Fabric designs may soon be copyright-protected

Saree designers lock horns over replicating artworks

It is not just articles, books or photographs, now even fabric designers may soon have their designs protected under the Indian Copyright Act, 1957. 

Anybody copying the designs may have to pay a heavy price. In one of the first such cases in Bangalore, two City-based saree designers have locked horns over copyright violation of designs which has affected their business to a large extent.  

The plaintiff, Sakhi Enterprises - which has a chain of boutiques in the City - has dragged Sarisha, another boutique enterprise, to the court for alleged reproduction of works, intricate patterns of embroidery artwork and craftsmanship originally created by the plaintiff. 

They have contended that they are not just shocked to discover that their sarees are identically reproduced, but also the exact reproduction of saree designs are sold using substandard and inferior quality of material at a much lower cost.

However, Sarisha defended itself, stating that the list of designs furnished by Sakhi is not original as they are available in the open market and are generally found in all leading shops selling sarees and that the designs are not unique.
 At the City Civil Court, the petition of Sakhi Enterprises was allowed and Sarisha was asked to pay Rs five lakh for violation of copyrights. Aggrieved by the lower court’s decision, Sarisha has appealed before the High Court. During the hearing, Justice H G Ramesh asked the advocate as to how designs can be protected under the Copyright Act, when many such designs are easily available on the Internet. 

The advocate representing Sakhi Enterprises said that designs created by them are updated on the website and it automatically owns the copyrights of the designs. Copying or replicating these designs is violation of the Copyright Act, the advocate contended. The bench directed Sarisha not to copy any of the designs henceforth and asked both the parties not to replicate each other’s designs.

The plaintiff has contended that the drawings which are made in the course of developing the garments and the patterns for printing and embroidering on the sarees and fabrics are artistic works under Section 2 (c) (i) of the Indian Copyright Act 1957 and the garments and sarees themselves are works of artistic craftsmanship under Section 2 (c) (iii) of the Act. 

The plaintiff is the sole and exclusive owner of the copyrights under Section 13 (a) of the Copyright Act 1957 as copyright subsists in these works.