Character Merchandising And Copyright Law In India

We have been watching cartoons, movies and different programs since our childhood, and the different characters in these cartons and movies are actually the work of some intellectuals who create these characters. These characters are having some economic values and hence the intellectuals creating these characters have the rights to prevent others from misappropriation of these characters. Actually, character merchandising is the exploitation of famed characters, in order to make profit, by using the face, picture, voice, or dialogues of the character. Merchandising of the characters can be considered as legal, if done by the owner or any authorized person, but the same will be held as illegal, if done by any other person. Producer is the copyright owner of every act in a film, cartoon or any program and hence the producer has the exclusive rights. According to the Indian copyright law, any advertisement, poster or pictorial representation are protected under artistic work. This paper discusses the historical background of character merchandising and legal frameworks for preventing the same. The article also discusses the existing issues and challenges regarding illegal character merchandising and protections available for preventing the same in India. Furthermore, it aims to emphasis on few court decisions that have extended the scope of character merchandising in the entertainment industry. At last, the article tries to put some suggestions in order to prevent the merchandising of personalities in our entertainment industry.