Copyright extends to Theme, Plot and Storyline of a Literary work: HC

The High Court of Bombay has held that in the case of literary works, copyright extends not only to expression of the core idea but also to its theme, plot, & storyline.

The order, which was pronounced on Friday, was in regards to a plea filed by Urdu writer Shamoil Ahmad Khan alleging that Falguni Shah & 2 others had infringed his copyright on one of his short stories, ‘Singardan’ & produced a web series under the same title which was being aired on online platforms. Shamoil Ahmad Khan alleged that producers of the web series had not only copied his title, but also the entire plot, narrative, & characters of his story.

Producers of the web series opposed his petition for an injunction, alleging that except for the central idea of ‘Singardaan’, there was no other similarity between Khan’s literary work & the web series. They alleged that the central idea, set during riots, about a man taking a dressing table from a brothel to his home & how its use leads to changes in the behaviour of the womenfolk at home, wasn't entitled to any copyright protection.

They submitted that the depiction of the central idea in the web series, scene to scene, situation to situation, in-climax to anti-climax, including the pathos, texture, treatment, purport, & presentation, was materially different from Khan’s story & therefore, there was no question of infringement.

However, the argument failed to impress upon Justice SC Gupte. Justice Gupte agreed that that copyright doesn't extend to ideas, schemes, systems, or methods & it is confined to their expression; & if the expression is not copied, the copyright is not infringed.

However, he clarified that in a literary work, a germ of an idea is developed into a theme & then into a plot & then finally a story, with the help of characters & settings. It is the combination of all these elements which give substance to the work.

Gupte said that “If one goes on stripping the final work of these various elements, one may finally come to the bare idea or abstraction which no longer enjoys copyright protection".

“The narration is the life & blood of the plaintiff’s [Khan’s] story,” said the judge, adding that it cannot be said that the writer has copyright only in the details of expression.

“If someone steals this theme, plot, & storyline, is he not thereby plagiarising the expression of the plaintiff’s work? Can the theme, plot, & storyline be simply dismissed as non-protectable ideas of the plaintiff’s work & not its expression? I think not. We have not yet reached that level of extraction where the work can be stripped to its non-protectable idea,” the judge said.

Gupte concluded that though the producers of the web series developed Khan’s theme, plot, & storyline differently, prima facie it was a case of copyright infringement. The court restrained the producers from making any further adaptation of ‘Singardaan’ & directed them to maintain accounts of the revenue earned from the web series, right from its inception till the disposal of Khan’s suit.

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