Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
ACT,1957
THE RIGHTS OF THE AUTHORS IN THE
COPYRIGHTS ACT,1957
Table of Contents
TABLE OF
CASES................................................................................................................................................... 7
CHAPTER
1............................................................................................................................................................ 8
INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................................................
...... 8
1.1 Introduction to
IPR.................................................................................................................................. 8
1.2
Copyright......................................................................................................................................
.............. 9
1.3 Who can claim
ownership?................................................................................................................. 10
1.4 Author under US Copyright
Law........................................................................................................ 13
CHAPTER
2......................................................................................................................................................... 15
ECONOMIC RIGHTS: COMPARATIVE STUDY OF UK,USA &
INDIA........................................................... 15
2.1 Economic Right In
India....................................................................................................................... 15
2.1.1 Economic
Rights............................................................................................................................................
...................................16
2.1.2 Right Of
Reproduction................................................................................................................................
..................................16
2.1.3 Right Of
Distribution..................................................................................................................................
...................................18
2.2 Economic Right In
U.K.......................................................................................................................... 18
2.3 Economic Rights In
U.S.A...................................................................................................................... 20
CHAPTER
3......................................................................................................................................................... 21
MORAL RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO UK, USA AND
INDIA......................................................................... 21
CHAPTER
4......................................................................................................................................................... 27
RELATED RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO INTERNATIONAL
LAW................................................................. 27
4.1 Performers
Right:................................................................................................................................. 27
4.1.1
Rights............................................................................................................................................
.......................................................... 28
4.1.2 Non-Property
Rights............................................................................................................................................
.......................... 28
4.1.3 Property
Rights............................................................................................................................................
.....................................29
4.1.4 Right Of
Remuneration...............................................................................................................................
.................................29
4.1.5 Exclusive Recording
Contracts......................................................................................................................................
........... 30
4.1.6 Duration, Defences, And
Remedies.......................................................................................................................................
.. 30
4.1.7 Foreign
Performances................................................................................................................................
...................................31
4.2 Database
Right....................................................................................................................................... 31
4.2.1
Subsistence...................................................................................................................................
....................................................... 32
4.2.2 Makers And
Owners.........................................................................................................................................
.............................. 33
4.2.3 Infringement, Rights, And
Remedies.....................................................................................................................................
33
4.2.4 Exceptions And
Defences.......................................................................................................................................
....................... 34
4.2.5 Foreign
Databases...................................................................................................................................
.................................35
4.3 Public Lending
Right............................................................................................................................ 35
CHAPTER
5......................................................................................................................................................... 37
LIMITATIONS TO THE RIGHT AND
CONCLUSION....................................................................................... 37
5.1 Limitations To The
Right..................................................................................................................... 37
5.2 Free Use For
Reproduction................................................................................................................. 38
5.3 Non-Voluntary
Licenses....................................................................................................................... 38
5.4 Enforcement Through The Lens Of
Remedy................................................................................... 39
5.5 Conservatory Or Provisional
Measures............................................................................................ 39
5.6 Civil
Remedies......................................................................................................................................
.. 40
5.7 Criminal
Sanctions................................................................................................................................. 40
5.8 Measures To Be Taken At The
Border.............................................................................................. 40
5.9
Sanctions......................................................................................................................................
............ 40
CHAPTER
6......................................................................................................................................................... 42
BIBLIOGRAPHY..............................................................................................................................................
.... 42
6.1
Books............................................................................................................................................
............ 42
TABLE OF CASES
INTRODUCTION
1.2 Copyright
After independence of India, the Copyright Act of 1957 (hereinafter, Copyright Act or the
principal Act) confers copyright or an 'exclusive right' to the author of the work. The Act
contemplates that no copyright exists in any work, other than provided in the Copyright Act
(Section 16 of the Copyright Act, 1957). Copyright is a unique kind of intellectual property,
[4]
which is the outcome of human intellect and comes into existence as soon as it is created.
There is a need to protect this work of the human genius so as to encourage the authors of the
work to contribute more to the field, which in turn would promote the intellects to produce
more new woks in the field and also which is necessary to continue the inflow of new
technological thoughts. Economy of the nation depends to some extent upon the import and
export of such material, thus there is a great need to protect such works. In order to grow in
the state of interdependence, it is necessary that the originators of the work must be rewarded
with some monopoly rights and at the same time, it is also important to maintain a balance
between the authors rights and the public interest. For that purpose, the works, whether
published or unpublished, but falling within the gamut of the copyright laws, must be
protected against infringement. The copyright can be granted for the new and original works
and for those which are not just an imitation of protected works. However, the novelty and
originality of thought for granting protection under the copyright laws, necessarily is not to
be weighed on the same footing as that of the patents. [5] The copyright law, however, does not
require that the intellectual investment in a work must necessarily be original or new, rather,
the standard of originality required for copyright is low.[6] What is required under copyright
law is that the manner of expression of the thought must be original.
The degree of originality in case of works forming subject matter of copyright is not similar
as required in case of a patent, which demands non- obviousness, besides novelty and
usefulness of the invention for claiming protection and no anticipation of the work should be
there by those possessing skill in that pertinent art. Besides, the copyright protection to the
author of the work finds its justification in the fact that he who produces something with his
skill and labour, normally would be allowed to enjoy the fruits of his labour. The Madras
High Court, while explaining the basis of protection to the work of intellectual creation, in
the case of Sulamanglam R. Jayalakshmi v. Meta Musical (AIR 2000 Mad. 454) said:
"The primary function of copyright law is to protect the fruits of man's work, labour, skill or
test from annexation by the other people.[7]
The copyright exists in the expression and not mere idea. The manifestation of the idea in
some substantial form, i.e. book, work of art, music, drama, film, sound recording, etc.,
would qualify that work for protection as a copyright work'. The Supreme Court of India in a
leading case of R. G. Anand v. Delux Films, [8] very lucidly declared that there can be no
copyright in an idea, subject matter, themes, plot or historical facts. It appears from the term
copyright that it is a
single right enjoyed by the owner of the work, but in fact the copyright consists of a bundle
of legal rights in the same work. The owner of the work not only possess the right as such; for
certain limited period; to prevent others from copying his work, or doing any other act which
according to the copyright law can only be done by the author of the work, nevertheless, the
law also grants him some economic as well as moral rights. The conferment of these rights,
however, is not unlimited so as to give absolute monopoly to the owner of the work where he
gets absolute freedom to determine as to who can access his ideas or information, but, on the
contrary, the law seeks to establish an equilibrium between the rights of the owner and the
public interest in having access to ideas and information with equally important public
interest in encouraging and rewarding the formulation and publication of such ideas and
information.[9]
CHAPTER 2
Economic rights are those rights that facilitate the author reap economic advantages.
