This article is written by Shalu Gothi and Daisy Jain. This article gives you a general idea about the provisions related to copyright in India.

This article has been published by Sneha Mahawar.

Introduction

The Copyright Act, 1957, governs the law pertaining to copyright in India. The major goals of this copyright law are twofold: first, to guarantee authors, musicians, painters, designers, and other creative individuals the right to their creative interpretation; and second, to enable others to openly develop upon the concepts and knowledge made available by a work. India’s history with copyright laws dates back to the British Empire’s colonial rule. A law called the Indian Copyright Act, 1957, was passed; it went into effect in January 1958 and has since undergone five revisions, in 1983, 1984, 1992, 1994, and 1999. The Copyright Act of 1957 was India’s first copyright law following independence, and six amendments have been made since then. The Copyright (Amendment) Act 2012, which was passed in 2012, was the most recent amendment. The concept of copyright in India is governed by the Indian Copyright Act, 1957, as modified from time to time, and the Indian Copyright Rules, 1958 (Rules).

Copyright law as its name suggests is the simple law that suggests if you create something you own it and only you get to decide what happens next with it. The objective of this copyright law is mainly twofold: first to assure authors, composers, artists, designers and other creative people, who risk their capital in putting their works before the public, the right of their original expression, and second to encourage others to build freely upon the ideas and information conveyed by a work. 

What is copyright

Copyright is a type of intellectual property right. Authors who have original works such as works of literature (including computer programs, tables, collections, computer datasets, expressed in words, codes, schemes, or in any other context, along with a device readable medium), dramatic, musical, and artistic works, cinematographic films, and audio recordings are all awarded copyright safeguards under Indian law. Instead of protecting the ideas themselves, Copyright Law safeguards manifestations of ideas. Literary works, theatrical works, musical works, creative works, cinematographic films, and sound recordings all have copyright protection under Section 13 of the Copyright Act of 1957. For instance, the Act protects literary works such as books and computer programs.

The term “copyright” refers to a collection of exclusive rights that Section 14 of the Act grants to the owner of the copyright. Only the copyright owner or another person who has permission to do so from the copyright owner may exercise these rights. These rights include the ability to adapt, reproduce, publish, translate, and communicate with the public, among other things. Copyright registration just establishes an entry for the work in the Copyright Register kept by the Registrar of Copyrights and does not grant any rights. 

Historical development in India

In India, the earliest law of copyright was enacted by the British during the realm of East India Company that is the Indian Copyright Act, 1847 which was passed for the enforcement of rules of English copyright in India. After it, by Copyright Act 1911,  this law was repealed, replaced and applied to all British colonies including India. Further, it was again modified in 1914 by the Indian Copyright Act, 1914, which remained applicable in India until replaced by the Copyright Act, 1957 by the parliament of sovereign India.

Objectives of copyright law 

Copyright is primarily intended to advance science and useful art and to compensate authors for their labour. In order to do this, copyright guarantees authors the right to their creative expression while allowing others to openly expand upon the concepts and knowledge presented in a work. The primary goals of copyright law are twofold. First and foremost, copyright laws were created by nations to guarantee the original expression of writers, songwriters, designers, artists, and other creatives, as well as film and sound recording producers, who risked their money to present their works to the public.

Second, a work’s knowledge and suggestions can be freely expanded upon by others, thanks to copyright legislation. Additionally, it permits some unrestricted uses of copyrighted content. The Copyright Act of 1957 outlines the range of these permissible uses. To establish harmony between the rights of the copyright owner and the welfare of people to the greatest possible degree in the interest of society, measures relating to free use are included in the Act. The Madras High Court held that “copyright law is to preserve the fruits of a man’s effort, labour, talent, or test from annexation by other persons” in Sulamangalam R. Jayalakshmi v. Meta Musicals, Chennai (2000).

