Legality Of Parodies: Much Ado About Nothing!!

Parody is a humorous or satirical imitation of an original work. In its very outset parody is meant for comical or ridiculing purpose. With the advancement of technology, making and publishing parodies online have become easier. Few websites or portals operate focussing on parodies only. The debate on legality of parody and its relationship with the intellectual property law is always open as substantial amount of work is copied and used. However, the determination whether such copying is infringement or is exempted under the defence of fair use or does it affect the moral rights of the owner, is very subjective and differs from case to case.

Parody and Copyright

Indian Copyright law is silent on the issue of parody. Parody attracts liability under copyright law as substantial part of the original work is copied in parody so as to enable the public to connect it with the original work. Copying of the copyrighted work is an infringement under the law. Though not