Posting Video of Cricket Match Lands Fan in Copyright Trouble
November 26, 2018
Biswajit Sarkar - IP Law Firm India
Post time: 9:01 am
Monika Shail, a Chandigarh-based woman has approached the court after Facebook deactivated her account for posting a video that infringes BCCI’s copyright. The video that Shail shared on social media had her blowing a ‘flying kiss’ during the India-Sri Lanka second ODI played at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali on December 13, 2017, and was part of the live television feed.
Facebook pulled off the video after a few days and informed Shail about it. “We removed or disabled access to the following content you posted on Facebook because we received a notice from a third party that the content infringes their copyright(s). Video uploaded on December 14th, 1.29 am PST. Facebook isn’t in a position to adjudicate disputes between third parties. If you believe this content should not have been removed from Facebook, you can contact the complaining party directly to resolve your issue. Contact information rights owner – Board of Control for Cricket in India.”, Facebook in an email informed Shail.
It further adds, “If an agreement is reached to restore the reported content, please get the complaining party to email us with their consent and include the original reference number. We will not be able to restore this content to Facebook unless we receive explicit notice of consent from the complainant party. Please note that the complaining party is not required to respond to your request. We strongly encourage you to review the content you have posted to Facebook to make sure that you have not posted any other infringing content, as it is our policy to terminate the accounts of repeat infringers when appropriate”.
Shail’s apologies were left unanswered. In her petition, she claimed that she had been running her business through her Facebook page and had over 400 friends and around 8500 followers.
Facebook India in its reply to the court said, “Facebook India is neither a necessary nor a proper party and the suit should, therefore, be dismissed against Facebook India…” It added, “Facebook is not responsible for hosting any content that may appear on the Facebook Service and does not own or operate the servers, Facebook India was not responsible for hosting the content of complainant…”. BCCI is yet to file its reply. The next date of case’s hearing is scheduled November 30.
According to Shail’s advocate, since Facebook has already removed the video clip, it has no right to deactivate/block her account.
Who knew posting a video with your own face could land you in trouble?
Info by: Biswajit Sarkar – Patent Lawyer in India
