A few weeks ago, MediaNama wrote an article on Prasar Bharati sending out copyright claims to independent journalists for using short video clips of their content. Despite a detailed coverage of the issue, there are questions that remain unanswered. For example, there’s no clarity over how the MPs navigate these copyright policies. There are also uncertainties about why government copyright exists in 2023 in the digital age. MediaNama’s Vallari Sanzgiri spoke to Meghnad S, digital media journalist, who covers the Parliament on his own YouTube channel.
When asked about his doubts regarding Prasar Bharati’s copyright claims over parliament session videos, Meghnad states, “I basically don’t understand why Prasar Bharati is doing this. Again, it’s a little beyond logic for me. For example, and the reason why I’m saying this is because Prasar Bharati is a tax-funded organization. Whatever they produce is in the public domain. It is supposed to be in the public domain.”
“…why is Prasar Bharati asking me for money?…Because at the end of the day, I’m not just showing the video. I’m doing commentary on it, which is fair use. Just to explain to the audience, if I’m taking the complete Independence Day speech and putting it as is on my channel and then monetizing it and earning money from it, that I understand can be a violation of copyright. But what I’m trying to do is I’m showing chunks of his speeches, I’m trying to explain to people what is happening. I’m trying to pause it, react to it, explain what happened, then I go on. If that be the case, then I’m essentially doing fair use,” Meghnad observes.
Dive into the copyright challenges faced by Meghnad as he attempts to dissect and comment on government content.
Also Read:
- Confusion Among YouTube News Channels After Copyright Claims From Prasar Bharati
- Here’s All You Need To Know About ‘Humans Of Bombay Suing People Of India Under Copyright’ Case
- The Authors Guild, George RR Martin, John Grisham, And Others Files Lawsuit Against OpenAI For Copyright Infringement
- I Am Become ‘Dynamic+ Injunction’, Destroyer Of All Piracy: The Delhi HC’s Solution To Preventing Copyright Infringement Online
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