Nature of copyright 

In nature, copyright is an incorporeal property. The premise that the legitimate owner developed or created the work justifies the property in it. The property owner has two options for disposing of his property: outright sale (assignment of his rights) or licensing. Copyright is also a collection of exclusive rights. A negative right is one that allows the owner to stop someone from copying his creation or carrying out any other actions that, under Copyright Law, are only permitted to be carried out by him. The exclusive rights to works protected by copyright have a term limit. In contrast to physical property, which endures for the lifetime of the thing on which it is bestowed, copyright only exists for a finite amount of time. After this time period has passed, the work enters the ‘public domain’. In other words, it becomes public property and is available for use without restriction by everyone. Therefore, the public interest is served by exclusive rights to copyrighted works for a short time.

Salient features of the Copyright Act, 1957 

The salient features of the Copyright Act, 1957 are herein mentioned below: 

Scope of rights conferred to the author 

Literary works, musical works, theatrical works, creative works, sound recordings, and cinematographic films are all protected by copyright under Section 13 of the Copyright Act of 1957. Literary works, for instance, books, manuscripts, poetry, and theses are safeguarded by the Act. Original literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works as well as cinematographic and sound recordings are shielded from illegal access under the Copyright Act of 1957. In contrast to patents, copyright safeguards expressions rather than ideas.

Provisions to assert the ownership 

The original owner of the copyright is the creator of the work itself, as stated in Section 17 of the Copyrights Act of 1957. The one exception to this rule is when an employee creates work while performing duties as part of their employment, in which case the employer assumes ownership of the copyright.

Civil and criminal remedies 

Section 55 of the Copyright Act of 1957 addresses civil remedies for copyright infringement. These civil remedies encompass restitution, injunctions, account interpretation, deletion and surrender of copies made infringing, as well as conversion damages. Section 63 of the Copyright Act of 1957 specifies criminal penalties for copyright infringement. These criminal penalties can take the form of jail time, fines, searches, the seizure of contraband, etc. The maximum sentence for imprisonment is 3 years, but it cannot be less than 6, and the maximum fine is between 50,000 and 2,00,000 rupees.

Establishment of copyright boards and offices 

The Copyright Act of 1957 also makes provisions for the establishment of a copyright board to assist in resolving copyright-related issues and a copyright office, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Registrar of the Copyright, for the registration of books and other “works” of art. The establishment of an office to be known as the Copyright Office for Act purposes is provided for under Section 9 of the Copyright Act, 1957. The Copyright Board was established under Section 11 of the Copyright Act of 1957.

Important sections of the Copyright Act, 1957

The following are the important sections of the Copyright Act of 1957: 

• Section 2 deals with various definitions of the work which can be covered under the definition of copyright. For example, Section 2(o) deals with literary works, Section 2(h) includes all dramatic works under the definition of copyright protection, and Section (p) deals with musical and graphical works.  
• Section 13 of the Copyright Act, 1957, is the most requisite Section as it deals with the subject matter of copyright protection. According to Section 13(1), all of India is under the purview of the Copyright, and the following classifications of works are protected by the Copyright: 

1. Original artistic, musical, dramatic, and literary works 
2. Sound recording 
3. Cinematograph films 

The published and unpublished works of architecture are discussed in Section 13(2). If the work is published, it must be published in India. If the work is published outside of India, the author must be an Indian citizen at the time of publication or at the time of his death. Except for works of architecture, the authors of unpublished works must be Indian citizens or have a place of residence in India. When it comes to architectural works, only the work itself must be from India and not the architect, because architectural works can also be done in written form. The copyright in an architectural work shall only apply to the creative character and design and shall not include the construction process or processes.

• A few rights are protected under copyright legislation. These three types of rights are common or economic, moral, and neighbouring. According to Section 14, moral rights are granted under Section 57, economic rights are granted under Section 14 and neighbouring rights are granted under Sections 37A and 378.

Fee application for copyright registration in India 

Based on the kind of work covered by copyright legislation, creators interested in registering for copyright registration must pay a specified fee. See what these costs are for the different kinds of projects below.

