1. Copyright In Cyberspace

Copyright is similar to other property rights, such as land, in that the landowner owns everything on the land, from the sky to the ground. Copyright works on the same basis, but with several constraints. Copyright enforcement in cyberspace is hampered by the usage of computers, and the internet, including downloading, uploading, copy-cut-paste, deep linking, and peer-to-peer file sharing. New forms of creative expression in the creative arts have emerged as a result of the progress of information, all of which have been subjected to copyright protection. The fundamental principles of copyright law are constantly challenged in the digital context by copyright work protection. The infringement of copyrights via the Internet is one of them. Law is a response to a problem, whether it is social, economic, or technological. This general rule also applies to copyright law.

Because of its ease of transmission from creator to viewer, and then from viewer to viewer, the Internet is an ideal medium for artists and authors to advertise their work. At the same time, technology allows any of these viewers to edit, alter, distort, or disseminate an original work quickly and readily without the authors permission. The internet and digital technology have produced a copyright dilemma known as the digital problem. Users can use digital technology to create an infinite number of perfect digital copies of music, books, or videos, and then distribute them around the world at the speed of light via the internet. As a result of digitalization, the question of copyright on the internet has taken on a new dimension. It makes it easy, cheap, and quick to make high-quality copies, which can then be sent to potentially millions of people in seconds.[3]

It was rightly stated in the case of Religious Technology Center v. Netcom On-Line Communication Services, Inc.[1], that because of the Internet, piracy is much more of a silent and private activity than it is in a bookstore. Since the Internet has reached PCs and even mobile phones, preventing such infringements has become increasingly challenging. Authors of copyrighted materials on the internet encounter several hurdles. Internet policing is at the top of the priority list. According to the Copyright Act, infringement happens when someone uses anothers copyrighted work without permission.

1. Allows the illegal use of anothers copyrighted work with knowledge;

2. Makes a profit from an activity that involves the use of anothers property as well as

3. Makes use of any of the copyright rights that are only available to the copyright owner.

Thus, a copyright is only infringed when someone else conducts any of the countless actions that the copyright owner has exclusive rights to, such as producing the work in any tangible form, including storing it in any medium via technological means. Digitising a work without the permission of the copyright owner is an infringement. The internet is a global system for sending and copying information. This makes it possible for copyright to be disturbed in ways that no one could have thought of before and poses several problems for copyright law.

2. Characteristics of Digital Technologies with Copyright Implications

Digital storage and transmission of works are the technologies that are currently causing concern for copyright law. The following are some of the elements of these technologies that have significance for copyright law:

A. Reproduction ease

Once a work has been rendered in digital form, it may be replicated quickly, cheaply, and without sacrificing quality. Each duplicate can then be reproduced multiple times without losing quality. In this way, a single digital copy of a work can meet the needs of millions of people.

B. Ease of dissemination

The rise of global digital networks has enabled the quick and global dissemination of digital creations. Digital networks, like social media platforms, allow information to be distributed to many people from a single location (although, unlike broadcasting, digitised materials need not reach each individual simultaneously). Digital networks, on the other hand, allow each recipient on the network to participate in further transmission of the work, allowing it to spread at a geometric (often referred to as viral) rate. Because of this, and the ease with which works can be reproduced, a single digital copy of a work can be duplicated thousands of times all over the world in a matter of hours.

C. Ease of storage

Digital storage is dense, and its getting denser every year. Increasingly large amounts of material can be stored in a decreasing quantity of space.

3. Current Issues In The Cyberspace

Since the emergence of the internet and the development of related information technologies, copyright breaches have been rampant. Copyright violations are not restricted to a few blockbusters; they are widespread in cyberspace and damage a variety of digital items. Furthermore, severe copyright violations are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the many dangers to Intellectual Property Rights (I.P.R) on the internet. The emergence and spread of the internet have resulted in the creation of cyberspace, an unruly and anarchic realm that poses grave challenges to copyrights. Copyright owners have made technical protections like the Electronic Copyright Management System (ECMS) to stop works from being copied and spread.

4. Copyright violation

A. Caching

Determining the line between private and public use is one of the most basic copyright issues on the internet. The Indian Copyright Act, 1957 distinguishes between reproduction for public use and reproduction that can only be done with the permission of the right-holder. The right to reproduce on the internet raises some fundamental issues. Because of the fundamental nature of internet transmission, this is the case. Every stage of transmission involves reproduction. Temporary copying (also known as caching) is an important part of the internet transmission process without which messages would not be able to travel through the networks and reach their intended destinations. According to Indian law, reproduction must be in a physical form, but it also includes storing it in any medium by electronic means, making caching a copyright violation.

B. Plagiarism

Copying copyrighted content has become much easier because of technological advancements. As a result, copyright infringement has been difficult, if not impossible, to control. Books, movies, films, and music can all be easily reproduced, and thousands of copies can be generated and distributed. Digital technology has made it possible to copy content from one site, edit it, or simply reproduce it. I have thrown the usual way that the Copyright Act is used to protect individual rights and the rights of others into chaos.

C. Illegal Use Of Database

Under Section 2(o) of the Indian Copyright Act 1957, Databases are protected as Literary Works. For the first time in the Information Technology Act of 2000, the phrase computer database was defined. A person who violates the copyright and online regulations can be fined up to one crore rupee under Section 43 of the IT Act of 2000. Section 43 of the Act criminalises a wide range of offences, including computer trespass, digital copying, invasion of privacy, data theft, and so on. The IT Act of 2000,Section 66, also has criminal penalties for this kind of thing.