These rights are recognized in one kind or the opposite since fifteenth century. As per Section
fourteen of the Copyright Act, 1957, totally different rights square measure recognized for the
works considering its nature. The section provides that it's the privilege of the author to try to
to or authorize the doing of the acts provided there below. The necessary rights typically
recognized by all kinds of works below the Indian statute that attracted a lot of judicial
interpretation includes copy rights, right of distribution and right to speak work to the general
public economic right in India
In all kinds of work, i.e., literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, cinematograph film and
audio recording, the prerogative to breed the work is with the author. The prerogative to
forestall repetition and copy of the work is that the most basic, and traditionally the oldest,
right of a copyright owner. Although the Copyright Act has recognized this right all told kinds
of work, the word used is totally different then is that the reach of the correct. The Act has
neither outlined the term reproduction nor the term copying nor has it arranged down the
distinction between these two.
The terms reproduction and copying are used at the same time although copy
encompasses a wider vary of acts. it had been control by the House of Lords in Ladbroke Ltd
v William Hill Ltd that copy means that repetition, Associate in Nursing doesn't embody
cases wherever an author or compiler produces a well similar result by freelance work while
not repetition. It should even be noted that to represent copy, repetition needn't be in Toto;
even substantial copy can amount to copy. Copy also means that creating a duplicate in an
exceedingly totally different type, notwithstanding such copy isn't simply perceptible.
Under the Act, the correct to replica of literary composition additionally includes
storing it in electronic type. This primarily implies that storing into a laptop or compact disk
can quantity to replica, even supposing the copy is in a very totally different type compared
with the first. it's vital to notice that the law is silent on the character and length of storage to
represent replica. In MAI Systems house v Peak Computers INC the question before the
United States of America Court of Appeals was whether or not repeating of a proprietary
laptop software package into the temporary memory of a laptop can quantity to copy
beneath the u. s. Copyright Act. It absolutely was control that the loading of proprietary
laptop software package from a storage medium into the memory of the central process unit
(CPU) causes a replica to be made. It absolutely was more control that repeating into RAM
is sufficiently permanent and stable to allow it to be perceived, reproduced or otherwise
communicated for a amount over a fugacious length. From this case it's clear that even
creating a short lived copy would be violation of the correct of the copyright owner as per the
United States of America law.
It is necessary to notice that the North American country statute defines copies as
material objects, apart from phonorecords, during which a piece is fastened by any
methodology currently familiar or later developed, and from that the work will be perceived,
reproduced or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the help of a machine or
device.[25] The reason more says that apiece is fixed in a very tangible medium of
expression once it's embodied in a very copy or phonorecords, by or beneath the authority of
the author, is sufficiently permanent or stable to allow it to be perceived, reproduced or
otherwise communicated for a amount over the temporary length. It seems that the terms
sufficiently permanent or stable utilized in the definition resulted within the judicial
interpretation to incorporate even temporary storing within the laptop at intervals the scope of
replica right. What amount of your time can represent temporary length is a motivating
question and can depend upon every jurisdiction.
The duration that a copy ought to be maintained so as to represent a violation of the
rights of the lawful owner has however not been determined at the international level. The
Liedes Draft for the WIPO Copyright accord in 1996 via draft Article 7(1) given that authors
of literary and creative work shall get pleasure from all rights bonded below Article9 (1) of
the Berne Convention, regardless of whether or not such work is temporary or permanent and
in any type or manner. Article 7(2) contained proposals allowing getting Parties to limit the
correct of copy in cases of bound temporary, transient or incidental copy, subject to bound
conditions. Later this text was fully born once the WCT was finalized and therefore the
reason for exploit this provision open looks to be the actual fact that no agreement was
reached among the parties on what amount ought to represent a temporary length. In short, it
merely means the States are liberated to decide the time length of holding of proprietary work
that may qualify as copy thus on represent a violation. On the closing of the Conference,
U.S.A. planned inclusion of a press release that advised that the copyright bonded below
Article nine of the Berne Convention along side its exceptions shall apply within the digital
context too. The Statement simply says that the member parties have Associate in nursing
obligation to acknowledge copy within the electronic medium as coming back inside different
category of copy below the Berne Convention. It should be noted that India isn't a celebration
to WIPO Copyright accord. At a similar time, the Copyright Act, 1957 includes storing of any
info within the electronic medium while not shaping the term copy. In short, what length of
your time can represent copying below the Indian Act isn't clear from the statute. It's
expected that the judiciary can detain mind the professionals and cons of recognizing
repetition for a brief span of your time.[26]
Apart from the proper to breed the work, the author is additionally unconditional with
the proper to distribute the work. it's the proper to place copies of the proprietary between the
in operation platform of the Copyright Act work into the industrial trade relates to the and
also the style Act as way as inventive work capable of commercial application worries.
Similar rights are bestowed with authors of cinematograph films. Theyre
unconditional with the perquisite to create copy of the film as per Section 14(d) (i) Copyright
Act, 1957. What all acts can quantity to creating a replica of the cinematograph film has been
dealt by the metropolis tribunal within the case Star Bharat non-public restricted v Leo writer
(India) non-public restricted. Here the litigator was the owner of the cinematograph film titled
Kyun Ki SaasBhiKabhiBahuThi. The defendants created an advertisement management
over dissemination of actual physical copies of the work. The scope and extend of this right
isn't uniform i.e. it differs with the work. Once copies ar in circulation the proper not exists
i.e. the proper get exhausted.
CHAPTER 3
Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting
from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.[29]
Moral rights were formally developed by French case law during the nineteenth
century when personalist doctrines influenced the emerging Authors Rights system.[30] The
essential idea underlying these rights is to protect the author beyond his and the societys
mere economic interests in the intellectual property; and help secure his artistic and similar
non-economic interests.
Present day systems have expanded beyond protection of mere economic interests and
begun absorbing traits previously exclusive to author centric systems. Economic factors have
ceased to exclusively constitute its core and copyrights have come to be viewed as an
accommodating bundle of various rights, with enough space to accommodate varying
versions of moral rights as well.[31]
Before the onset of a host of regressive literature, authors moral rights had been
eloquently laid out in the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works,
1886. Since then, the provisions within have undergone subtle changes and witnessed
exponentially savage interpretations to suit developed countries that prefer a loose noose.
Nevertheless, article
6bis(1) of the Berne Convention (1971) provides
Independently of the authors economic rights, and even after the transfer of said
rights, the author shall have the right to claim authorship of the work, and to object to any
distortion, mutilation or other modification of, or other derogatory action in relation to, the
said work, which would be prejudicial to his honour or reputation.