Copyright protection for	Fee charged by the copyright office
Artistic, musical, drama and literary works	Rs. 500 per work
Artistic and literary works used for goods	Rs. 2000 per work
Sound recording	Rs. 2000 per work
Cinematograph films	Rs. 5000 per work

Subject matter of copyright

All subject matters protected by copyright are called ‘works’. Thus according to Section 13 of The Copyright Act 1957, it may be subjected for the following works:

• Original Literary Work, 
• Original Dramatic work,
• Original Musical work,  
• Original Artistic Work,
• Cinematography films, and
• Sound recordings.

Original Literary Work

It is the product of the human mind which may consist of a series of verbal or numerical statements, not necessarily possessing aesthetic merit, capable of being expressed in writing, and which has been arrived at by the exercise of substantial independent skill, creative labor, or judgment. The Copyright Act, 1957 provides an inclusive definition of literary work, according to which the literary work includes computer programming, tablets, and compilations including computer databases.

Original Dramatic Work

According to the Copyright Act,1957, the dramatic work includes any piece for recitation, choreographic work or entertainment in dumb shows, the scenic arrangement or acting form which is fixed in writing or otherwise but does not include a cinematographic film. Since the definition is an inclusive one, the other things fall within the general meaning of dramatic work, and may also be covered by the definition.

Original Musical Work

According to the Copyright Act, 1957, musical work means any work consisting of music and includes any graphical notion of such work, but does not include any words or any action intended to be sung, spoken or performed with the music. In order to qualify for copyright protection, a musical work must be original. 

Original Artistic Work

According to the Copyright Act, 1957, artistic work includes any painting, sculpture, drawing, or engraving photograph of any work possessing artistic qualities. However, it also includes the architecture and artistic craftsmanship of such works. 

Cinematographic Films

According to the Copyright Act,1957 cinematographic films includes any work of visual recording and a sound recording accompanying such visual recording and the expression cinematograph shall be construed as including any work produced by any process analogous to cinematographic including video films. 

Sound Recording

According to The Copyright Act, 1957, sound recording suggests a recording of sounds from which that sound may be produced regardless of the medium on which such recording is made or the method by which the sounds are produced.

Clause (a) of this Section 13 provides the definition of original work whereas clauses (b) and (c) protect by-product works. This Section stipulates that copyright is subject to the provisions of the aforesaid Section and therefore the different provisions of the Act don’t exist de-hora and outside the ambit of the Act, it’s a right created under the statute and no right outside the aforesaid Act is claimed.

Rights of the copyright holder 

In the Copyright Act, 1957, the owner possesses the negative rights which are to prevent others from using his works in certain ways and to claim compensation for the usurpation of that right. In this Act, there are two types of rights given to the owner:

• Economical rights; 
• Moral rights.

Economic rights

This right is also known as the Exclusive Rights of the copyright holder provided under Section 14. In this Act different types of work come with different types of rights. Such as:

In the case of original literary, musical, and dramatic work:

• Right to reproduce;
• Right to issue copies;
• Right to perform at public;
• Right to make cinematography and  sound recording;
• Right to make any translation;
• Right to adaptation; and
• Right to do any other activities related to the translation or adaptation.

In the case, of computer program work:

• Right to do any act aforesaid mentioned; and
• Right to sell, rent, offer for sale of the copyrighted work.

In the  case of artistic work:

• Right to reproduce;
• Right to communicate;
• Right to issue copies;
• Right to make any cinematography and sound recording;
• Right to make an adaptation; and
• Right to do any other activities related to the translation or adaptation. 

In case of a cinematograph film work:

• Right to sell, rent, offer for sale of the copyrighted work; and
• Right to communicate.

In the case of  a sound recording work:

• Right to communicate;
• Right to issue copies; and
• Right to sell, rent, offer for sale of the copyrighted work.

Moral rights

In addition to the protection of economic rights, the Copyright Act, 1957 conjointly protects ethical rights, that is due to the actual fact that a literary or inventive work reflects the temperament of the creator, just as much as the economic rights reflect the author’s need to keep the body and the soul of his work out from commercial exploitation and infringement. These rights are supported by Article 6 of the Berne Convention of 1886, formally referred to as a world convention for the protection of literary and inventive works, whose core provision relies on the principle of national treatment, i.e. treats the opposite good as one’s own.

