The Copyright Act 1957 (as amended by the Copyright Amendment Act 2012) governs

the subject of copyright law in India.[1] The Act is applicable from 21 January
1958.[2] The history of copyright law in India can be traced back to its colonial era under
the British Empire.[3] The Copyright Act 1957 was the first post-independence copyright
legislation in India and the law has been amended six times since 1957.[4] The most
recent amendment was in the year 2012, through the Copyright (Amendment) Act
2012.[5] India is a member of most of the important international conventions governing
the area of copyright law, including the Berne Convention of 1886 (as modified at Paris
in 1971), the Universal Copyright Convention of 1951, the Rome Convention of
1961 and the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
(TRIPS).[6] Initially, India was not a member of the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and
the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) but subsequenty entered
the treaty in 2013

Contents

 1Applicable Copyright Act before 1958

 2Definition of copyright
 3Types of works protected
 4Duration of copyright protection under the Copyright Act 1957
 5Foreign works
 6Ownership of copyright under the Copyright Act 1957
 7Exceptions to copyright infringement in India
 8Remedies available against copyright infringement in India
 9Further reading
 10See also
 11References
 12External links

Applicable Copyright Act before 1958[edit]

Prior to 21 January 1958, The Indian Copyright Act, 1914, was applicable in India and
still applicable for works created prior to 21 January 1958, when the new Act came into
force[2] (the Copyright Act of 1911 passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom as
modified in its application to India by the Indian Copyright Act, 1914).[7][2] According to
this Act, the period of copyright for photographs was 50 years from the time it was first
published. ( Act language is:"the term for which copyright shall subsist in photographs
shall be fifty years from the making of the original negative from which the photograph
was directly or indirectly derived, and the person who was owner of such negative at
the time when such negative was made shall be deemed to be the author of the work,
and, where such owner is a body corporate, the body corporate shall be deemed for
the purposes of this Act to reside within the parts of His Majesty's dominions to which
this Act extends if it has established a place of business within such parts.") [8] For
photographs published, before 21 January 1958 in India, the period of copyright is thus
50 years, as for them the old Act is applicable.[2]

Definition of copyright[edit]
Copyright is a bundle of rights given by the law to the creators of literary, dramatic,
musical and artistic works and the producers of cinematograph films and sound
recordings.[9] The rights provided under Copyright law include the rights of reproduction
of the work, communication of the work to the public, adaptation of the work and
translation of the work.[9] The scope and duration of protection provided under
copyright law varies with the nature of the protected work.
In a 2016 copyright lawsuit, the Delhi High Court states that copyright is "not an
inevitable, divine, or natural right that confers on authors the absolute ownership of
their creations. It is designed rather to stimulate activity and progress in the arts for the
intellectual enrichment of the public. Copyright is intended to increase and not to
impede the harvest of knowledge. It is intended to motivate the creative activity of
authors and inventors in order to benefit the public."[10]

Types of works protected[edit]

The Indian copyright law protects literary works, dramatic works, musical works, artistic
works, cinematograph films and sound recordings.[11]

Duration of copyright protection under the Copyright Act 1957[edit]

 Literary
 dramatic, lifetime of the author + sixty years[12] from the beginning
of the calendar year next following the year in which the
 musical and
author dies.
 artistic works
 Anonymous and
pseudonymous works
 Posthumous work
 Cinematograph films until sixty years[12] from the beginning of the calendar
 Sound records years next following the year in which the work is first
 Government work published [13]
 Public undertakings
 International Agencies
 photographs

Foreign works[edit]
Copyrights of works of the countries mentioned in the International Copyright Order are
protected in India, as if such works are Indian works. The term of copyright in a work
shall not exceed that which is enjoyed by it in its country of origin.[14]

Ownership of copyright under the Copyright Act 1957[edit]

