Copyright laws in India

 Copy right laws in India

Copyrights are certain rights provided to certain individuals  by the authority of law these individuals can be termed as  the creators of artistic musical , dramatic and literary works copyright is a form of intellectual property whose protection is granted to the original works of  authorship like  literary , musical dramatic technical  works here the term original means such work which  has not been copied from any other source. Copyright can be termed as exclusive right vested in the owner of the copyright by virtue of section 14 of the act these rights can only be exercised by the owner of the copyright or any other person duly authorized by the owner these rights include right of adaptation, right of reproduction right of publication right to make translations, communication to public etc.

Copyright act 1957

The copyright act 1957 governs the subject matter of copyright in India it was the first copyright legislation in India after independence and the law has been amended six times As per section 17 of the act the author or creator of  the work is the first owner  of such copyright under the copyright act 1957 the term ‘work'  includes  artistic works like sculpturing painting drawing it also include dramatic and literary works such as cinematography music sound recording etc. 

Registration of copyright

Under Indian law it is not mandatory to register the copyright as it is a mere record of the fact and such registration does not confer new rights this view has been upheld by various indian courts in their judgements.

There is a dire need for the registration of copyright in India despite the fact that it is not mandatory to register the copyright in India and it is protectable according to the international copy right order 1999, it is well advisable to register the copyright as the registration certificate act as a “proof of ownership”  in courts and by the government machinery.

Enforceability  

The copyright act 1957 can be enforced in both civil and criminal courts it not only provides  civil remedies in form of injunctions damages and rendition of accounts but also makes the situations of copyright infringement a cognizable offence which may incur  punishment of imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but may extend up to 3 years and  with a fine which shall not be less than 50,000 and may extend up to 200,000. 

The copyright act 1957 also gives powers to police authorities to register the complaint (FIR) and act on it’s own in searching the premises of the accused  and seize the material without any intervention of the courts.

Duration 

The duration for copyright is the lifetime of author or 60 years counted from the year of death of the author in case of original artistic musical or literary works . In case of cinematography sound recordings posthumous publications  works of government anonymous publications and works of international  organizations  are protected for a term of 60 years counted from the year  of publication.