Bridge Legal India

Fair Use / Fair Dealing Policy

Version last updated: 22 September 2025

1. Purpose and Scope

1.1 This Policy explains how Bridge Legal India (“Bridge Legal”, “we”, “our”, or “us”) and our affiliated educational initiative Bridge Legal India (intellectual property of Sic Erat Private Limited) may incorporate third-party text, images, audio-visual clips, and other copyright-protected material (“Third-Party Content”) in:
1.1.1 videos published on our YouTube channel, website, LinkedIn page, and other media platforms; and
1.1.2 written or multimedia posts that accompany such videos.

1.2 The Policy is intended to:
1.2.1 comply with Indian law, in particular the Copyright Act, 1957 (“Copyright Act”);
1.2.2 respect fair-use / fair-dealing principles recognised in other jurisdictions where our content may be accessed; and
1.2.3 provide rightsholders with a clear mechanism to raise concerns.

2. Legal Basis

2.1 India — Fair Dealing (Copyright Act, 1957, section 52). We rely primarily on statutory exceptions permitting use of copyrighted works for reporting current events, criticism or review, research, private study, and judicial/legal proceedings — including sections 52(1)(a), (b), (d), (g), (q), and (za). We use only what is reasonably necessary and add our own inputs, commentary, analysis, or criticism, creating a transformative work.

2.2 United States — Fair Use (17 U.S.C. § 107). Our use is assessed under the four-factor test (purpose and character, nature of the work, amount used, and market effect). The material is used for commentary, news reporting, and education; it is transformative, limited in quantity, and unlikely to substitute the original.

2.3 United Kingdom & Commonwealth — Fair Dealing. For viewers in the UK, Canada, Australia, Singapore, and comparable jurisdictions, we rely on parallel defences for criticism, review, quotation, and news reporting, applying principles of proportionality and attribution.

3. Operating Principles (Applied to Every Use)

3.1 Transformative purpose. We add independent legal analysis, context, or critique; Third-Party Content is never used as a mere substitute.
3.2 Minimum necessary excerpts. Only the segment essential for commentary or illustration is used; full works are avoided unless indispensable (for example, displaying a publicly available court order).
3.3 Attribution. Where feasible, we credit the author, title, publisher, court, and/or source URL on-screen or in the description box/article footnote.
3.4 No market harm. Our use does not undermine the market for the original work; we encourage viewers to access or purchase the full version from authorised channels.
3.5 Good-faith reliance. We review material before publication to confirm coverage by an applicable exception, licence, or public-domain status.

4. Trademarks and Logos

4.1 Third-party marks that appear incidentally (for example, a court seal, newspaper masthead, or a product logo visible in a news clip) are used solely for identification or descriptive purposes.
4.2 Such use does not imply endorsement of Bridge Legal by the mark owner, or endorsement of the mark owner by Bridge Legal.

5. Notice and Takedown

5.1 How to contact us. Rightsholders may write to abhisheksubbaiah@bridgelegal.in with the subject line “Copyright Concern – [Content Title]” and provide:
5.1.1 proof of ownership;
5.1.2 the URL and/or time-stamp of the segment at issue; and
5.1.3 the action requested (redaction, replacement, or takedown).

5.2 Our response. We will acknowledge within 72 hours and, where a valid claim is established, remove or alter the content within 7 calendar days.

5.3 Counter-notice. If we believe the material is lawfully used, we will explain our reasoning. Parties may escalate to mediation, arbitration, or court as permitted by law.

6. No Legal Advice

6.1 All videos, posts, and commentary are for general information and educational purposes only. Nothing herein or in our content constitutes legal advice or creates a lawyer-client relationship. Viewers should seek tailored advice from a qualified professional for specific matters.

7. Regulatory Compliance (India)

7.1 Bridge Legal India does not solicit work or advertise legal services in breach of Rule 36 of the Bar Council of India Rules.
7.2 Any reference to sponsoring or “brought to you by” is limited to acknowledging content-production support and does not promote legal services.

8. Policy Updates

8.1 We may amend this Policy to reflect changes in law or practice. The version date appears at the top of this document. Continued access to our content after any changes constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy.

9. Contact

9.1 Bridge Legal India — Compliance Team
E-mail: abhisheksubbaiah@bridgelegal.in
Postal: WeWork, The Pavilion, 62/63 Church Street, Bengaluru – 560 001, Karnataka, India