Parody, Pastiche and Satire: A Comparative Study of Copyright in US, UK and India

Abstract

The advent of the printing press in the fifteenth century made wide dissemination of ideas and creations possible, and thus, artistic creations began to acquire a significant economic value. Since every author is desirous of clearly defining and demarcating the legal interest in his creation, the widespread dissemination of an author's work began to pose a serious challenge to copyright pundits the world over. Modern society has seen the introduction of digital technology, and this challenge has been further intensified. Today, creative arts are seen as big business opportunities, and avenues to achieve a higher degree of economic return. Thus, it can be said that economics rather than patronage, is the driving factor behind arts in the digital era. This Paper has been written with four major objectives in mind, and each of these have been dealt with separately. The first objective is to define and elaborate the concept of parody, and to understand how it is different from other analogous works such as pastiche and satire. The author has attempted to critically analyze the parody exceptions under the copyright regime prevailing in three major areas of the world viz, the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK) and India. Thirdly, this Paper attempts to evaluate the essential incompatibility between authors' moral rights and the idea of parody. Lastly, an attempt has been made to examine how modern-day technology has changed the way creative works are viewed, perceived, and consumed, and what changes are required in the legal framework to satisfy these new expectations.