Section 57 of The Copyright Act,1957 recognize two types of moral rights which are:

• Right to paternity– which incorporates the right to assert the authorship of the work, and the right to forestall others from claiming authorship of his work; and
• Right to integrity-  which incorporates right to restrain, or claim of damages in respect of any distortion, modification, mutilation, or any other act relates to the said work if such distortion, multiplication or alternative act would be prejudiced to claimant honor or name.

Authorship and Ownership in copyright 

Section 17 of this Act recognizes the author as the first owner, which states that subject to the provision of this Act, the author of a work shall be the first owner of the copyright therein:

• In the case of literary or dramatic composition, the author,
• In the case of musical work, the musician,
• In the case of creative work apart from photography, the artist,
• In the case of photographic work, the artist,
• In the case of cinematographic or recording work, the producer,
• In case of any work generated by any computer virus, the one who created.

However, this provision provided to bound exception:

• In case of creation is made by the author underemployment of the proprietor of any newspaper, magazine or any periodic, the said proprietor,
• In the case where a photograph is taken, painting or portrait is drawn, cinematograph is made for the valuable consideration of any person, such person,
• In case of a work done in the course of the author’s employment under the contract of service, such employer,
• In case of  address or speech delivered on behalf of another person in public, such person,
• In the case of government works, the government,
• In the case of work done under direction and control of public undertaking such public undertaking, and
• In the case of work done in which provision of Section 41 apply, concerned international organizations. 

Assignment of copyright

The owner of the copyright can generate wealth not only by exploiting it but also by sharing it with others for mutual benefit. This can be done by the way of assignment and licensing of copyright.

Only the owner of the copyright has the right to assign his existing or future copyrighted work either wholly or partly and as a result of such assignment the assignee becomes entitled to all the rights related to copyright to the assigned work, and he shall be treated as the owner of the copyright in respect of those rights.

Mode of the assignment agreement 

As per Section 19, these conditions are necessary for a valid assignment: 

• It should be in writing and signed;
• It should specify the kinds of rights assigned and the duration or territorial extent; and 
• It should specify the amount of royalty payable if required in any case.

It is also provided that, if the period is not mentioned in the agreement it will be considered as five years and if the territorial extent is not stipulated in the agreement, it will be considered as applicable to the whole of India. 

Disputes related to the assignment of copyright 

According to the Copyright Act, 1957, the appellant board where the receipt of the complaint by the assignor and after holding necessary inquiry finds that the assignee has failed to make the exercise of the rights assigned to him, and such failure is attributed to any act or omission of the assignor, may by suitable order, revoke such assignment. However, if the dispute arises with respect to the assignment of any copyright then that appellate board may also order the recovery of any royalty payable.

Operation of law in assignment

According to The Copyright Act, 1957, where under a bequest a person is entitled to the manuscript of any literary, dramatic or any other kind of work and such work has not been published before the death of the testator, unless the contrary is proved such person shall be treated as the owner for such work.

Infringement and remedies

Where a person intentionally or unintentionally infringes the rights of the copyright holder, the holder may be subject to the following remedies available under this Act.

Civil remedies

These remedies are given under Section 55 of the Copyright Act,1957 which are:

Interlocutory injunction

This is the most important remedy against copyright infringement, it means a judicial process by which one who is threatening to invade or has invaded the legal or equitable rights of another is restrained from commencing or continuing such act, or is commanded to restore matters to the position in which they stood previous to the relation. Thus for granting the interlocutory injunction, the following three factors are considered as necessary:

• Prima facie case, is an assumption of the court that the plaintiff can succeed in the case and become eligible for relief.
• Balance of convenience, in it the court will determine which parties suffer the greater harm, this determination can vary with the facts of each case.
• Irreparable injury, it is difficult to decide and determine on a case-by-case basis. Some examples of it include- loss of goodwill or irrevocable damages to reputation, and loss of market share.

Mareva injunction

This is a particular form of the interlocutory injunction which restrains the defendant from disposing of assets that may be required to satisfy the plaintiff’s claim or for removing them from the jurisdiction of the Court.

