Wagh Bakri case puts the spotlight back on plagiarism & protecting IP

With the plethora of creative content generated on a daily basis – be it films, TV shows, ads, music, art work – there are bound to be certain overlapping or similarities cropping up. But where do unintentional similarities end and plagiarism begin? Should such instances of copying portions or the entire work be written off as ‘inspired’ work? 

In the case of ads being copied, what are the options available to ad agencies and their clients to address the grievance? Is legal recourse the only option available? How can one safeguard one’s ad IP from being plagiarised? The questions are many and yet, not too many answers are forthcoming. 

A recent case of plagiarism has been brought to the media’s notice – a three-year old award-winning ad of Wagh Bakri Tea has been re-edited and used by a local tea brand from Gujarat called Jai Jawan Tea. 

Globally, the ramifications of plagiarising ads are serious. In June this year, Philippines’ Department of Tourism ended its partnership with McCann after there were complaints that the ad was similar to a South Africa tourism ad. Earlier this year, an animated ad of fast food major McDonald’s for the South Korean market was accused of copying portions from a music video of Jane Bordeaux, an Israeli band. 

When Adgully reached out to Manish Bhatt, Founder Director, Scarecrow Communications, the agency that had created the Wagh Bakri ad in question, this is what he had to say, “Our ad film might be three years old, but you cannot just lift an idea or the creative. The whole issue is not just about copying a work, it is about taking away someone’s hard work and creativity.” 

Manish Bhatt, Founder Director, Scarecrow Communications
Manish Bhatt, Founder Director, Scarecrow Communications

Adding further, Bhatt said, “The international ad industry has a different algorithm of working on such issues. The protection of creativity is very different in India, compared to other international industries. The governing of ideas of a right brainer and creative person in the advertising industry is not very strong. There is not much effort put in by the authorities to safeguard our creative rights. The industry is flourishing and there has to be enough care to protect creativity.” 

On considering the possibility of coincidence instead of plagiarism, he admitted that there was a possibility of coincidence a lot of times, but also added that there had to be some governance mechanism that could be used. “Our industry is so divided that we do not debate. And through this, I wanted to draw attention to such incidents in our industry,” Bhatt said. 

He lamented the fact that such occurrences were not considered as a life critical situation, so people soon forget it and move on. Moreover, the authorities only debated with people within their fraternity instead of the advertising fraternity, which does not solve the problem. He affirmed, “Therefore, it is in the interest of the well-being of the advertising industry that this issue is considered seriously by the authorities in time Though not considered a serious criminal offence, such cases of plagiarism are morally wrong.” 

Yogesh Shinde,VP Marketing, Wagh Bakri Tea Group
Yogesh Shinde,VP Marketing, Wagh Bakri Tea Group

Expressing his concerns on the incident, Yogesh Shinde, Vice President Marketing, Wagh Bakri Tea Group, said, “We protest this act of plagiarism. We are checking out the details of this matter and shall consider/ initiate legal action against this. However, it seems that the people who have done this are not aware about the gravity of the subject and the damage they are causing to the iconic Wagh Bakri Tea, which is an over 100-year old brand.” 

 

Industry speak 

 

Naresh Gupta, CSO and Managing Partner, Bang in the Middle
Naresh Gupta, CSO and Managing Partner, Bang in the Middle

Naresh Gupta, CSO and Managing Partner, Bang in the Middle, remarked, “This happens all the time, and there is very little one can do as an agency.” Narrating his agency’s experience, “In our early days, we had once pitched for a global project from leading global bank in New York. The client loved the idea. It was supposed to be taken to the implementation stage. But the next thing we know is that the brand has gone quiet and we later saw the same brand execute the same idea with a minor tweak of a word. We wanted to sue the brand, but the lawyers there told us that we did not have a case as the words used were not exactly similar to our deck. So, the brand ran a global campaign on our thinking and we could only sit and watch. As an industry, we are not protected by law. We have very little to fall back on. We have seen clients flick our ideas. In another time, a news app copied our script word to word. All you can do is grin and bear along.” 

Ramesh Narayan,  ‎Founder - ‎Canco Advertising
Ramesh Narayan, ‎Founder - ‎Canco Advertising

The ad industry is appalled at the instances of plagiarism and is deeply concerned about the lack of measures to safeguard their creative work. According to Ramesh Narayan,  ‎Founder - ‎Canco Advertising, “We are an industry whose stock in trade is ideas. When we start stealing others ideas, it exhibits a bankruptcy of thought on the part of the agency indulging in this practice and also shows up the industry in a very poor light. Yet plagiarism is not new.” 

He further said, “I know of such cases when I was President of The Advertising Club and we were screening entries for the Abby Awards. Sadly, allegations rose even two years ago, when I was Chairman of the Awards Governing Council of Abbys at GoaFest. One has to also consider that there might be remarkable similarities in thought or execution. These are not necessarily instances of plagiarism. It is when the intent is questionable and the work is almost identical that you really must pull up the copycat. Remember, you are stealing something very special – an original idea.” 

Dhunji Wadia, President, Rediffusion Y&R
Dhunji Wadia, President, Rediffusion Y&R

Commenting on the matter, Dhunji Wadia, President, Rediffusion Y&R, said, “I strongly believe that no worthy creative person would want to plagiarise an advertisement. I can’t visualise a creative person waking up with the intention to copy an ad. Having said that, an idea may coincide with a previously created piece of work, but may not be done intentionally. However, if a creative person wilfully copies an ad, then they stand to lose respect and even clients over time.” 

Ashish Bhasin, Chairman & CEO South Asia Dentsu Aegis Network
Ashish Bhasin, Chairman & CEO South Asia Dentsu Aegis Network

And herein arises the question of creative integrity. Strongly advocating the protection of IPR, Ashish Bhasin, Chairman & CEO South Asia Dentsu Aegis Network, said, “We are entering the digital era, where IP will come under more and more focus. In the digital era, what is available in one country or one part of the region will be accessible for anyone from anywhere. So, we will have to be conscious of the fact that we are respectful of IP. I think India has sufficient laws to protect Intellectual Property Rights, but their interpretation and implementation so far has been slightly wanting. But moving forward, I think we will have to pay more attention to that. As we enter the cyber era, we will face a completely new set of challenges and we will need new ways of operating. Hence, we will have to be more cautious and protect our IP. Many times, we see the agencies are also not very vigilant, but sooner than later we will see that changing.”

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