Copyright law of India

Indian copyright law is governed by the Indian Copyright Act, 1957. Copyright Law in the country was governed by the Copyright Act of 1914,which was essentially the extension of the British Copyright Act, 1911 to India,and borrowed extensively from the new Copyright Act of the United Kingdom of 1956. Now Indian Copyright is governed by the Indian Copyright Act, 1957.[1]

The Indian Copyright Act today is compliant with most international conventions and treaties in the field of copyrights. India is a member of the Berne Convention of 1886 (as modified at Paris in 1971), the Universal Copyright Convention of 1951 and the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement of 1995.

Though India is not a member of the Rome Convention of 1961, WIPO Copyrights Treaty (WCT) and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT),the Copyright Act is compliant with it.[2]

Contents

Copyright

Copyright is a right given by the law to creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and producers of cinematograph films and sound recordings. In fact, it is a bundle of rights including, inter alia, rights of reproduction, communication to the public, adaptation and translation of the work. There could be slight variations in the composition of the rights depending on the work.

Indian work

"Indian work" means a literary, dramatic or musical work,

Descriptions of work

An author

Duration of copyright

  • Literary
  • dramatic,
  • musical and
  • artistic works (other than a photograph)
sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the author dies.
  • Anonymous and pseudonymous works
  • Posthumous work
  • Photographs
  • Cinematograph films
  • Sound records
  • Government work
  • Public undertakings work
  • International organisations work
sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the work is first published.

Assignment of copyright

The author of a work is the first owner of the copyright( Section 17).However, for works made in the course of an author's employment under a contract of service, the employer is the first owner of the copyright. The owner of the copyright in an existing work or the prospective owner of the copyright in a future work may assign to any person the copyright either wholly or partially and either generally or subject to limitations and either for the whole term of the copyright or any part thereof: Provided that in the case of the assignment of copyright in any future work, the assignment shall take effect only when the work comes into existence. (Section 18) Section 19 lays down the modes of assignment- assignment can only be in writing and must specify the work, the period of assignment and the territory. Section 19(5) provides that if period of assignment is not specified it shall be deemed to be 5 years and section 19(6) provides that if the territorial extent of assignment is not specified it shall be presumed to extend within India. In a recent judgement, a division bench of the Delhi High Court in Pine Labs Private Limited vs Gemalto Terminals India Limited the Court has held that in case the duration of assignment is not specified, the duration shall be deemed to be five years and after five years the copyright shall revert to the author. In this case, Pine Labs had written some software for Gemalto under a Master Service Agreement(MSA).Though in the MSA Pine Labs had assigned the copyright in the works to Gemalto, the period of assignment was not specified.The Court held that though Gemalto may have paid for the software, Pine Labs, being the author was the first owner of the copyright and after five years, the copyright reverted to Pine Labs. It made no difference whetehr the MSA was treated as an assignment or an agreement to assign. Full text of the judgement can be viewed at Pine Labs Vs Gemalto and others

Rights of Broadcasting Organisation and of Performers

The broadcast reproduction right shall subsist until twenty-five years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the broadcast is made.

The performer's right shall subsist until fifty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the performance is made.

Fair dealing

A fair dealing with a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work (not being a computer programme) for the purposes of

  1. for the purpose of research or private study,
  2. for criticism or review,
  3. for reporting current events,
  4. in connection with judicial proceeding,
  5. performance by an amateur club or society if the performance is given to a non-paying audience, and .
  6. the making of sound recordings of literary, dramatic or musical works under certain conditions.

Government works

Although Government works are copyrighted, the reproduction or publication of following works not copy protected.

Criminal liability

Copyright infringement is punishable under § 63 of the Copyright Act:

Offence of infringement of copyright or other rights conferred by this Act. Any person who knowingly infringes or abets the infringement of-
(a) the copyright in a work, or
(b) any other right conferred by this Act, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to three years and with fine which shall not be less than fifty thousand rupees but which may extend to two lakh rupees:
Provided that the court may, for adequate and special reasons to be mentioned in the judgment, impose a sentence of imprisonment for a term of less than six months or a fine of less than fifty thousand rupees.
Explanation.- Construction of a building or other structure which infringes or which, if completed, would infringe the copyright in some other work shall not be an offence under this section.[3]

References

  1. ^ http://copyright.gov.in/Documents/CopyrightRules1957.pdf
  2. ^ [1] The Copyright Act, 1957-Source-Government of India
  3. ^ Indian Copyright Act, 1957, § 63

External links