They were considered essential to impregnate authors with substantive personal rights
over their creations and expressions. In fact, by deciding that they were immutable in the
hands of the author it seems that the drafters ventured to lay equal emphasis on moral rights
and economic rights and hoped to treat them independently of each other.[32]
It was perhaps felt that in order to mould it into at an effective and universally
agreeable regime, it required localized support structures in the form of national statutes,
guidelines, doctrines and precedents to determine the issue of infringement of moral rights
and this was not forthcoming.
Faced with an annoyed publishing industry that spanned the globe and national laws
that were tailored to national priorities, confusion began soon after as disagreement reined
between two blocs of developed territories that were helpless in the face of rivaling cultures
and demands- Europe and America.
The result was Article 9(1) of the TRIPS Agreement provides:
Members shall comply with Articles 1-21 and the Appendix of the Berne Convention
(1971). However, members shall not have rights or obligations under this Agreement in
respect of the rights conferred under Article 6bis of that Convention or of the rights derived
there from.
Thus, while on the one hand the Berne Convention and even the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights[33]envisaged moral rights, both within and outside the purview
of copyright law, the TRIPS agreement, for reasons that can be speculated upon[34],
effectively denuded the importance of the two in one irrational sweep.
Thus, while in the United States where there is a general reluctance on the part of the
entrepreneurial lobby to prioritize dictates of good faith, propriety and fairness over
bargaining powers innate to the marketplace- the resultant protection of moral rights has
largely been meek; nations like Germany and France have consistently and unquestionably
strived for enforce them.[35] To exemplify, while Frances regime declares moral rights
perpetual, inalienable and imprescribtible (even after the expiry of the term of copyright), in
England most moral rights (Except the right against false attribution) expire along with the
copyright.[36]USAs copyright laws failed even to recognize any statutory moral rights
protection up until 1990. Only with the passing of the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990
were they partly recognized with limitations such as unenforceability in case the author is no
longer alive.[37]The rights conferred by this can be given as:
1. Right to Attribution: The acknowledgement of the author as the creator of his
workirrespective of copyright transfer and method of use of work.
2. Right of Integrity: The author has the right to protest misrepresentation, damage orabuse
of his work.
3. Right to Divulgation: The author has the right to choose the circumstances in which
hiswork is first presented to the public.
While determining infringement of moral rights there are primarily two tests that may be
applied31:
Subjective test requires the author of the work to establish such infringement.
An objective test requires expert or public opinion to establish such infringement.[38]
Under Indian Copyright Act, moral rights find expression in Section 57, which read as
follows
1) Independently of the author's copyright and even after the assignment either wholly or
partially of the said copyright, the author of a work shall have the right-
(a) To claim authorship of the work; and
(b) To restrain or claim damages in respect of any distortion, mutilation, modification or
other act in relation to the said work which is done before the expiration of the term of
copyright if such distortion, mutilation, modification or other act would be prejudicial to his
honour or reputation:
Provided that the author shall not have any right to restrain or claim damages in respect of
any adaptation of a computer programme to which clause (aa) of sub-section (1) of section
52 applies.
2) The right conferred upon an author of a work by sub-section (1), other than the right to
claim authorship of the work, may be exercised by the legal representatives of the author.
Initially this section was only applicable to literary works, thus leaving authors of
other works in a vacuous hole. But in MannuBhandari v.Kala Vikas Pictures[39]this position
was corrected and the amplitude of Section 57 was widened to include works other than
literary ones. That is to say that Indian law has moved beyond or at the very least widened the
very scope of an authors reputation to include his sum corpus and gone on to seek protection
of intellectual property injected by the author into his work even when such a work is
incapable of influencing his reputation directly.[40]
In many legal systems however, even the Berne Conventions provision have
regularly been interpreted by commentators[41]and other legal instrumentsto disallow
recourse to authors in case of complete destruction as the aforementioned argument
pertaining to the extrinsic measure of an authors repute continues to hold good.[42]
In MannuBhandari v.Kala Vikas Pictures, The Delhi High court observed that section 57
lifts the authors status beyond the material gains of copyright and gives it a special status. An
authors right to restrain distortion etc. of his work is not limited to a case of literary
reproduction of his work. The restraint order in the nature of injunction under section 57 can
be passed even in cases where a film is produced based on the authors novel. The language
of section 57 is of the widest amplitude and cannot be restricted to literary expression
only.Visual and audio manifestations are directly covered.
In this case the plaintiff, the author of a novel titled AapkaBunty, assigned the filming rights for
this novel to the defendant, who in turn produced the film SamaykaDhara. Upon watching the film, the
plaintiff felt that the original novel was mutilated, and initiated a suit under Section 57 seeking permanent
injunction restraining the screening and exhibition of this film. The Single Judge of the Delhi High
Court refused injunction taking a simplistic view that the contract between the plaintiff and the defendant
permitted modifications to the novel for the purpose of filming it.
On appeal before the Division Bench, the High Court considered the effect of the protection
guaranteed under Section 57 and held that they stood independent of any contractual right to make
modifications. Any modification that was in the nature of a distortion or mutilation of the authors work
would be incongruous with the letter and spirit of this provision. The Court however clarified that it had
nothing to do with the morality of the changes and only their authenticity, keeping in mind the constraints
of the medium in which it was reproduced or adapted. Based on these observations as to the scope
of Section 57 and the principles governing the same, the High Court suggested a few changes to the film.
In Amar NathSehgal v. Union of India[43], the Ministry of Works, Housing and
Supplies of the Union Government of India commissioned Amar NathSehgal, to design a
mural. The work was to adorn the walls around a central arch of the VigyanBhawan. The
design was approved by PanditJawaharLalNehru,and the mural was completed in 1962. It
measured a mammoth 40 feet high and 140 feet long.
The mural won widespread acclaim, and gave the world a glimpse of the real India its
Common people i.e the artisans and the farmers of India and the lives they led cast in sold
Bronze. It became a landmark. Then the VigyanBhawan buildings were renovated. In the
process, the mural was ripped off the walls and the remnants put into store. Distressed by the
destruction of his artistic work, and after petitioning the authorities for years without a
response, Mr. Sehgal brought a lawsuit against the government for violation of his moral
rights. Specifically, he claimed that
The separating the mural into parts from the whole that it was in its completed form
Constituted an act of mutilation;
The Ministrys action was prejudicial to his honor and reputation as an artist, because in
mutilating the work, it insulted the very nature and glory given to the work previously;
The destruction of the part of the mural bearing his name violated his right to claim
authorship.
Justice PradeepNandrajog of the Delhi High Court ruled that: "All rights of the mural
shall henceforth vest with Mr. Sehgal.The court ordered the return of the remains of the mural
to the sculptor, and also slapped damages of Rs.500, 000 (some US$ 12,000) on the
defendant.
The decree was not fulfilled, and Mr. Sehgal again took recourse to the court in execution
Proceedings, while the defendant appealed against the decree to a division bench of the court.
