You made the videos, so you own them. Mostly. Not the edit, if your editor
was a freelancer and nothing was signed. Not the ones in that brand deal,
depending on clause 9. And not your own channel name, until somebody
registers it, which is open to anyone until you do it first.
Seven questions, about a minute, no login. You get a plain list of what you
hold, what you have already given away, and what to do first.
The four things creators lose
The name, to whoever files it firstUsing a handle
for six years reserves nothing. A trade mark is first come, first served, and the person
who registers your channel name can make you stop using it. This happens to creators in
India regularly and it is the cheapest thing on this list to have prevented.
The edit, to their own editorPaying a freelancer
does not transfer copyright in India. Without a signed assignment, the edit belongs to
the person who made it, whatever the invoice says. The same goes for your thumbnails,
your illustrations and your intro music.
The video, to the brandMost brand deal contracts
assign the copyright in the content, or take an exclusive licence that comes to the same
thing. Creators sign them unread and later find they cannot use their own work in a
showreel.
The face and the voice, to an AI modelIndia has no
personality rights statute. The Delhi High Court has been granting injunctions anyway,
restraining the use of a person's name, voice, likeness and manner of speech in
AI-generated content and deepfakes. Those orders have gone to creators, not only to film
actors.
Signing a brand deal soon?
That is the other place creators lose things, and it happens in one paragraph
of the contract rather than over years. The
brand deal checklist covers what you need
before you sign, what the contract actually takes, and what the law makes
you disclose when you post.
What this check does
It asks seven questions and tells you which of the four apply to you, in what order to
deal with them, and which trade mark classes your name would need. It does not tell you
what your channel is worth, because nobody can, and every tool that claims to is
running a formula over your follower count.
Nothing here is legal advice, and a general position under Indian law is not a reading of
your contracts. ISERDIndia Analytics are registered Patent and Trade Marks Agents; where a
matter needs a lawyer we will say so rather than take it.