What is the difference between an imitation and a copy? How far can an imitation go before it is considered copyright infringement? Would it still be considered copyright infringement if the imitation was altered by culture?
This article by Hariqbal Basil titled “Indianizing Hollywood: The Debate Over Copyright Infringement by Bollywood” tackles some of these questions. According to the author, some popular Hollywood films are reinterpreted by Bollywood to be more “Indianized” for Hindi audiences. According to the author, these films may “be liable for copyright infringement if the subsequent film is found to be substantially similar to the initial copyrighted work” (Basil 35). As a highly successful industry, do you believe Bollywood should pay the companies they are borrowing from? Or is theirs not a form of copyright infringement due to the intention?
This is a very difficult question indeed. After all, it is not like this is some indie filmmaker we are dealing with. Can we really accuse a whole industry of copyright infringement? Based on what we have been discussing, I would say yes. Even though they are modifying these stories, they are essentially using pre-existing works to make money for themselves. It is similar to the issue of song sampling that has been seen in recent class discussions. It should be allowed, but permission must be given first.