Ultimately, the matter was amicably resolved. After the hard fought and emotional battle, Mr.
Sehgal, in an act of graciousness, waived the claim of damages against the government
inExchange for the return of the mural.
In Suresh Jindal v. RizsoliCorriere Della Sera Prodzioni T.V. S.P.A [44], The appellants primary
grievance here was that he had made valuable contributions to the script of a television serial proposed by
the respondents including modifications suitable to the Indian context, thereby facilitating the grant of
permission by the Indian Government to the respondents to shoot parts of their proposed television serial
in India. He contended that this was done pursuant to an agreement between the parties wherein he was
also promised acknowledgment as co-producer of this serial. Once the permission was obtained, the
respondents conveniently kept the appellant out of the picture. The appellant claim to a three-second
display of his name as a co-producer in the credit-titles of the serial. Having pursued this claim before
both the Single Judge and Bench of the Delhi High Court with no success, the appellant moved
the Supreme Court.
Holding in favour of the appellant, the Supreme Court observed that the appellant had certainly made
valuable contributions to the endeavour of the respondents though he could not be branded a producer even
as per his own case that he had been kept out of the picture once the requisite approvals from the Indian
Government came through. Though there was uncertainty about the existence of a concluded contract
between the parties, the Court still felt that the appellant did play some part in making the film possible
and that the respondents were acting unreasonably in denying him the benefit of the limited
acknowledgment that he was entitled to. In view of the respondents disinclination to extend even this
courtesy to the appellant, the Court held that in case the film was proposed to be, or was exhibited either
on television or in any other medium in India, it should not be so exhibited by the respondent or their
agents unless it carried, in its title shots, an acknowledgment of the services rendered by the appellant to
the producers in some appropriate language.
In NehaBhasin v. Anand Raj Anand[45], reaffirmed the equitable right recognised by the Supreme
Court in Suresh Jindal Case. The plaintiff in this case was a singer who contended that the defendants had
not acknowledged or given due credit to her for singing a few songs in a Bollywood film. Since a singer is
not the author of any copyrightable work as per the Act, Section 57(1)(a) would not apply to such cases.
Despite this, the Delhi High Court has granted her equitable relief in terms of an injunction restraining the
defendants from using, selling, distributing, exhibiting, or advertising the music or the promos containing
the disputed songs of this Bollywood film without displaying her name as the lead female singer.
Applying Section 70 of the Indian Contract Act, the High Court found a quasi-contract between the
parties, which in turn would require the defendant to compensate the plaintiff for services rendered in
expectation of some commercial consideration. Apart from this finding, which would influence the
outcome after trial insofar as award of damages goes, the High Court has recognised that the plaintiffs
right in equity to receive proper credit for the songs she sand would stand violated if these songs were
attributed to some other singer despite her voice being used. The defendants had in this case attributed
another singer as the lead female singer and placed the plaintiff in the credits as a backup singer.
The Court viewed this as a situation of adding insult to injury, since the plaintiffs aspirations to rise as a
female vocalist would receive a big jolt if in the market she is perceived merely as a backup singer and not
as a lead singer.
CHAPTER 4
4.1.1 Rights
There are three types of rights available to protect performers: non-property rights,
property rights, and remuneration rights. Performers rights are granted in relation to the
performance of dramatic or musical works, readings and recitations of literary works, and
also to 'a variety act or any similar presentation'.One or more individuals must give the
performance. The beneficiary of the rights given in a performance is prima facie the
performer. There are no exceptions where the performer is employed.6
A performer has the right to authorize the recording of a live performance. They also
have the right to prevent the making of a recording of a live performance from a broadcast or
cable programme in which it has been included.' (These are the acts of 'bootlegging'.) These
rights are not infringed if the recording is made for private and domestic purposes.
Performers also have the right to prevent their live performances being broadcast or included
in a cable programme. Prior to the mass distribution of fixed recordings, this right would
have been very important. Where a recording has been made without the consent of a
performer, his or her rights are infringed when the wrongfully recorded performance is shown
or played in public, broadcast or included in a cable-programme service. This right is only
infringed where the defendant knew or had reason to believe the recording was made without
the performer's consent.' This would cover the playing of obviously bootlegged recordings at
discotheques or over the radio. Performers are also given the right to control the distribution
of illicit recordings. These are recordings made, otherwise than for private purposes, without
the consent of the performer or the person, if any, having recording rights.' Importation and
sale of illicit recordings is prohibited where the person knows or has reason to believe that the
recording is illicit!'
All of these non-property rights are non-transmissible, except on death." Infringement
is actionable as a breach of statutory duty. A person may also be subject to criminal liability if
they knowingly commit certain commercial acts in relation to illicit recordings!' At present,
performers do not benefit from moral rights. However, a consultation process is under way to
consider how UK law should be amended to give effect to Article 5 of the WIPO
Performances and Phonograms Treaty (which provides for moral rights of attribution and
integrity for performers)!' Consideration is also being given as to whether these amendments
should extend to audiovisual performances.
Performers are also given property rights in their performances. These rights were
introduced in order to implement the Rental Rights Directive!' The performer's property
rights include the right to make copies of a recording of a qualifying performance, the right to
issue copies of a recording to the public, and the right to rent or lend copies.' 6 The definitions
of these three rights correspond to those of a copyright owner." In contrast with the other
rights given to performers, these property rights are transmissible. Any assignments made
must be in writing and signed by the assignor.'s In relation to film-production agreements, a
performer is presumed, in the absence of an agreement to the contrary, to have transferred the
rental right to the producer.
Performers are also given two 'remuneration rights'. These were introduced in the
process of implementing the Rental Rights Directive. The most important of these, at least
financially, is the right to claim equitable remuneration from the owner of copyright in a
sound recording of a qualifying performance, where the sound recording is played in public,
broadcast or included in a cable-programme service.' This right formalized the pre-existing
practice whereby recording companies made ex gratia payments to bodies representing
musicians. Under the new regime, performers must claim their revenue that accrues in the
UK from the collecting society that administers the performing and broadcasting rights on
behalf of the owners of copyright sound recordings, namely Phonographic Performance
Limited. In practice, this is done via the collecting society PAMRA (the Performing Artists'
Media Right Association).' The second remuneration right is less important. This provides
that where a performer has transferred his or her rental right concerning a sound recording or
film to the producer, the performer retains the right to equitable remuneration for the rental of
sound recordings or films.'