Anton Piller order 

This order is passed to take into possession the infringed documents, copies and other relevant material of the defendant, by the solicitor of the plaintiff. This order is named after the famous case of Anton Piller KG v/s Manufacturing Process Ltd, 1976. In this case, the plaintiff Antone Piller, the German manufacturer is successful in passing ex-parte awards of restraining the use of his copyrighted products against the defendant.

John Deo’s order

In this order, the Court has the power to injunct rather than those impeded in the suit, who may be found violating the rights in the field of copyright. Thus this order is issued against the unknown person, who has allegedly committed some wrong, but whose identities cannot entertain the plaintiff.

Pecuniary remedies

There are three types of pecuniary remedies provided:

1. An account of profit, lets the owner seek the sum of money made, equal to the profit made through unlawful conduct.
2. Compensatory damages, which let the copyright owner seek the damages he suffered.
3. Conversational damages are assessed to the value of the article.

Criminal remedies

Section 63 of the Copyright Act provides for criminal remedies if there is any copyright infringement. According to Section 63 of the Act, anyone found guilty of willfully violating or aiding in the violation of a work’s copyright will be sentenced to at least six months in prison and a fine of at least 50,000 rupees. A person who is found guilty under Section 63A a second time faces an additional sentence of imprisonment for a term not less than one year and a fine that cannot be less than one lakh rupees due to the widespread copyright infringement. According to Section 63B, a person who intentionally uses an illegal copy of computer software on a computer faces a minimum seven-day sentence in jail and a fine of at least 50,000 rupees.

For infringement of copyright, the criminal remedies provided under Section 63:

• Imprisonment, not less than 6 months which may extend up to 3 years;
• Fine may not be less than 50,000 which may extend up to 2,00,000;
• Search and seizure of copyrighted goods; and
• Delivery of copyrighted goods to the copyrighted owner. 

In the case of repeat offenders, minimum punishment terms of 1 year and fine of 1 lakh however, the highest punishment will be the same as the first time offender.

Exceptions

This act shall not constitute copyright infringement in cases of:

Fair Dealing

Fair dealing is the statutory limitation on the exclusive right of the copyright owner which permits reproduction or use of copyrighted work in a manner that otherwise would have constituted infringement. This law is given under Section 52 of the Copyright Act,1957 according to which the free uses can be made for any work except computer program for the purposes:

• For private and personal use including research,
• For criticism and review,
• For reporting of current events or issues including lectures in public,
• For broadcasting in cinematographic films or by posting photographs,
• For reproduction and reporting of any judicial proceeding,
• For reproduction, or publication of any kind of work prepared by the secretariat of a legislature,
• For reproduction of any kind of work in a certified copy made or supplied accordance with any law,
• For reading and recitation of any literary or dramatic work in the public domain,
• For publication of any non-copyright matter bonafide intended for the use of educational institutes, and
• For recording any sound by the owner of the right in the work. 

Landmark case laws 

R.G. Anand v. M/S. Delux Films and Others (1978) 

Facts 

The respondent is a film production firm, while the appellant is a playwright and an architect by profession. In the year 1953, the appellant wrote a play titled “Hum Hindustani,” which was performed in New Delhi the following year, in the year 1954. The play was so popular that it was presented again in Calcutta in the years 1954, 1955, and 1956. Due to the play’s popularity, the appellant sought to have it made into a movie. The appellant’s purpose was made known to the respondent, and the two met in New Delhi to talk about the possibility of hearing it. The respondent was given a detailed explanation of the entire play by the appellant, but no promise to film it was made by the respondent. In 1956, the respondent produced a film titled “New Delhi,” which was thereafter released. After watching the film, the appellant claimed that the respondents had plagiarised his play and used it as the basis for a movie without his consent. The appellant then presented a case to the Delhi District Judge. The appellants argued in court that the play and movie share striking parallels and are both founded on the same concept, namely “Provincialism.” The District Judge, however, disagreed with the appellant’s assertion following the arguments.

Issues

Whether the plaintiff’s copyright in the play “Hum Hindustani” was violated by the defendants’ distribution, production, and screening of the movie “New Delhi”?

