ABSTRACT
Copyright Law and Competition Law are two different laws that act as a key player for development of the economy, encourage innovation in society and also protect intellectual property rights. Competition law endeavours to achieve fair competition, encourage the competitors to develop in the market and prohibit trade practices or monopoly. On the other hand, copyright law aims to protect original works, creative works of authors and granting an exclusive right to authors, creators to control of his works. While competition law ensures that copyrights holder do not use dominance in the market without the license. The authorities make sure not misuse his rights. The Competition law & Copyright law protect the creators’ rights, innovation and market efficiency. The Competition Commission, who are the authorities, may scrutinize the copyright holder. They are not abusing their dominance in the market. Additionally, educating creators, consumers, and policymakers about the importance of balancing copyright protection with competition principles can help foster understanding of these complex issues. To balance between copyright and competition, the licensing is compulsory to protect the rights of copyright holders and also fair competition in the market. The IPR authorities and CCI must work together. The cooperation of both authorities is maintaining a balance in the market economy. However, both are related to each other because their main goal is satisfying the needs of the maximum customers in the market.
KEYWORDS
Copyright Act, Competition Law, License, Exclusive Right, Original Work, Dominance Position, Market Economy.
INTRODUCTION
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and Competition law were two segregated areas in ancient times. IPR are the exclusive right given to the person over origination his\her mind. Copyright is an intellectual right of the authors. The copyright is to protect the original work of the author and competition law’s main aim is to give benefits to consumers & fair competition in the market of the society. To misuse of dominant position. The IPR law secures intangible properties like innovations, creations, trademarks, patents etc. the initiative works by one person has unauthorised access by another without the permission also protected by the laws. (Competition Law) deals with the legislation and code of conduct relating to market competition by efficiently opposing various anti-competitive agreements, prohibited monopolistic and restrictive trade practices, mergers and acquisitions, etc. In the present era, the views have changed, both laws are used to govern market growth efficiently. Competition authorities’ supervision of the markets. This regulation granted exclusive rights also in IPR Laws[1]. Current markets have emerged and developed the economy as result of the launch of new products and services[2]. The connection between Copyright and competition law has consequently received attention in the market. This is because the concept of IPR conflict with competition law fundamental[3]. To recommend the well-being of consumers, technologies & fair market. They play a vital role in maintaining a cut-throat competition market.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The Research methodology of this paper is to be descriptive, and the sources of research are secondary as well as primary in nature that are published articles, blogs, and official websites, books, MCA guidelines, rules, statute etc.
LITERATURE REVIEW
This research is focused on the Interface between Copyright is an IPR and Competition Act, 2002. Copyright is an exclusive right of creators and competition act focused on fair and healthy competition in the market. The person has not abuse dominance in the market & its holders’ rights. The License of copyright is mandatory use of another work. The unauthorised access of the creator works is infringement of the holder’s right and also punishable in the acts. The acts gave protection to the intellectual property as well as original work done by persons also. Innovation of ideas, marks, signs, arts are also protected by the law. The owner has right to transfer & assign his work to third party and in return some royalty charged by third party for his work. The Copyright owner has license generated by the authorities of the IPR. License of copyright take an important part of the law, without license copyright holder right is not safe under the act. The infringement of the right of holder is punishable under this act.
the TRIPS Agreement give protection of such works like computer programs, records, cinematographic works etc.
The Berne Convention ,1886 has secure the programs of computer both object code, sources and error of data in readable in machines & other formats organise creative works given in the content of computer. It is protected in this agreement of the convention.
COPYRIGHT LAW
A Copyright is an intellectual right and also a bundle of rights. The copyright protects the creators to unauthorized access by the third party. It’s an exclusive right of the creators given by law. Its aim is to protect the original work of the author. The original work like literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as software code, music, movies, books, and artwork etc[4]. The exclusive right used by another person through the license. Copyright rights may be assigned or transferred from one party to another creating a “license to use.” [5]Copyright ensured that author rights were safe. The authorities’ issues license under the copyright act. Example of copyright is when a movie script given to other industry for dubbing a movie and agrees to transfer copyrights of movie script in exchange for royalties and other forms of Licensee has not access the work without the owners’ permission. If, they infringement of the rights of the owner, he is liable for the punishment under this act. Third parties have no rights to assert claims of infringement of copyright. Only the original owner may sue and claimed the damages.[6]
The CCI expresses that the Intellectual Property laws do not rigid to overriding effect on Competition law. The court noted that the right given to the copyright owner is not a complete right, but it’s a statutory right under this act. The wording used in Section 3(5) of the act confirms that the above statement is true. From this, the scope of this Section is not complete. It only shaded the holder’ rights from infringement by exempting him from the prohibitory conditions of the Competition Law. The ‘European Courts of Justice’ stated that the objective of IPR is to inspire innovation in all areas and further provide monetary gain[7].