Both of the remuneration rights may only be assigned to a collecting society.' In the
absence of a relevant agreement, the Copyright Tribunal may determine royalty rates. 24 As yet
there have been no cases where the Tribunal has been asked to assess what an equitable
remuneration should be. In so far as the remuneration rights are intended to strengthen the
bargaining position of performers, it is unlikely that the test of what a willing assignor and
assignee of the right would have reached in the circumstances will offer much guidance as to
the amount that ought to be paid. Rather, one might expect that equitable remuneration is
defined proportionally. Under this approach, the rate to be paid to a performer would take
account of the extent to which the contractual remuneration secured by the performer is a fair
proportion of the profits. This would also take account of the relative importance of the
claimant's contribution.' It is possible, however, that the notion of equitable remuneration
might be understood differently to mean that the performer ought to receive a rate similar to
that which is received by other comparable performers.
Special provisions exist in the 1988 Act that relate to exclusive recording contracts.
Section 185 defines an exclusive recording contract as 'a contract between a performer and
another person under which that person is entitled to the exclusion of all other persons
(including the performer) to make recordings of one or more of his performances with a view
to their commercial exploitation.' If the person having such rights is a qualifying person, then
his or her consent is required by anyone else wishing to make a recording. A party who is the
beneficiary of an exclusive recording contract may commence an action for breach of
statutory duty against a person who makes such a recording, or who shows a wrongful
recording in public or broadcasts it," as well as against those dealing commercially in such
illicit recordings.' While performers' non-property rights are not transferable, the person with
an exclusive recording contract may assign rights under that contract.'
All performers' rights last for at least fifty years from the end of the year of the
performance. However, if a recording incorporating the performance is released within this
period, the rights last for fifty years from the year of release.' Rights vested in a performer at
the time of their death may only be exercised by a person specifically nominated in the
performer's will or by their personal representative.'
Performers' rights are subject to a host of defences that, rather inconveniently, are contained
in Schedule 2 to the 1988 Act. The defences parallel those for copyright and include fair
dealing for criticism or review, fair dealing for reporting current events, incidental inclusion,
as well as a range of educational and library defences. These are all discussed in Chapter 9,
and the comments made there apply equally to performers (mutatis mutandis). One defence
notable by its absence is the defence of fair dealing for research and private study. The reason
for this is that most of the acts covered by the defence fall outside the rights conferred on
performers (which do not extend to the making of recordings for private and domestic
purposes). It does seem, however, that a performer will be in a weaker position than
copyright owners where performances or works are reproduced for commercial research.
Like copyright, the property and non-property rights are enforceable in civil and criminal
actions. The usual remedies for breaches of statutory duty are available, namely injunctions,
damages or account of profits. The right-owner may also prosecute for a range of statutory
offences, seek orders which include delivery-up and disposal, and seize infringing articles
from traders without premises. These remedies are discussed in Chapter 48.33
4.2.1 Subsistence
The database right is a property right that subsists in a database whether made before
or after 1 January 1998." A 'database' is defined as 'a collection of independent works, data or
other materials that are arranged in a systematic or methodical way, and are individually
accessible by electronic or other means.'" The database right only arises if there has been a
substantial investment in obtaining, verifying or presenting the contents of the database.
'Investment' includes any investment, whether of financial, human or technical resources. It
has been said that it is unlikely that a person who verifies the information in someone else's
database would be given any rights in the database. This is because 'verification is for the
owner of the data; it is not a back door to copying: Investment may be 'substantial' in terms of
quality, quantity or a combination of both.
The basic term of protection is fifteen years.' More specifically, the database right
expires fifteen years from the end of the calendar year in which the database was completed."
However, where a database is made available to the public before the end of the period fifteen
years from when it was made, rights in the database expire fifteen years from the end of the
calendar year in which the database was first made available to the public. It is possible that a
database right might subsist for thirty years. (And may thereafter be extended, as discussed
below). Where copies of the database as published bear a label or a mark stating that the
database was first published in a specified year, the label or mark shall be presumed to be
correct until the contrary is proved."
It is important to note that a new period of protection may be acquired for a database.
For this to occur there must be a substantial change to the contents of the database. This will
include a substantial change resulting from the accumulation of successive additions,
deletions or alterations (so long as the changes constitute a substantial new investment in the
database). In these circumstances the 'new' database qualifies for its own term of protection."
This means that while a person who can access an old version of a database in which the sui
generis right has expired will be able to extract and reuse the information from that public
domain database," they would infringe if they took the same information from a database in
which in a new period of protection subsisted.
4.2.2 Makers And Owners
The 'maker' of a database is the first owner of the database right.' Subject to an
exception as regards employees, the maker of the database is the person who takes the
initiative in obtaining, verifying or presenting the contents of a database, and who assumes
the risk of investing in that obtaining, verification or presentation." The implication of this is
that the maker must take the initiative and the risk of the investment, if one person takes the
risk and another person takes the initiative, joint making may occur. Where a database is
made by an employee in the course of employment, unless otherwise stipulated, the employer
is regarded as the maker of the database."
A number of presumptions simplify the task of proving ownership." Where a name
purporting to be that of the maker appears on copies of the database as published or on the
database when it was made, the person whose name appeared is presumed to be the maker of
the database and to have made it in an employment relationship. Where copies of the
database as published bear a label or a mark naming a person as the maker of the database,
the label or mark is presumed to be correct. Both presumptions are rebuttable.
The database right is an assignable property right, and sections 90-3 of the 1988 Act
apply to the database right as they would to copyright works. It is also possible to license
database rights, and licensing schemes and licensing bodies are subject to supervision in
accordance with Schedule 2. The jurisdiction of the Copyright Tribunal has been extended
accordingly.
The database right is infringed where a person, without the consent of the owner of
the right, 'extracts' or reutilizes' all of, or a substantial part of, the contents of the database.
'Extraction' means the permanent or temporary transfer of the contents of a database to
another medium by any means or in any form." Playing a song from a jukebox would not be
an extraction because the contents are not transferred to another medium. `Reutilization'
means making those contents available to the public by any means. The 'infringing' act must
take place in relation to a 'substantial' part of the contents of the database. The question of
whether the part taken is substantial depends on the quantity and/or the quality of the part
taken. Importantly, Regulation 16(2) provides that the repeated and systematic extraction or
reutilization of insubstantial parts of the contents of a database may amount to the extraction
or reutilization of a substantial part of those contents.
The database right allows the maker to control the first sale, but not the subsequent
distribution, of hard copies on which data is stored. Where a copy of a database has been sold
within the EEA by, or with the consent of, the owner of the database right in the database,
further sales within the EEA of that copy shall not constitute the extraction or reutilization of
the contents of the database. It is interesting that sale and not other forms of transfer only
exhaust the right.[48] Consequently, the sale by a customer of gratuitously distributed copies
of databases, such as British Telecom telephone directories, may infringe. Oddly, where there
has been first sale of hard copies on which data are stored, the Regulations appear to suggest
that the lawful buyer of a copy of a database cannot give it away, nor rent it.
