All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; – William Shakespeare.
India is witnessing a boom in print and electronic media with regular launch of new television channels focused on entertainment and current affairs. Print media in the form of magazines and newspapers is also witnessing development and major publications of the world are vying to tie up with Indian partners. Online media has also grabbed eyeballs in the metropolitan cities while India continues to produce the highest number of movies each year. The firm houses best lawyers for media and entertainment and advises on:
- Regulatory and licensing issues for investing in India, as also to commence and conduct operations.
- Marketing, licensing and distribution of TV channels, broadcast, cable and satellite television, foreign ownership issues
- Production, distribution and licensing agreements for films, TV series and TV reality shows, day-to-day licensing, copyright and trademarks issues.
- Content development and acquisition, syndication and licensing, clearance issues.
- Co-branding and co-marketing relationships and royalty payments;
- Copyright laws, obscenity laws, libel and defamation issues, privacy issues, fair trade practices and disclaimers.
- Joint ventures between International and national media companies for publishing local editions of magazines and other projects.
- Publishing, marketing and commercial documentation including publishing agreements, distribution arrangements, licensing arrangements, seed investments and advertisement arrangements;
- Approvals from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for foreign direct investment, from the Registrar of Newspapers for India and obtaining Registrations; and
- DTH guidelines, uplinking and downlinking of foreign channels, use of frequencies, wireless telegraph licensing and interference issues, operation and control of earth stations.
Notable Representations
- Messaggerie Giornali e Riviste Srl, an Italian media company in its joint venture with one of India’s leading publishing houses for publishing local editions of Italian lifestyle magazines. and
- Advice from time to time to a real time online exchange on publishing, marketing and commercial documentation.
FAQs
Personality rights refer to an individual’s right to control and protect the commercial use of their identity, including their name, image, likeness, voice and other distinctive personal attributes.
While there is no specific statute governing personality rights in India, they are recognised through judicial precedents and are protected indirectly under constitutional law and intellectual property frameworks.
Personality rights in India are primarily derived from the right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution, which includes the right to control the use of one’s identity.
Personality rights protect various attributes such as a person’s name, image, voice, likeness, signature, gestures, and other identifiable characteristics forming their persona.
Personality rights are available to all individuals, though courts often emphasise public recognition or goodwill when determining enforceability in practical cases.
Yes, individuals, particularly celebrities, can commercially exploit their personality rights by licensing or endorsing their persona for commercial purposes.