COMPETITION LAW
Competition law and guidelines of the government’s interference in the creation of competitive markets through elimination of market barriers and prohibitive trade practices[8]. Competition Act to prevent market deformation caused by anti-competitive habits on the part of businesses. In the other country competition act is also known as Antitrust law[9]. Competition Act[10]expressly prohibits any persons, enterprises or group to abusing its dominant position[11]in the market and also prohibited to combine, appreciable adverse effect on competition within the current market. In Competition law government trying to remove market frailty through suitable regulation to foster the competition[12]. & also measures healthy & fair competition in the market & also protects the consumers.
SOME PROVISION OF COMPETITION ACT APPLICABLE IN IPR
There are many sections of competition law that deals with the rights of IP holders.
Sec. 3(5) of the Competition Act, 2002 in India deals with potentially anti-competitive agreements related to Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs). ‘Anti-Competitive Agreements’ that have a significant negative effect on the market under sec. 3 of the Act[13]. It provides an exception for agreements or practices related to IPRs if they are used for licensing, franchising, or authorization and do not prevent, restrict, or distort competition. However, the ‘Competition Commission of India (CCI) can still investigate and decide whether an agreement or practice has an adverse effect on competition’. This section provides a safe for IPR-related agreements and practices, but is not a blanket exemption from competition law.
In the case, a trademark owner abuses the trademark by manipulating/ falsifying. It will amount to biased trade practices for trademarks. The SC, while taking into share the competition policy of India, held that “all kinds of intellectual property have the potential to infringe the competition.”The court further noticed that an owner of trademark has the right to use his trademark rationally and dependent at the time of granting a patent[14].
In the case[15], The Bombay High Court held that the Competition Commission of India has jurisdiction to view the matter of competition and IPR. This stand of the court has been further forge ahead by the Competition Appellate Tribunal in the case[16]. In this case, it was held that Sec. 3(5) does not limit holders’ right of IP rights to sue for infringement of copyright, trademark, patent, etc. “The Competition Commission of India has conferred the power to deal with all the cases that come before the Copyright Board. Thus, competition law does put a bar on the application of other law”.
Sec.4 of the Competition, deals with ‘abuse of dominant position’ and expressly prohibits abusing its supremacy in the market. But it does not mean that the existence of a dominant position is prohibited. There is an exception under the IPRs. This is following reasons are –
- IPRs given to the holder may not always lead to Dominance in the market.
- If the IPRs grant a supremacy position, they do not mean that they are abusing power in the market. The ‘abuse of the dominant position’ is proven to prove violation of law.
Sec. 4(2) of the Competition law, which treats enterprise or group action as abuse of dominant position and applies equally to IPR holders.
Sec.3 of the Competition Act,2002. prohibits ‘anti-competitive agreements’, but this prohibition does not restrict “any person’s right to restrain any infringement of, or to impose reasonable conditions, as may be necessary for protecting any of his right conferred by IPR laws such as the Copyright Act, 1956, the Patents Act, 1970, the Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 (48 of 1999), and the Designs Act,2000. the Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout- Design Act,2000. The Competition Act provides a right of person”. The parties recover damages of competition against the anti-competitive agreement including the exercise licensing or transfer of IP right of an enterprise[17].
INTERFACE BETWEEN COMPETITION ACT & COPYRIGHT ACT.
The interface between copyright act and competition act is a tangled & evolving area of legal study. While both laws serve distinct purposes, they can intersect in various ways, leading to potential conflicts or synergies. In a statute of country that India is, it becomes important to take an account of uncertainty that attach to any exercise of interpretation[18]undertaken by the courts, mainly when the laws being praised from different disciplines come into conflict with each other at the time of their application. Accordingly, copyright act and competition act have to be understood in the lawful sense of promoting\encouraging mutual goals (theory of “complementarity”). ‘a balance between the both pro and anticompetitive effects of the copyright on competition in the market’.[19]
1. Exclusivity vs. Competition: Copyright Act grants exclusive rights to owners of the intellectual property and creators, which can limit competition in the market. Competition law seeks to promote competition by preventing monopolies, restricted trade policy and anti-competitive practices. In some cases, exclusive rights under copyright law may be deemed anti-competitive and subject to competition law scrutiny.
2. Licensing Copyright holders may license their works to others, which can lead to vertical agreements (e.g., between a software developer and a hardware manufacturer). Competition law may investigate these agreements to ensure they do not restrict competition or create a monopoly.
3. Copyright-antitrust interfaces in digital markets – The rise of digital markets has led to new challenges in balancing copyright protection with competition concerns. For example, dominant digital platforms may use copyright laws to restrict access to their platforms or data, potentially limiting competition.