In relation to the remedies available for breach of the database right, the Database
Regulations provide that equivalent provisions of the 1988 Act apply in relation to the
database right and databases in which that right subsists, as they apply in relation to copyright
and copyright works.63
A lawful user of a database which has been made available to the public in any
manner is entitled to extract or reutilize insubstantial parts of the contents of the database for
any purpose.' This limitation may not be excluded by agreement.
Where a database has been made available to the public in any manner, the database right
is not infringed by a fair dealing with a substantial part of its contents if three conditions are
satisfied:
i. If that part is extracted from the database by a person who is a lawful user of the database;
ii. If it is extracted for the purpose of illustration for teaching or research and not for any
commercial purpose; and
iii. If the source is indicated." In exempting pedagogical uses, this provision gives rise to the
possibility that a person may infringe copyright in an original database, but not the database
right in the component data."
An exception is also made for public lending. For lending to be 'public it must take
place through an establishment which is accessible to the public. Such an establishment is
permitted to charge borrowers an amount that does not go beyond what is necessary to cover
the costs of the establishment.' However, permitting remote access is not deemed to constitute
a lending." Bizarrely, the exception for public lending does not apply to the making of a copy
of a database available for on the spot reference use. Even if the lending is gratuitous and in a
public establishment, the Regulations suggest that it may be an infringement."
The database right will only subsist where its maker was, at the material time' either: a
national of an EEA state; habitually resident within the EEA; a body incorporated under the
law of an EEA state; a body with its principal place of business or its registered office within
the EEA; or a partnership or other unincorporated body which was formed under the law of
an EEA state which, at that time, satisfied certain conditions:73
CHAPTER 5
Authorial entities are socially constructed and historically contingent. They are
nurtured by cultural and social properties owned and maintained by the creative collectivity.
Authors work it as a container of intrinsic values and motivations as a source for
generating original creative expressions embodying unique personality traits. Treating authors
as distinctive, independent agents who own themselves and have relatively clear boundaries
to protect in order to ensure their integrity and permit them to function more effectively in the
world
A balanced translation of this right into a workable legal standard requires a
redefinition of the rigid set of time limitations to which moral rights are subject to reward the
author for his investment of human capital and cater to the public interest and its role as the
entity that eventually takes the work in new directions. Practically, a limited-in-time
actionable right can achieve accommodating these concerns for authors for infringement of
their moral rights, lasting as long as economic rights. Once the actionable right expires, the
publics unlimited right to be informed begins. The right of the public can be secured via a
system of perpetual mandatory disclaimers requiring a user of an original work for which
copyright has expired and moral rights are no longer actionable to provide sufficient
attribution to the author of the original work.
Incorporating moral rights in common law systems, has not, so far, generated good
results. The versions legislated are not even remotely as extreme as the solemn statutory
declarations and high flying rhetoric of the civil law tradition. Moral rights might not need
to be as strong, but if they have been invited into the copyright discourse because of their
fundamental importance for coherent copyright regimes, then quasi-moral rights cannot give
authors and the public what moral rights were designed to give. Despite their rejection by
many, moral rights ambitions are good and necessary.
5.9 Sanctions
The final category of enforcement provisions, which has achieved greater importance
since the advent of digital technology, includes measures, remediesand sanctions against
abuses in respect of technical means. In certain cases, the only practical means of preventing
copying is through so-called copy protection or copy-management systems. These use
technical devices, which either entirely prevent copying, or make the quality of the copies so
poor as to be unusable.
Technical means are also used to prevent the reception of encrypted commercial
television programs except with use of decoders. However, it is technically possible to
manufacture devices to circumvent such copy protection and encryption systems.
The enforcement provisions are intended to prevent the manufacture, importation and
distribution of such devices. So too are provisions to prevent the unauthorized removal or
alteration of electronic rights management information, and the dissemination of copies of
works from which such information has been removed. Such information may identify the
author or rights owner, or contain information about the terms and conditions of use of the
work. Removing it may result in the distortion of computerized rights management or fee-
distribution systems.
By Abhai Pandey
[Editors Note: this article has been updated by the author and published on IP-
Watch here.]
Indias Copyright Act, 1957 has been significantly amended. In May 2012, both
houses of the Indian Parliament unanimously placed their seal on the Copyright
Amendment Bill, 2012, bringing Indian copyright law into compliance with the World
Intellectual Property Organization Internet Treaties.
Leaders of the opposition in both houses and representatives from various parties
gave spirited support to the bill tabled by the government.
The Copyright Act, 1957 had been amended five times prior to 2012, once each in
the years 1983, 1984, 1992, 1994 and 1999, to meet with the national and
international requirements.
The 2012 amendments make Indian Copyright Law compliant with the Internet
Treaties the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and WIPO Performances and
Phonograms Treaty (WPPT).
Also, while introducing technological protection measures, the amended law ensures
that fair use survives in the digital era by providing special fair use provisions. The
amendments have made many author-friendly amendments, special provisions for
disabled, amendments facilitating access to works and other amendments to
streamline copyright administration.
This article gives a narration of the changes made by the Copyright (Amendment)
Act.
In the case of literary, dramatic and musical works, the right to reproduce already
includes storing of the work in any medium by electronic means. The present
amendment in effect only extends this inclusive language to artistic works,
cinematograph films and sound recordings.
The right to store the work is of particular importance in a digital environment due to
the special nature of transmission of digitized works over the internet where transient
copies get created at multiple locations, including over the transmitting network and
in the users computer. In a manner of speaking, it can be stated that copyright has
been extended to the right of storing of works.
It also creates liability for the internet service providers. While adding this right, the
Act also treats as fair use the transient or incidental storage and safe harbour
provisions to service providers.
The definition of the Cinematograph Film (Section 2(f)) has also been amended. The
amended definition reads: Cinematograph Film means any work of visual recording
and includes a sound recording accompanying such visual recording and
cinematograph shall be construed as including any work produced by any process
analogous to cinematography including video films.
The Amendment Act also introduces a definition of visual recording (Clause xxa) to
mean recording in any medium, by any method including the storing of it by any
electronic means, of moving images or of the representations thereof, from which
they can be perceived, reproduced or communicated by any method.
The amendments address technical issues like storing, and therefore address some
of the digital era challenges.
Commercial Rental
The obligation under Article 11 of the TRIPS Agreement, Article 7 of WCT and Article
9 of WPPT is to provide for commercial rental rights for computer programmes and
cinematograph films. This right was introduced in section 14 by using the word hire.
The term hire in sections 14(d)&(e) with regard to cinematograph film and sound
recording, respectively, is replaced with the term commercial rental. The primary
reason behind the replacement is to curtail the possibility of interpreting the term
hire to include non-commercial hire and also to keep in sync with the replacement
(1999 amendment) of the term hire to commercial rental with respect to computer
programme in section 14(b).
