Law of Copyrights
and Designs
By
Dr.Nagendrakumar Turaga
MBA, LL.M., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Ownership of Copyright
The author of the work will be the first owner of the copyright in the following
instances:
i. In the case of a literary, dramatic or artistic work made by the author in the course
of his employment by the proprietor of a newspaper, magazine or similar periodical
under a contract of service or apprenticeship, for the purpose of publication in a
newspaper, magazine or similar periodical, the said proprietor will, in the absence of
any agreement to the contrary, be the first owner of the copyright in the work in so far
as the copyright relates to the publication of the work in any newspaper, magazine or
similar periodical, or to the reproduction of the work for the purpose of its being so
published, but in all other respects the author will be the first owner of the copyright
in the work.
ii. In the case of a photograph taken, or a painting or portrait drawn, or an engraving
or a cinematograph film made, for valuable consideration at the instance of any
person, such person will, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, be the first
owner of the copyright therein.
iii. In the case of a work made in the course of the author’s employment under a
contract of service or apprenticeship, the employer will, in the absence of any
agreement to the contrary, be the first owner of the copyright therein.
iv. In the case of a government work, government in the absence of any agreement to
the contrary, will be the first owner of the copyright therein.
v. In the case of any address or speech delivered in public, the person who has
delivered such address or speech or if such person has delivered such address or
speech on behalf of any other person, such other person will be the first owner of the
copyright therein notwithstanding that the person who delivers such address or
speech, or, as the case may be, the person on whose behalf such address or speech is
delivered, is employed by any other person who arranges such address or speech or
on whose behalf or premises such address or speech is delivered.
vi. In the case of a work made or first published by or under the direction or control of
any public undertaking, such public undertaking in the absence of any agreement to
the contrary, will be the first owner of the copyright therein.
vii. In case of any work which is made or first published by or under the directions or
control of any international organization, such international organization will be the
first owner of the copyright therein.
Assignment of copyright
Sec.18 of the Copyright Act, 1957 deals with assignment of 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.
The mode of assignment should be in the following manner:
• Assignment should be given in writing and signed by the assignor or by his duly
authorized agent.
• The assignment should identify the work and specify the rights assigned and the
duration and territorial extent of such assignment.
• The assignment should also specify the amount of royalty payable, if any, to the
author or his legal heirs during the currency of the assignment and the assignment
may be subject to revision, extension or termination on terms mutually agreed upon by
the parties.
• Where the assignee does not exercise the rights assigned to him within a period of
one year from the date of assignment, the assignment in respect of such rights will be
deemed to have lapsed after the expiry of the said period unless otherwise specified in
the assignment.
The period of assignment will be deemed to be 5 years from the date of assignment
unless specifically mentioned. If the territorial extent of assignment of the rights is not
specified, it will be presumed to extend within India.
Term of copyright:
Section 22 to 29 of the Copyright Act, 1957 deals with the term of copyright.
Copyright generally lasts for a period of sixty years.
1. In the case of literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works, the sixty year period is
counted from the year following the death of the author.
2. In the case of cinematograph films, sound recordings, photographs, posthumous
publications, anonymous and pseudonymous publications, works of government and
public undertakings and works of international organizations, the 60-year period is
counted from the date of publication.
3. In case of Broadcast reproduction right - 25 years from the beginning of the
calendar year next following the year in which the broadcast is made.
4. In case of Performers right - 25 years from the beginning of the calendar year next
following the year in which the performance is made.
Registration of a work under the Copyright Act, 1957
Copyright comes into existence as soon as a work is created and no formality is
required to be completed for acquiring copyright.
Register of Copyrights maintained in the Copyright Office of the Department of
Education. The entries made in the Register of Copyrights serve as prima-facie
evidence in the court of law.
Procedure for registration
a. Application for registration is to be made on Form IV (Including Statement of Particulars and Statement
of Further Particulars) as prescribed in the first schedule to the Rules ;
b. Separate applications should be made for registration of each work;
c. Each application should be accompanied by the requisite fee prescribed in the second Schedule to the
Rules; &
d. The applications should be signed by the applicant or the advocate in whose favour a Vakalatnama or
Power of Attorney has been executed. The Power of Attorney signed by the party and accepted by the
advocate should also be enclosed.
The following Statement of Further Particulars should be submitted in triplicate
along with the Application for Registration of Copyright (Form IV) –
1. Is the work is to be registered
a. an original work?
b. a translation of a work in the public domain?
c. A translation of a work in which Copyright subsists?
d. an adaptation of a work in the public domain?
e. an adaptation of a work in which Copyright subsists?
2. If the work is a translation or adaptation of a work in which Copyright subsists:
a. Title of the original work
b. Language of the original work
c. Name, address and nationality of the author of the original work and if the author is
deceased, the date of decease
d. Name, address and nationality of the publisher, if any, of the original work
e. Particulars of the authorization for a translation or adaptation including the name, address
and nationality of the party authorizing.
Time taken for registration
After filing application and receiving diary number the applicant should wait for a
mandatory period of 30 days so that no objection is filed in the Copyright office
against the claim that particular work is created by the applicant. If such objection is
filed it may take another one month time to decide as to whether the work could be
registered by the Registrar of Copyrights after giving an opportunity of hearing the
matter from both the parties. If no objection is filed the application goes for scrutiny
from the examiners. If any discrepancy is found the applicant is given 30 days time to
remove the same. Therefore, it may take 2 to 3 month’s time for registration of any
work in the normal course. The cooperation of the applicant in providing necessary
information is the key for speedy disposal the matter. Any person aggrieved by the final
decision or order of the Registrar of Copyrights may, within three months from the
date of the order or decision, appeal to the Copyright Board.
Infringement of Copyright
Section 51(b) (iv) states: “Copyright in a work shall be deemed to be infringed when:
1. Any person, without a license granted by the owner of the Copyright or the
Registrar of Copyrights under this Act, or in violation of the conditions of a license
so granted or of any conditions imposed by a competent authority under this Act-
2. Does anything, the exclusive right to which is conferred on the owner of the
Copyright by this Act.
When any person-
• Make for hire for sale, sells or lets for hire, or trade displays or offers for sale or hire
• Distributes either for commercial purposes or in such a way as to harm the owner of the
copyright.
• By way of public trade shows.
• Imports into India of any infringing copies of the work (omitted by Act 65 of 1984, S.3 (effective
8-10-1984))
Fair Dealing
The word “fair dealing” was not set out in the Act. The law permits a person to use
copyright work in limited numbers without the permission of the owner.
Fair trade is an exception and limitation to the exclusive right granted to the author
of a creative piece by copyright law.
It enables copyrighted work to be reproduced or utilized in a way which, however,
would have amounted to a violation of copyright for the exception.
The fairness of the deal depends on the four factors that follow:
• The purpose of the application
• The work’s nature
• The quantity of work used
• The impact of the work on the original
