Recently, on May 20, 2017, a criminal
complaint for copyright infringement was filed by a Bengaluru-based music label
company, Lahari Recording Co., against ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd. and its founders for allegedly
downloading and streaming songs from popular Telugu and Kannada movies, without
owning the rights, that is, using pirated music on OLA Play.
Brief Background
ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd. operates under the popular trade name OLA, and is an Indian online transportation
network company having its registered
office at Bengaluru, India. OLA was founded as an online cab aggregator by
Mr. Bhavish Aggarwal, presently Chief Executive Officer of the Company, and Mr.
Ankit Bhati, presently Chief Technical Officer of the Company.
Last year, on
November 22, 2016, OLA had launched their connected car
platform for ride-sharing called ‘OLA Play’ in their “OLA
Prime” segment, claiming it to be a global first and aimed at “transforming the
in-car experience for users on the go like never before”. OLA Play provides
customizable experience to premium members of
OLA to view content of their choice and play music including radio while they
take their ride. The in-car entertainment system uses
custom user preferences and ride information, such as time and destination, to
offer recommendations. OLA Play is stated to be the world’s first such
technology and collaboration for a cab-aggregator. The company partnered with notable companies like Qualcomm, Mahindra and
Mahindra, Apple Music, Sony LIV, Audio Compass and Fynd to
build an interactive experience for users through listening to music and
watching videos at their option, on the go. OLA
Play is currently available in four cities in India – Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru
and Hyderabad.
Issue in brief
The
issue came to light in May 2017 after the director of music label company Lahari
Recording Co., Mr. Tulsiram Naidu, booked a cab in the Indian city of Bengaluru
and realized that the songs from the Tollywood* movies, ‘Baahubali’ and ‘Khaidi
No 150’ and from the Kannada** movie ‘Sundaranga Jaana’ were being played in
the cab without taking any prior permission or license from the company by OLA.
The songs from the said movies are claimed to be owned by Lahari Recording Co. Reportedly,
Mr. Tulsiram Naidu stated that nobody had come from ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd. for
licensing the songs and a loss of INR 6 crores i.e. INR 60 million (Approx. USD
928,857 @ 1 USD= 64.6 INR) is estimated in the future.
Pursuant
to the complaint filed by Mr. Tulsiram Naidu/ Lahari Recording Co. with the concerned
police station i.e. Jeevan
Bima Nagar Police Station in Bengaluru,
the police officials searched the offices of the cab aggregator, ANI
Technologies Pvt. Ltd. and reportedly seized the
hard disks and other electronic devices which were suspected to store songs that
had been illegally downloaded and were being played in the company’s taxis
without the requisite permission. The police also reportedly conducted surprise
checks on OLA cabs and seized some of the electronic devices and hard disks
wherein such songs were alleged to have been illegally downloaded and stored.
As
per the media statements made by the concerned Police, notice was issued to
both the founders of OLA, namely Mr. Bhavish Aggarwal and Mr. Ankit Bhati, to
show their valid copyright/ license on each song. However, they reportedly
failed to appear before the police. Following the developments, both the
founders have reportedly secured an anticipatory bail from the concerned
magistrate’s court.
In
the meanwhile, OLA’s legal counsel has released a media statement that the
company has been conducting its business legally and ethically and its
management has been dragged into this issue with a mala fide intention. Also,
they have taken appropriate legal steps to protect the interest of their client
and the matter is before the concerned court now.
Interestingly,
OLA has recently received funding from Tekne Capital Management of about INR 5
crores i.e. INR 50 million (Approx. USD 774,047 @ 1 USD=64.6 INR), only a few
days before the allegations of copyright infringement.
This
is not the first time that OLA has been in the limelight for piracy or
copyright infringement. Earlier this year, in February 2017, ANI Technologies
Pvt. Ltd. was embroiled in a copyright infringement case over an image, when a
Bengaluru-based designer’s creatives were used by it. Mr. Ramakrishna V. is an Indian graphic designer who has worked
with popular technology company, Zoho Corporation and is currently positioned
as an UI/UX Designer in a real estate agency called Housing. On February 17,
2015 he posted the image of Vidhana
Soudha at Dribbble.com, an online community for showcasing user-made artwork, for commercial
purposes under the creative commons license terms of the website. Vidhana Soudha is a prominent landmark
located in Bengaluru and is the seat of the state legislature of Karnataka and also
an imposing building, constructed in a style sometimes described as Mysore Neo-Dravidian,
and incorporates elements of Indo-Saracenic and Dravidian styles. ANI
Technologies Pvt. Ltd. was accused by Mr. Ramakrishna
V. of copying his design on hoardings used in
advertisements for promoting OLA’s INR 29 Campaign, without his express
permission. Later, the creative agency associated with OLA resolved the
matter of copyright infringement amicably between the designer and the agency
which had made the hoardings in the first place and the designer was adequately
compensated.
Relevant Provision of Law
Section 30,
Copyright Act, 1957 (as amended in 2012)
Licences by owners
of copyright.—The
owner of the copyright in any existing work or the prospective owner of the
copyright in any future work may grant any interest in the right by licence in
writing signed by him or by his duly authorised agent: Provided that in the
case of a licence relating to copyright in any future work, the licence shall
take effect only when the work comes into existence. Explanation—Where a person
to whom a licence relating to copyright in any future work is granted under
this section dies before the work comes into existence, his legal
representatives shall, in the absence of any provision to the contrary in the
licence, be entitled to the benefit of the licence.
Concluding remarks
Start-ups in India
are witnessing age old talent for entrepreneurship being unleashed like never
before. New ideas are exploding into business models and investors are all
lining up to provide the requisite finance and mentoring taking the start-up to
the next round of funding and higher valuations. Today, India is replete with
examples of successful start-ups that have seen valuations ballooning within the
first five years of operations, notable names being Flipkart, Snapdeal, Zomato,
Make My Trip, Naukri.com, Shaadi.com, Just Dial etc., which are all success
stories that have survived and grown from the last internet boom. Start-ups in
India are although noticing an increase in facilities provided by the Indian Government
like Start-up India campaign launched by Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi,
there are still day to day issues, prominently Intellectual Property (IP)
issues that are being faced by them in their regular business decisions. It
will be interesting to see how OLA tackles this fresh IP complaint against it-
whether it will walk away without a scratch or succumb to the IP demands of an
established organization, only time will tell.
*The Indian Telugu-language film industry based in the city of
Hyderabad, Telangana
** colloquially referred to as Sandalwood, the Indian Kannada language
film industry based in the state
of Karnataka.
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