Judgment 

The Court’s judgment was given by Justice Fazal Ali. The Court determined that even if both the play and the movie may have been inspired by the concept of “Provincialism,” they are very different from one another. The movie also depicts other aspects of “Provincialism,” such as “Provincialism” in the leasing of outhouses, which are not depicted in the play when it comes to marriage. The play doesn’t illustrate the evils of dowry, but the movie does. Because the concept in both the play and the movie is identical, the court struck down the appellants’ claim because it is well-established law that a concept cannot be protected by copyright. The Court cited N.T. Raghunathan and Anr. v. All India Reporter Ltd., Bombay (1957), and held that there may be some similarities. According to the Court, a regular person would not consider the play and the movie to be a duplicate of the play if they were to view both. The claim made by the appellants that their copyright has been violated cannot stand due to the significant disparities between the play and the movie. The Delhi High Court’s decision has been maintained court. As a result, the Court ruled in favour of the respondents on both matters, and thus there was no violation. 

Super Cassettes Industries Ltd. v. Music Broadcast Pvt. Ltd. (2012)

Facts 

The case between Music Broadcast Pvt. Ltd. (MBPL) and Super Cassette Industries Limited (SCIL) over the determination of a licence agreement’s royalty rate gave rise to the interim orders made by the Copyright Board, which are the subject of this appeal. In accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two parties, if the parties are involved in lawsuits and a court or arbitration board, whether in an interim or final order, specifies a rate that is distinct from what the parties have agreed upon, MBPL shall make payments to SCIL at the altered rate so specified by the court or arbitration board, with immediate effect so specified in such an order. The appellant had sought the Copyright Board in 2001 to seek redress against the respondent’s inflated royalty fee claim. The Board had granted an obligatory licence in favour of the appellant for 661/- per needle hour based on the initial evidence, the balance of convenience, and irreparable damage. The respondent argues that, in accordance with Section 31 of the Copyright Act of 1957, the Copyright Board lacks the express authority to issue such interim decisions and asks for the orders granted by the Copyright Board to be revoked.

Issue 

Whether the Copyright Board has the authority to issue temporary orders and determine the royalties for a temporary order in proceedings under Section 31 of the Copyright Act, 1957?

Judgment 

The Copyright Board was ordered for the purpose of setting an interim fee, and this Court stated that the Board had the authority to rule on both the interim and final terms of a compulsory licence. Considering the subject matter of the Special Leave Petitions, the Court declined to issue an interim stay of the Copyright Board’s order.

Tips Industries Ltd. v. Wynk Ltd. and Anr. (2019)

Facts 

The Indian music label Tips Industries Ltd. (Plaintiff) has the copyright to a sizable music archive, and in 2016 it allowed Wynk Music Ltd. (Defendant) permission to access this archive. Both parties attempted to renegotiate the licensing terms at the licence’s expiration but were unsuccessful, thus Wynk sought protection under Section 31D of the Copyright Act. Tips contested Wynk’s use of Section 31D and filed a lawsuit against Wynk under Section 14(1)(e) for violating their exclusive sound recording rights.

Issue 

Whether the Copyright Act has a legislative licensing scheme for streaming platforms?

Judgment 

The Bombay High Court reached a decision after hearing the arguments from both parties and concluded that Wynk had engaged in direct violation on two counts: firstly, by making the copyrighted work available under Section 14(1)(e)(ii), which allowed users to download and subscribe to the plaintiff’s work offline; and secondly, by making the plaintiff’s works available to users via their streaming platform. The decision was made in the plaintiff’s direction, and the Court determined that the plaintiff was eligible for an interim injunction since they had presented a strong case and would incur severe financial damage.

