Black & white then, colour now, whose cinema it is?

MUMBAI: Companies, institutions and individuals owning intellectual property (IP) of black-and-white films whose copyright has expired or is about to expire are facing a dead-end situation, amid a lack of clarity in the law over ownership of their colourised versions.

This has become a pressing issue for companies that own film IP, preserve and restore them, as it limits their monetisation opportunities, said legal firms, film IP owners and film processing and colouring labs in conversations with ET.

According to the Indian Copyright Act, 1957, the copyright of a film expires 60 years after its release. After the copyright expires, an IP owner loses exclusive rights to the film, which then enters the public domain. This makes the film's IP vulnerable, as anyone can colourise the film.


"Once the copyright term of a film ends, the original owner loses any exclusive claim to the film. A third party is free to colourise or remaster the film. What remains legally unsettled, though, is whether colourisation creates a new, independent copyright, and whether moral rights can still be invoked once the underlying copyright has expired," said Priyanka Sinha, co-founder of law firm A&P Partners. India's Copyright Act says that a derivative work of an original film can have copyright protection, provided there is some originality in it. But the Act does not clearly state whether improving the visual and aural experience of a black-and-white film through colourisation can make the derivative work copyrightable.

The central issue is that colourised versions are considered "interpretations" of original works. A simpler way of understanding this is through Indian epics such as the Ramayana.

The Ramayana has existed in India's cultural ecosystem since time immemorial. Anyone can write an interpretation of the epic. Similarly, once the copyright of a black-and-white film expires in India, multiple people can create different colourised versions of the same film. "If creators independently colourise or modify the same film, questions may arise regarding the scope of protection available to each version and how the respective creative contributions are to be distinguished from the underlying work. Differences in colour palettes, shades, costumes and other visual treatments can result in different interpretations," explained Hiren Gada, CEO, Shemaroo Entertainment.

According to Kavita Prasad, MD, Prasad Corporation, the cost of colourising a black-and-white film can range from ?50 lakh to ?1 crore. A formal proposal has been put before the government to extend the 60-year term for films and bring it at par with global standards of 70-95 years. "Today, films generate revenues through OTT, FAST channels, international licensing and emerging AI-based exploitation. We are requesting the government to extend the copyright term. This would not only protect the commercial interests of rights holders but also support the preservation and restoration of India's cinematic heritage," said Shreyans Hirawat, head, film business & innovation, NH Studioz.