is because the RIAA and the MPAA are seeking to benefit from the legislation. The sad fact of the world today is that laws are bought and sold. Though it would ultimately benefit the US, too, to take a reasonable stand on copyright, it wouldn’t help the big moneymakers today.

And, yeah, chuck me in with the folks who plan on moving to India soon, now.
mdh

“show me what democracy looks like!”
“This Is What Democracy Looks Like!”
Anonymous

And this is why that part of the world is an emerging world power and this part is waning. I’m glad language development isn’t copy written or patentable.
Anonymous

There are laws for having stuff on your computer in India? Lol never heard of that.We hardly even think about it!! Its impossible to make laws like US ones in India because here there is too much piracy so much so that people don’t even know what they are doing is completely illegal in some countries.I’ll bet you guys will take a life time in our cities to find an original copy of Windows in actual markets!! Its happens only in India!
Anonymous

India won’t care what the Americans or other ACTA countries think. India has a long history of going it’s own way.
ian71

Good for them.
Shay Guy

limits the prohibition on breaking DRM so that it’s only illegal to do so if you’re also violating copyright

So…why is it illegal at all, then?
- broken_chaos
  
  “So…why is it illegal at all, then?”
  
  I suspect it will be treated like the distinction between “assault” and “assault with a weapon”. While both are illegal, one is considered more serious and tends to carry higher penalties if convicted.
Anonymous

OMG! REASONABLE LEGISLATION! HEAD’SPLODE!
dwiff

“With all due respect to India (which has some really brilliant minds), I suspect that this is somewhat “convenient” for India right now. This benefits their commerce and they stand to profit from this.”

Yeah, just like it was “convenient” when the US did it, before allowing the congloms to dictate law.

Or is being familiar with copyright history too ‘inconvenient’ for you?
twiggy_trippit

Whoa! That’s really… sane? Balanced? Awesome public policy to preserve your customer’s rights and promote innovation?

I still think copying and distribution for most non-commercial uses (and some commercial uses) should be legalized, but that’s already a great start.
twiggy_trippit

This could end up providing India with an edge when it comes to R&D.
Anonymous

This isn’t getting it right. Getting it right would mean reducing corporate copyright to a maximum of around 5 years. That’s more than enough time for them to gain profit off their work, which is what copyright is for. as it is now, India, like the rest of the world has essentially signed off on giving corporations the right to sponge of all of human civilization forever.
- Anonymous
  
  According to the peer reviewed economics papers I’ve seen, 14-28 years (the original length of copyright in the US), is the most beneficial. Beyond 28 years, there is a negligible return for 99+% of the works.
  
  5 years is too short to fulfill the needs of long term projects – Harry Potter (from book 1 to movie close) is running over a Decade – even just the movies are running over that 5 year mark. ‘Lord of the Rings’ from Peter Jackson also ran well over 5 years from start to end.
pinup57

That’s interesting. Now I’m asking myself, this being the internet, what are the conditions to fall under a law. So I want to break DRM to copy an album I bought legally, to another device I own. In my country this is illegal. In India it is not.

Now, I use a (hypothetical) service which servers are hosted in India, where I can hire some diskspace I can can use to upload my DRM’s material, which I then can “un-DRM” using a software service running on the same server. I then download the DRM-free material back to my harddrive.

Question: in my country, am I now guilty of breaking DRM?

If not, I’m looking for a business partner :D
Anonymous

In India a monster like RIAA/MPAA has very little chance to survive. Indians like their own cultural stuff more than the western exports. A very miniscule segment do ape the west and will suck up to that end. Let me give an example , there was hit movie called “sholay” made sometime in 70′s and its popularity is measured by the number of years it was shown in the same movie theater since its release.When I grew up to see the movie in 90′s a rerun of the movie was getting a full house.
Marcel

“We’re going to have to confiscate your illegal movie collection, your music colection, and software, sir!”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible officer, they’re on my private server in Delhi, you see.”
Anonymous

They have WMDs!!! AND WMCs!!! Quick, invade them!!!

(that’s Weapons of Mass Copying, btw…)
Yamara

And people ask me why I’m a polytheist.

One reason is because there are an nigh-infinite number of expressions of life, and mortal efforts to hide or contain some of them are more passing and illusory than the expressions themselves.

Rock on, India.