IS PARODY A CRIME OR A CRITIQUE? RETHINKING FAIR DEALING UNDER INDIAN COPYRIGHT LAW

AUTHOR – HARSHAVARDHAN NANGRE & KIMAAYA HADKE

* STUDENTS AT MAHARASHTRA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, MUMBAI

BEST CITATION – HARSHAVARDHAN NANGRE & KIMAAYA HADKE, IS PARODY A CRIME OR A CRITIQUE? RETHINKING FAIR DEALING UNDER INDIAN COPYRIGHT LAW, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (6) OF 2026, PG. 210-213, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344. DOI – https://doi.org/10.65393/IJLRV6I623

Introduction

A close reading of Section 52(1)(a) of the Copyright Act, 1957^[1] (‘Act’ hereinafter) reveals a narrowly constructed approach to ‘fair dealing’, unlike the more accommodative ‘fair-use’ recognised in the US^[2]. It considers fair-dealing to be used only for any personal use, criticism or to review and report current events and leaves parodies and satire out of its purview, making them exposed to legal threats and forceful takedowns even when the work is socially valuable.^[3] Keywords – Copyright Law, Fair Dealing, Parody and Satire, Freedom of Expression, Indian Copyright Jurisprudence

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[1] The Copyright Act, 1957, § 52(1)(a), No. 14, Acts of Parliament, 1957 (India).

[2] Sufiya Ahmed, Fair Dealing in Indian Copyright Law, 26 J. Intell. Prop. Rts. 96 (2021).

[3] Soutik Biswas, Munawar Faruqui: Is It Dangerous to Crack a Joke in India?, BBC News (Nov. 30, 2021).