The author of a work is generally considered as the first owner of the copyright under
the Copyright Act 1957.[15] However, for works made in the course of an author's
employment under a "contract of service" or apprenticeship, the employer is
considered as the first owner of copyright, in the absence of any agreement to the
contrary.[16]
The concept of joint authorship is recognised in Section. 2(z) of the Act which provides
that "a work produced by the collaboration of two or more authors in which the
contribution of one author is not distinct from the contribution of the other author or
authors" is a work of joint authorship. This concept has been elucidated in cases
like Najma Heptulla v. Orient Longman Ltd. and Ors.
Section 19 of the Copyright Act 1957 lays down the modes of assignment of copyright
in India. Assignment can only be in writing and must specify the work, the period of
assignment and the territory for which assignment is made.[17] If the period of
assignment is not specified in the agreement, it shall be deemed to be 5 years and if
the territorial extent of assignment is not specified, it shall be presumed to be limited to
the territories of India.[18] In a recent judgement (Pine Labs Private Limited vs Gemalto
Terminals India Limited), a division bench of the Delhi High Court confirmed this
position and held that in cases wherein the duration of assignment is not specified, the
duration shall be deemed to be five years and the copyright shall revert to the author
after five years.[19]

Exceptions to copyright infringement in India[edit]

The Copyright Act 1957 exempts certain acts from the ambit of copyright
infringement.[20] While many people tend to use the term fair use to denote copyright
exceptions in India, it is a factually wrong usage. While the US and certain other
countries follow the broad fair use exception, India follows a different approach towards
copyright exceptions.[21] India follows a hybrid approach that allows-

 fair dealing with any copyrighted work for certain specifically mentioned
purposes[22] and
 certain specific activities enumerated in the statute.[23]
While the fair use approach followed in the US can be applied for any kind of uses,
the fair dealing approach followed in India is clearly limited towards the purposes of

1. private or personal use, including research,[24] and education,[25]

2. criticism or review,[26]
3. reporting of current events and current affairs, including the reporting of a lecture
delivered in public.[27]
While the term fair dealing has not been defined anywhere in the Copyright Act 1957,
the concept of 'fair dealing' has been discussed in different judgments, including the
decision of the Supreme Court of India in Academy of General Education v. B. Malini
Mallya (2009) and the decision of the High Court of Kerala in Civic Chandran v.
Ammini Amma.[28]
In September 2016, the Delhi High Court ruled in Delhi University's Rameshwari
Photocopy Service shop case, which sold photocopies of chapters from academic
textbooks was not infringing on their publisher's copyright, arguing that the use of
copyright to "stimulate activity and progress in the arts for the intellectual enrichment of
the public" outweighed its use by the publishers to maintain commercial control of their
property.[10][25] However, in December 2016, the ruling was reversed and taken back to
court, citing that there were "triable issues" in the case.[29]

Remedies available against copyright infringement in India[edit]

The Copyright Act 1957 provides three kinds of remedies - administrative remedies,
civil remedies and criminal remedies.[30] The administrative remedies provided under
the statute include detention of the infringing goods by the customs authorities.[31] The
civil remedies are provided under Chapter XII of the Copyright Act 1957 and the
remedies provided include injunctions, damages and account of profits.[32] The criminal
remedies are provided under Chapter XIII of the statute and the remedies provided
against copyright infringement include imprisonment (up to 3 years) along with a fine
(up to 200,000 Rupees).[33]
Jurisdiction [Place of Suing] Under Copyright Act, 1957 - Recently in 2015 the
Jurisdiction law regarding Copyright Violation has gone a drastic change by the
following judgement of the Hon'ble Supreme Court - Jagdish Singh Khehar and Arun
Mishra, JJ. – Civil Appeal Nos. 10643 – 10644 of 2010 with 4912 of 2015 [arising out
of SLP [c] No. 8253 of 2013], Dated 01/07/2015 – Indian Performing Rights Society
Ltd. Vs. Sanjay Dalia and another - - Copyright Act [14 of 1957], Section 62 – Trade
Marks Act [47 of 1999], Section 134 – Civil Procedure Code Section 20 – Suit for
infringement of Copyright of Trade Mark – Place of suing – Place where plaintiff
resides or carries on business or works for gain – Is an additional forum made
available to plaintiff by Section 62 of 1957 Act and Section 134 of 1999 Act –
Applicability of Section 20 of Civil Procedure Code is not completely ousted thereby – If
cause of action has arisen wholly or in part in place where plaintiff resides or is doing
business suit has to be filed at such place – Plaintiff cannot drag defendant to far off
place under guise that he carries business there also. --- Interpretation of statutes –
Mischief Rule – Construction that suppresses even counter mischief has to be
adopted. – Interpretation of statutes – words notwithstanding anything contained in any
other law – do not always completely exclude applicability of other law. ---- Words and
phrases – "Notwithstanding anything contained --- being in force" – Do not necessarily
exclude applicability of other law.