Whenever a creative work – whether literary, cinematic, artistic – has to be shared, disseminated, sold, we have to contend with intellectual property rights. And then the content creators like musicians, authors, poets, film-makers, photographers, designers and others enter the complex world of intellectual property law. Some of them have the wherewithal to seek out and consult lawyers who specialise in this branch of the law, but others are not so fortunate. Now lawyer Xerxes Ranina has solved this problem for us all with his book Who Owns What? which has recently been published by Harper Collins. It simplifies the legal world and helps to understand the basics of intellectual property law and navigate the legal aspects of creating: how to negotiate contracts, how to protect one’s work, issues of attribution and dealing with theft of ideas.
Xerxes is an intellectual property lawyer, the founder of Neolegal Associates and has 30 years of experience advising global film studios, writers, directors and others.
Over the years, my friends and I have turned to him with various questions we have over the works we have created and he has unhesitatingly given us his time and expertise. When this book was released, we were ecstatic at the thought of being able to turn to it for many of the queries we have. I must highlight here that Xerxes roots for the small guy against the large corporation: law is looked at here from the vantage point of the individual creator and not the large studio or publishing house or music company that acquires or promotes the work.
The essence of what Xerxes and Who Owns What? represents to many artistic activists of the peoples’ movements is beautifully captured by the blurb in the book written by Lokshahir (People’s Balladeer) Sambhaji Bhagat, who says “… Singers, songwriters and performers from the labour movement and the movements against caste oppression usually find that lawyers who could advise them on copyright and other legal issues pertaining to them are out of their reach....they neither know whom to approach and they cannot afford their fees. But Advocate Xerxes Ranina changed all that for us....he not only gave us sage legal advice in a way which we could understand, but never charged us for it! And now, we have this book to refer to! We look forward to it being published in local languages too”.
A basic glance through the index reveals the broad scope of issues covered and the practical nature with which this book is presented. Xerxes has tried to anticipate what doubts would exist in the mind of creators and has dealt with them in an easy-to-understand manner.
The chapter titled - Who owns/controls What? deals with issues faced specifically by and around the following - music & musician; photography; writer; director; actor; film producer; painter; rights in architectural structures; rights in theatre.
Other very interesting and pertinent topics are brilliantly covered, some of which are: Using traditional art forms and techniques; How to negotiate contracts; Litigation – How and why to avoid; How to get out of a legal soup; What happens to your work after you die?
One particularly useful aspect of the book is its appendix which features drafts of agreements that can be used as a basic template. Xerxes has written in his introduction that “……this has been requested by many with whom this book was discussed and I hope that this proves useful. Some of my lawyer friends were jokingly saying that by writing this, we will all be made redundant. As if, by reading a basic book on heart health, we are all transformed into cardiac surgeons. It’s just that we are slightly better informed; and that is the point of this book…”
A particularly interesting facet of Xerxes is that he teaches IP law across the country, particularly to students from smaller towns not traditionally exposed to this branch of the law. I know that this has helped many students get internships and jobs in reputed law firms and has made a big difference to their careers. Xerxes travels across the country on his motorcycle and often weaves in these teaching sessions into his various adventures.
Xerxes says in his Introduction - If anyone sees me riding around their town, do stop me for a chat. And I never turn down an offer to be fed…. I look forward to taking up that offer and treating him to a nice meal when I see him next!
Thank you, Xerxes, for writing this extremely useful book! I have known Xerxes Ranina for many years now and am delighted to have in my hands his book, Who Owns What?
Author: Xerxes Ranina
Publisher: HarperCollins India
Price: ₹499
(Sanober Keshwaar is a retired law lecturer from TISS and KC Law College and a human rights activist.)
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