This amendment substitutes the word hire with commercial rental in sections 14
(b)&(c) but has deleted the words regardless of whether such copy has been sold or
given on hire on earlier occasions.
This deletion in the case of both cinematograph films and sound recordings brings in
the doctrine of first sale exhaustion to these works. It may be recalled that the
doctrine of first sale exhaustion was applicable only to the literary, dramatic and
artistic works before the amendment.
The Amendment Act 2012 has also introduced a definition of the term commercial
rental in section 2(fa) with the objective of expressly clarifying that the right is not
applicable to non-commercial activities of giving on hire including the activities of
libraries and educational institutions.
Performers Rights
The Amendment Act 2012 has introduced affirmative performers rights. Subsections
3&4 of the present section 38 have been omitted and a new section 38A has been
inserted in compliance with Articles from 6 to 10 of WPPT.
Section 38A provides for performers right as an exclusive right to do or authorize the
doing of any of the acts in respect of the performance without prejudice to the rights
conferred on authors. The proviso to the section enables performers to be entitled for
royalties in case their performances are subjected to commercial use.
Along with the above, the Amendment Act 2012 has also sought to amend the
definition of Communication to Public (Section 2 (ff)) extending the right to
performances. The rights under this head hitherto limited to authors have been
extended to performers by the present amendment.
Another significant amendment in line with Article 9 of WCT is regarding the duration
of protection of photographic works. The term of copyright in a photograph has been
made at par with other artistic works, namely, until sixty years after the death of the
author.
Assignment of Rights
Under Section 18(1) a second proviso has been inserted. It provides that no such
assignments shall apply to any mode of exploitation that did not exist or was not
known in commercial use when the assignment was made.
This amendment strengthens the position of the author if new modes of exploitation
of the work come to exist.
Section 18(1) provides that the owner of a copyright in any work or prospective
owner of a future work may assign the copyright, and the proviso to this sub-section
clarifies that in the case of future work, assignment will come into force only when
the work comes into existence.
Another proviso under S. 18(1), inserted through Amendment Act 2012, provides that
the author of a literary or musical work incorporated in a cinematograph film or sound
recording shall not assign the right to receive royalties in any form other than as a
part of the film or sound recording.
Section 19A relates to disputes with respect to assignment of copyright. This section
provides that on receipt of a complaint from an aggrieved party, the Copyright Board
may hold inquiry and pass orders as it may deem fit, including an order for the
recovery of any royalty payable. The second proviso is amended to provide that
pending disposal of an application for revocation of assignment, the Copyright Board
may pass any order as it deems fit regarding implementation of the terms and
conditions of assignment.
Section 31 deals with compulsory licenses of works withheld from public. The
amendment amplifies the applicability of this section from Indian work to any work.
The word complainant is also replaced with the words such person or persons who,
in the opinion of the Copyright Board is or are qualified to do so. In continuum, sub-
section (2) is omitted so as to enable the Copyright Board to grant compulsory
license to more than one person.
By virtue of the above amendment, compulsory licenses can be obtained for any
work withheld from the public and not just Indian works and the license can be
granted to such persons as the Board may decide.
Section 31A relates to compulsory licenses in unpublished Indian works. This has
been amended to allow compulsory licenses to any unpublished work or any work
published or communicated to the public where the work is withheld from the public
in India and in cases where the author is dead or unknown or the owner cannot be
traced.
Special provisions have been provided for compulsory licensing of the works for the
disabled by inserting Section 31B.
Statutory Licenses
A new Section 31C provides for statutory license to any person desiring to make a
cover version of a sound recording in respect of any literary, dramatic or musical
work. The amendment provides that the person making the sound recording shall
give to the owner prior notice of his intention in the prescribed manner, provide the
copies of all covers or labels with which the version is supposed to be sold, and pay
in advance the royalty at the rate fixed by the Copyright Board. Such sound
recordings can be made only after the expiration of 5 years after publication of the
original sound recording. There is a requirement of payment of a minimum royalty for
50,000 copies of the work during each calendar year.
This is not totally a new provision for statutory license for cover version as it is, but a
replacement of Section 52(1)(j) as it stood before the amendment.
A new section 31D providing for statutory license for broadcasters has been brought
to facilitate access to the works for the broadcasting industry. At present the access
to copyrighted works was dependent upon voluntary licensing. The amendment
provides that any broadcasting organization desiring to broadcast a work including
sound recording may do so by giving prior notice to the right holders and pay royalty
as fixed by the Copyright Board in advance. The names of the authors and principal
performers shall be announced during the broadcast. The broadcasting organization
shall maintain records of the broadcast, books of account and render to the owner
such records and books of account.
All copyright societies will have to register afresh with the registration granted for a
period of five years. Renewal is subject to the continued collective control of the
copyright society being shared with the authors of works in their capacity as owners
of copyright or of the right to receive royalty.
There are specific amendments to protect the interests of the authors. In Section 35,
the phrase owners of rights has been substituted with authors and other owners of
right. The section has been amended to provide that every copyright society shall
have a governing body with such number of persons elected from among the
members of the society consisting of equal number of authors and owners of work
for the purpose of the administration of the society. Section 35(4) provides that all
members of a copyright society shall enjoy equal membership rights and there shall
be no discrimination between authors and owners of rights in the distribution of
royalties.
The existing clause (1)(a) has been amended to provide fair dealing with any work,
not being a computer programme, for the purposes of private and personal use. With
this amendment, the fair use provision has been extended to cinematograph and
musical works.
Fair use in the above lines has been extended by amendment to bring in the word
any work to reproduction in the course of judicial proceedings; reproduction or
publication of any work prepared by secretariat of a legislature; in certified copies
supplied as per law.
A new clause 52(1)(w) provides that the making of a three dimensional object from a
two dimensional work, such as a technical drawing for industrial application of any
purely functional part of a useful device shall not constitute infringement. This
provision should help reverse engineering of mechanical devices.
A new clause 52(zc) has been introduced to provide that importation of literary or
artistic works such as labels, company logos or promotional or explanatory material
that is incidental to products or goods being imported shall not constitute
infringement. This clause supports the parallel import provision embedded in the
Trade Marks Act, 1999.
Clauses (zb) and (zc) provide for fair dealing in the use of disabled persons.
Fair use provisions have been extended to the digital environment. Any transient and
incidental storage of any work through the process of caching has been provided
exceptions as per the international practice. Any deliberate storing of such works and
unauthorized reproduction and distribution of such works is an infringement under
Section 51 attracting civil and criminal liability. Exceptions under this section have
been extended to education and research purposes, as works are available in digital
formats and in the internet. The scope of these provisions ensures that introduction
of new technology will also be covered under this new section.