FUTURE OF COPYRIGHT AND COMPETITION IN DIGITAL ERA:
Todays’ Era is a digital era. The society has upgraded as a development of technology. The use of technology is very vast. So, the scope of Copyright law also increases in future. The Commercial business is expanded & various startups come in the market. So, increase competition in the market. The use of technology increased all work done through the computer. The protection of computer data is a must. The IPR law has power to protect the data from the theft & also control the crime. The copyright has been done through the original work of the person. “The author has initiated work experience developing models for audience attention in certain areas, as well as employing schemes to recommend the most financially desirable release date. To comprehend this, we must first examine the process of film distribution”. Data-driven by machine, learning systems may be crooked by their input data, allowing enterprises to engage in ordinarily pricing schemes without having to convey directly with another. In this approach, using machine learning method for analytical business activities without executing or examine the data might generate (or obscure) critical competition concerns under the present laws[20]. The drama company makes scripts for the drama & the drama is famous in the theatre. The other company wants to script a drama for the movies. The drama has intellectual property of the drama company and the script of the drama has copyright. No one can prepare the same drama because it has the license of the copyright. If, the drama has been molded by another one used in the movie. it is also an infringement of the rights of the drama company. The new competitors come in the market with new technologies. The competition will increase in the market. In the future, all work will be done by artificial intelligence, new techniques invented by the future generation. The competition will be tough in future. The society has updated. In the future both laws worked together smoothly and overcame the problems faced by the people. The rules & regulation of both the laws governed by the authorities for the smooth running of the act. The laws enacted to the security of the consumers of the society. If any problem arises to the customers. The problem solved through the both laws. The copyright law and competition law both are dependent on each other. The government has proper action against the person who contravention the provision of the law. The market competition has increased in the future and the scope of competition law has increased. Today is the digital era, intellectual property law has safeguarded the original works of the author, new innovations of the person and new technology used by people. The futures of both acts are bright. Both acts maintain the dignity of the legislation & worked together and also maintain the fair competition in the market.
SUGGESTION
Competition and Copyright are two major components of any market economy. ‘Competition Law and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)’ are both main focus of encouraging economic development, technological growth and consumer safety. The industry has rapid growth in the market. So, the scope of copyright is vast. Copyright has a bundle of rights. In market cut-throat competition, so the government makes a policy for fair competition in the market. The copyright has a monopoly of the owner. The right is used by third parties through licenses. The government has a balance between intellectual rights & competition in the market & also benefits of the consumers. The market competition is increased by the consumers.so, the seller knows the market what is the demand of consumers, how is fulfils the needs. The consumer is happy, the market also grows efficiently.
CONCLUSION
This paper has mainly focused on Competition law & Copyright Act has two sides of coins. The interface between copyright act and competition law is tangled and requires careful analysis of the specific circumstances. Both laws serve important purposes, but their intersection can lead to conflicts or synergies depending on the context. Understanding the nuances of both laws is essential for creating a balanced legal framework that promotes innovation while protecting consumers’ interests. The policy of competition law and copyright act is beneficial to the consumers. The policy is made by the government for fair competition in the market. The growth of the market through the fully competitive market. The competitor does not use of dominance position in the market. The market has healthy competition and also secure the consumers rights. The licensee of copyright does not access information without the permission of the owner. The holder has to grant license through the authorities prescribed under the copyright act. The copyright is an exclusive right. The exception of competition law, in some cases copyrights holders have supremacy power of their work. The balance of both laws is mandatory because some provision of law interact with other laws. So, fulfil the demand of consumers through the market & also use the technology to grow the economy. The market competition must be fair and healthy for the consumers. In the future the demand for both laws will increase. The Competition act and Copyright act worked together for the welfare of the society.
[1] “Steven D. Anderman and Hedvig Schmidt” The Interface between Intellectual Property Rights & Competition Policy, (3rd edn, Cambridge University Press, 2007).
[2] “Dennis W. Carlton and Robert H. Gertner (2003) “Intellectual Property, Antitrust, and Strategic Behaviour” 3 Innovation Policy and Economy (IPE)., pp 30-33.”
[3] Ibid.
[4] Copyright Act,1957.
[5]‘Section 30’ of the act.
[6] ‘Section 51’ of the act.
[7] ‘FICCI Multiplex Association of India v. United Producers Distribution Forum’ 2011.
[8] “Joanna Goyder and Albertina Albors Lloren Goyders EC Competition Law, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 5thed,) 17”.
[9] TechTarget, https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/competition-law, last visited 11 July 24.
[10] ‘Competition Act 2002’, Act No.12, Acts of parliament, 2003, India.
[11] Section 4 of the act.
[12] ICSI Module, EBCL-328, 2020.
[13] “P. Berwal, Sec 3(5)(i) of The Competition Act – An Analysis, 27(2) National Law School of India Review 168–184 (2015)”.
[14] ‘Valle Peruman and others v. Godfrey Phillips India Limited’, (2005).
[15] ‘Aamir Khan Production Private Limited v. The Director-General’, (2010).
[16] ‘Kingfisher v. Competition Commission of India’ (2012).
[17] ‘Lexology, https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx, last visited date 11 july,24’.
[18] “Lord Selborne, L.C., in Giles v. Melsom, 1873”.
[19]“Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property and Competition Law, Munich December 2013”, https://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/competitionpolicy/en/docs/copyright_competition_development.pdf
[20] “A. Ezrachi & M. E. Stucke, Artificial Intelligence & Collusion: When Computers Inhibit Competition, 5 U. ILL. L. REV. 1775 (2017)”.