Sanjeev Pillai v. Vennu Kunnapalli (2019)

Facts 

The appellant, director, and screenwriter Sajeev Pillai, asserted to have done a background study on the great festival of Mamankam and written a script for a film based on the same epic. He signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kunnapalli-related Kavya Film Company after meeting Venu Kunnapalli. Initially designated as the director, Sajeev’s position was later removed and filled by someone else. After that, the movie’s filming was finished, according to Sajeev, who claimed that his script had been altered, mutilated, and otherwise changed. In light of this, Sajeev filed a lawsuit and requested a number of reliefs. A request for an interim injunction was also made to prevent the respondents from publishing, releasing, disseminating, and exploiting the movie and from releasing pre-release advertising without adequately crediting Pillai as the author in accordance with film industry norms.

Issue 

Whether  Section 57(1) of the Copyright Act grant the creator of a work particular rights to assert authorship of that work even after the assignment of that work?

Judgment  

In reaching its decision, the Court stated that Section 57(1) grants the author the right to enjoin third parties, and its second sub-section grants the author the right to sue those third parties for damages if their actions result in deformations, destruction, or other alteration of his work or in any other action related thereto that would be detrimental to his dignity or reputation. This gave the appellant an unmatched edge in the situation and ensured that his assignment of the work would preserve his legal claim to authorship.

Lacunae in the Copyright Act 

The development of copyright law has a lengthy and complicated history. It has been in the evolving phase for centuries. This is a result of how quickly technology is evolving. The old law is becoming obsolete when new methods are discovered, especially when it comes to non-literal works. Because copyright infringement is so subjective in nature, it is frequently exceedingly challenging to come to a verdict on cases involving it. Thus, in order to reduce this subjectivity and effectively address this issue, we need new regulations that are specifically related to copyright.

Conclusion

The copyright law is considered as an essential law of protection for a country because it enriches its national cultural heritage of it. However, higher the level of protection given to literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work in any country, automatically higher is the number of intelligent creation, i.e. higher its renown. Thus, in the final analysis, we can say for economic, cultural and social development, it is the basic perquisites.

Frequently Asked Questions 

How can a copyright owner give up his copyright?

By submitting Form 1 in accordance with Rule 4 of the 2013 Copyright Rules, an author has the option to renounce the copyright for his original work under Section 21 of the Act.

Is there any copyright protection for foreign works in India?

Copyright protection may be granted to foreign works as if they were Indian, but on one condition that the work is created in the countries which are parties to the International Copyright Order and the mentioned international agreements, such as the Universal Copyright Convention, Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, and Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.

Who shall be the first owner of the copyright?

Unless there is a documented agreement through which the author transmits the copyright to another individual or entity, Section 17 of the Copyright Act states that the author of the work is the original owner of the copyright. The employer is the initial owner of the copyright for works created while an author was employed by another party under a contract of service. 

What steps must be taken in order to register a work under the Copyright Act of 1957?

The Copyright Office issues an application number (diary number) with the date of filing after receiving the registration application, copies of the work, and required payment. Everybody who is interested in the nature of the content must be informed about the applicant’s application. After reviewing the application, if any concerns are voiced, a response must be submitted within 30 days. The Copyright Office issues the Registration Certificate if the Registrar is pleased with the arguments provided in the answer and no other concerns are voiced.

References

• Law relating to Intellectual Property Rights, LexisNexis student Edition, V.K. AHUJA.
• http://copyright.gov.in/Documents/CopyrightRules1957.pdf.
• https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrxiDaqaXNeGFEAhbq7HAx.;_ylu=X3oDMTByYmpmZjA4BGNvbG8Dc2czBHBvcwMzBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzcg–/RV=2/RE=1584650795/R O=1 0/RU=https%3a%2f%2flegalvision.com.au%2fwhat-are-a-copyright-holders-economic-ri ghts%2f/RK=2/RS=t_C4kCI6ABeyzi7JbsFMpLxYctg-.
• http://www.legalserviceindia.com/articles/copy_owner.htm.
• https://www.mondaq.com/india/Intellectual-Property/854828/Assignment-And-Licensing-Of-Copyright.
  

  ---

  Students of Lawsikho courses regularly produce writing assignments and work on practical exercises as a part of their coursework and develop themselves in real-life practical skills. LawSikho has created a telegram group for exchanging legal knowledge, referrals, and various opportunities. You can click on this link and join:https://t.me/lawyerscommunityFollow us on Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more amazing legal content.