An explanation has been inserted to clause (1)(a) of Section 52 to clarify that storing
of any work in any electronic medium for the specified purposes, including the
incidental storage of a computer programme which in itself is not an infringing copy,
shall not be an infringement.
A new clause (b) in Section 52 seeks to provide that transient and incidental storage
of a work or performance purely in the technical process of electronic transmission or
communication to the public shall not constitute an infringement of copyright.
Similarly, clause (c) provides that transient and incidental storage of a work or
performance for the purposes of providing electronic links, access or integration,
where the right holder has not expressly prohibited such links, access or integration,
shall not constitute infringement.
To facilitate digitization of libraries a new clause (n) has been introduced to enable
the storage of a digital copy of a work if the library possesses a non-digital version of
it.
The unauthorized use of copyright work over the internet leads to suspension of the
service providers activity.
The new clause (c) of Section 52, while providing for fair use exemption for transient
or incidental storage of works, also provides for the internet service providers liability
when read with the additions of rights of storage and definition of infringement.
A proviso has been added to this clause to provide a safe harbour as per
international norms to internet service providers, as they are merely carriers of
information provided by others. This is generally referred to as notice and take down
procedure. If the person responsible for the storage of the copy has received a
written complaint from the owner of copyright in the work, that the transient or
incidental storage is an infringement, such persons responsible for the storage shall
refrain from facilitating such access for a period of twenty-one days or till he receives
an order from the competent court refraining from facilitating access. In case no such
order is received before the expiry of such period of twenty-one days, he may
continue to provide the facility of such access.
Section 31B provides for compulsory license in works for the benefit of the disabled.
The Copyright Board, on an application for a CL by any person working for the
benefit of persons with disability on a profit basis or for business shall dispose such
application within a period of two months from the date of receipt of application.
The CL issued must specify the means and format of publication, the period during
which the compulsory license may be exercised and the number of copies that may
be issued including the rate or royalty.
The new clause (zb) added to section 52(1) providing for fair use of the work for the
benefit of the disabled, facilitates adaptation, reproduction, issue of copies or
communication to the public of any work in any accessible format, for persons with
disability to access works including sharing with any person with disability for private
or personal use, educational purposes or research.
These rights are available to any person or organization working for the benefit of the
persons with disabilities.
Section 53, dealing with importation of infringing copies, has been substituted with a
new section providing detailed border measures to strengthen enforcement of rights
by making provision to control import of infringing copies by the Customs
Department, disposal of infringing copies and presumption of authorship under civil
remedies.
The new section 65A, introduced for protection of technological protection measures
(TPM) used by a copyright owner to protect his rights on the work, makes
circumvention of it a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment.
This amendment also clarifies the problem of circumvention impacting the public
interest on access to work facilitated by the copyright laws. Sub-section (2) permits
circumvention for specified uses.
Copyright Board
The Copyright Board during the last decade has changed significantly. Considering
the diverse nature of issues being dealt with by the Copyright Board, section 11
relating to the constitution of the Copyright Board has been amended to make it a
body consisting of a Chairman and two members. A provision has also been
introduced for payment of salaries and allowances to the members of the Board.
This reformist approach is timely, looking at the multifarious responsibilities the
Copyright Board is now called upon to discharge.
Overall the amendments introduced are forward looking. This will enable the
Copyright Act 1957 to become as one of the best copyright legislations in the world.
Your LinkedIn
Connections at Firm
Article by Vijay Pal Dalmia, Advocate, Supreme Court of India and Delhi High Court,
Partner & Head of Intellectual Property Laws Division, Vaish Associates Advocates,
India
Indian copyright law is at parity with the international standards as contained in TRIPS. The
(Indian) Copyright Act, 1957, pursuant to the amendments in the year 1999, fully reflects the
Berne Convention for Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, 1886 and the Universal
Copyrights Convention, to which India is a party. India is also a party to the Geneva
Convention for the Protection of Rights of Producers of Phonograms and is an active
member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ("UNESCO").
It is pertinent to mention herein that along with the (Indian) Trade Marks Act, 1999, the
protection can also be obtained under the (Indian) Copyright Act, 1957 with respect to the
artwork, layout, pattern, style, get-up and colour-combinations of packaging and labels which
are capable of being registered under the (Indian) Trade Marks Act, 1999 as a trademark.
cinematograph film
are protected.
In order to keep pace with the global requirement of harmonization, the Copyright Act, 1957
has brought the copyright law in India in line with the developments in the information
technology industry, whether it is in the field of satellite broadcasting or computer software or
digital technology. The amended law has also made provisions to protect performer's rights
as envisaged in the Rome Convention.
Registration of Copyright
In India, the registration of copyright is not mandatory as the registration is treated as mere
recordal of a fact. The registration does not create or confer any new right and is not a
prerequisite for initiating action against infringement. The view has been upheld by the
Indian courts in a catena of judgments. It is important to note here that there is no prescribed
time limit within which registration of a copyright can be obtained. However, presently the
registration of a copyright may take a period of 1 to 1 years.
Need for Registration of Copyright
The awareness of Intellectual Property (IP) Laws is considerably low among the
enforcement authorities in India, and most of the IP litigation is confined to metropolitan
cities. It is to be noted that awareness of Intellectual Property (IP) Laws is considerably low
even among the enforcement authorities in India, and most of the IP litigation is confined to
metropolitan cities. It is always advisable to register the copyright as the copyright
registration certificate is accepted as a proof of ownership in a Court of law and Police
authorities, and acted upon smoothly by them.
The law of copyright in India not only provides for civil remedies in the form of permanent
injunction, damages or accounts of profits, delivery of the infringing material for destruction
and cost of the legal proceedings. etc. but also makes instances of infringement of copyright,
a cognizable offence punishable with for a term which shall not be less than six months but
which may extend to three years with a fine which shall not be less than INR 50,000 but may
extend to INR 2,00,000. For the second and subsequent offences, there are provisions for
enhanced fine and punishment under the Copyright Act. The (Indian) Copyright Act, 1957
gives power to the police authorities to register the Complaint (First Information Report, i.e.,
FIR) and act on its own to arrest the accused, search the premises of the accused and seize
the infringing material without any intervention of the court.
The Government of India is also taking initiative to combat piracy in the software industry,
motion pictures and the music industry along with players in the industry through their
associations and organizations like NASSCOM (National Association of Software and
Service Companies), NIAPC (National Initiative Against Piracy and Counterfeiting) etc.
Copyright in any work, present or future, can only be assigned or licensed in writing by the
copyright owner or his duly authorized agent.
Duration/Term of Copyright
In the case of original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, the duration of copyright
is the lifetime of the author or artist, and 60 years counted from the year following the death
of the author.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter.
Specialist professional advice should be sought about your specific circumstances. The
views expressed in this article are solely of the authors of this article.