D. Illegal Use of Computer Software

A computer programme is defined as a collection of instructions represented in words, codes, schemes, or any other form, including a machine-readable medium, capable of enabling a computer to do a certain task or accomplish a particular result, according to Section 2(ffc) of the Copyright Act. The Copyright Act defines computer software as a computer programme. Computer programmes now qualify for copyright protection, as well as other types of Intellectual Property Rights protection, under the T.R.I.P.S (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) accord.

Under the Copyright Act, computer programmes are included in the definition of literary work. The owner of computer software has a variety of rights, including the ability to award software licences. Freeware licences, open-source licences, demoware licences, and other forms of software licensing exist.

5. Challenges Faced in Making Laws for Copyright Protection in Cyberspace

A. Intermediary liability

When it comes to enforcing liability, its critical to determine who is responsible: the party that gets the work, the Internet service provider, or the person who transmits the work. There is no responsibility under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act of 2000 if the subscriber establishes that the breach or crime was committed without the knowledge of a person or that a person had exercised all reasonable diligence to prevent the commission of such breach or offence. To hold an Internet Service Provider (ISP) liable for the infringement or aiding in the infringement of anothers copyright, the ISP must have knowledge of the infringement; otherwise, the ISP is immune from prosecution.

As the Internet is a worldwide phenomenon, a person will only be held accountable if any action on the internet is considered a crime under their respective local legislation, making it extremely difficult to govern, as the message would transit through several nations before reaching its intended recipient. As a result, the ISP may not be liable in the country of destination or origin but may be found liable in a transit country. Secondary liability theories of contributory or vicarious infringement make software creators potentially accountable for copyright infringement. A provider must either directly violate copyright or indirectly violate the copyright in some way, such as by contributing to or being a party to a violation.

The Delhi High Court held in Myspace Inc. V. Super Cassettes Industries Ltd.[2] that the provisions of section 79 of the Act had no effect on copyright infringements relating to internet wrongs where intermediaries are involved, and that the same provision, Section 81 of the IT Act, had no effect. As a result, even though an intermediary is protected under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, the copyright owner may still sue the intermediary under the Copyright Act of 1957. Even though the Information Technology Act of 2000 doesnt talk about copyright or anything else related to intellectual property rights, it does try to control how intellectual property is shared.

B. Jurisdictional issues

In India, the laws do not shed enough light on Internet jurisdiction. A courts decision is useless and has no meaning if it doesnt have the power to make it. There are two types of jurisdictions: subject matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction. For a judgement to be made, these two things must be true at the same time. Without this authority, a courts decision would be questionable, to put it mildly. It doesnt help much or at all. It has been thought for a long time that jurisdiction is based on either where the defendant lives or where the cause of action happened. But it is said that this is not true for transactions on the Internet. Its not easy to prove that either of the two places is the right one. It has been thought for a long time that jurisdiction is based on either where the defendant lives or where the cause of action happened. But it is said that this is not true for transactions on the Internet. Its not easy to prove that either of the two places is the right one.

C. Evidentiary Challenges

There are a lot of problems with how proof works on the Internet. Computers that can easily copy digital information arent that expensive compared to the equipment needed to make a lot of physical copies of tapes and discs. This makes it very hard to get proof from the end-user of copyright violations on the Internet. Because of this, there is a lot of piracy. Also, it is hard to find the person who downloaded content that was protected by intellectual property rights and then made copies of it to sell. Copyright violations on the internet are hard to catch because, unlike in the real world, they happen behind closed doors in cyberspace. Section 64 of the Copyright Act says that the police can take action against copyright infringement even without a Magistrates order. However, they dont do so, either because they dont know how to prosecute these crimes or because they dont care about them.

6. Conclusion

Copyright has changed over time because of changes in technology. With the growth of the Internet, especially the World Wide Web (WWW), copyrights are now being used in new cyberspace. When copyright in cyberspace is looked at, new opportunities and threats are found. But these new changes come with new risks, many of which also hurt the rights of people who own copyright. Most of the time, these threats are bigger than the opportunities that cyberspace offers. This means that cyberspace needs more rules to protect copyright.

As cyberspace is always changing, it makes it hard for the law to respond quickly. The major types of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in cyberspace, copyright seems to be the most important and controversial. This has led to calls for more regulation of cyberspace from international copyright regimes. There needs to be more international cooperation to regulate cyberspace and protect copyrights.

Also, its up to society to teach people about why copyright protection is important so that any unauthorised use can be checked, controlled, and stopped. A lot of people today are making digital content that needs to be kept safe. Netizens need to learn a lot more about why copyright protection is important on all levels to stop people from using things without permission.

7. Citations

1. Religious Technology Center v. Netcom On-Line Communication Services, Inc. available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_Technology_Center_v._Netcom_On-Line_Communication_Services,_Inc. (Last Visited 9th December)

2. Myspace Inc. V. Super Cassettes Industries Ltd available at https://sflc.in/policies-and-cases/myspace-inc-v-super-cassettes-industries-ltd/#:~:text=This%20case%20is%20important%20from,Myspace%20liable%20for%20copyright%20infringement. (Last Visited 9th December)

3. Copyrights In Cyberspace available at https://www.academia.edu/13743665/COPYRIGHT_IN_CYBERSPACE (Last Visited 9th December)