UCLA Entertainment Law Review

India presents the American music industry with a new frontier.

Thanks to the wide distribution of cell phones, an expanding digital infrastructure,

and a growing appetite for music entertainment, India has

become an important digital music export market for the United States.

However, widespread digital piracy has hampered India's potential as

a digital music market. In the United States, anti-circumvention laws

have established a legal infrastructure that defends a digital access

right independent of copyright. As a result, the United States has witnessed

the emergence of services that offer low priced digital music

that has managed to curb piracy. This article argues that the Indian

Copyright (Amendment) Act of 2012 fails to provide for the independent

access right that serves as the legal backbone of America's digital

music marketplace. In order to unlock the gateway to India's expanding

digital music consumer base, this article advocates that the United

States make the adoption of stricter anti-circumvention laws in India

an American diplomatic priority.