You might get into serious trouble by sharing News epaper on WhatsApp, Facebook etc.
In regards to subscriptions, it is a common practice to have a shared ID for streaming services and e-commerce platforms, but hold on a bit. A word of caution for all. In case, you intend to share newspaper in electronic medium online or for that matter any digital clipping of a newspaper on line, you might end up landing in a soup. Keep in mind, sharing an e-paper online from a reputed print media is a direct violation of the Copyright Act, 1957 and the Trade Marks Act, 1999.
So be aware and alert. In fact, if you are contemplating the idea of sharing PDF copies of an Indian newspaper in a WhatsApp group service, the same may lead to legal trouble. So unknowingly stepping into an unknown territory that is guarded and secured by Copyright and Trade Mark acts may lead to initiation of legal action. You may be persecuted in the Court of Law. Get all the relevant information pertaining to such law so, that you will be well aware of the consequences rather than burning your bridges.
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You may be astonished or shocked to know that even sharing a PDF snippet of a newspaper online is not permitted legally. It also comes under the purview of legal offense. According to the law " The unlawful and unauthorized circulation/distribution of newspaper and the contents thereof constitutes an infringement of Copyright under Section 51(b)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957 and the same is liable to be injuncted under Section 55 of the Copyright Act"
This is indicative of the fact, that there is stringent law in place. Any violation will lead to severe action so, one needs to act smart or else will get into serious trouble legally.
Having discussed the ramifications pertaining to the aforesaid topics, it will perhaps act as a respite to a lot of people that it is regarded safe if you wish to share news online on social media. This is fairly safe and will not invite any trouble for you. Perhaps, the easiest means of sharing news online would be to send links to the articles. It is worth mentioning, that there are absolutely no restrictions whatsoever in sharing official links of news stories online. The majority of the newspapers in India have got their own websites and you can go ahead and share links to the articles you find interesting. It is a risk-free option that can be used and is being used by a lot of people.
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Probably, a lot of people are not aware of the fact that not only media companies, even social media firms which include WhatsApp, Telegram, and Facebook may drag and entangle you into a legal case, in case you decide to share e-paper PDFs purely due to the fact, that it violates their terms and conditions for copyright content.
Now you know for a fact, that Copyright Act is something which may create plenty of trouble especially when you are into sharing stuffs developed by others. It's better to act smart and avoid getting entangled in a legal case. It is advisable, use it in a manner prescribed and considered, legal without violating any act or terms and conditions of media houses or social media sites.
We must take into consideration the fact, that sharing paper online is illegal owing to the reason that news captions or headlines published in the newspaper or website, belongs to the media company. They are of course the "first owner" of the copyright of such news articles. Any imitation by an unauthorized person would be regarded as a violation of the Copyright Act.
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Copyright Act grants rights to copyright holders to reproduce, display and distribute in any of the protected work. You violate the provisions of the Copyright Act and in that event legal implications of the same will stare at you.
Conclusion
This article is an attempt to create an awareness about the need to avoid reproducing or displaying contents belonging to the "first owner". Sharing newspaper or online content without following the terms and conditions prescribed, may invite serious problems for you. It is imperative for us to respect the terms and conditions of social media sites especially in the context of sharing their stuffs.
Therefore, we need to ensure that we are not violating any provisions which can create legal issues and for which we may have to pay heavily and lament at a later stage. I hope, you all will find the information shared by means of this article, interesting as well as informative and avoid doing anything which may compel you to be subjected to any legal case. Kindly, share your feedback on the same by expressing your point of view in the comment section.
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