Bollywood’s retro boom sparks bitter copyright battles

Anushkaa Arora, principal and founder, ABA Law Office, said such legal disputes may trigger an extensive re-evaluation of archival contracts executed in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. Many of these agreements may not have clearly addressed remix rights, adaptation rights, OTT exploitation, AI-assisted recreation, digital sampling or short-form content usage. “Second, music labels and film producers may become far more cautious before using retro tracks in films, web series or advertisements. This could increase transaction costs because parties may now insist on layered clearances involving sound recording rights, literary and lyrical rights, publishing rights, synchronisation rights, moral rights and adaptation permissions,” Arora added.