Copyright Registration

The Copyright subsists throughout the India in the following classes of works which are as follows:

• Original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works;
• Cinematograph films; and
• Sound recordings

Any work which is falling under any of the categories as mentioned above and the said work is seeking to be copyrighted needs to be original; Though, it is not necessary that the said work should posses some original thought or idea. The law is only concerned with the originality of the expression of thought.

Individuals who are legally accountable for the submission of a copyright application are as follows:

• The Author – This can either be an individual who has invented the work or the boss or for whomever the work was invented, in case of “made for hire” work.
• The Copyright Claimant – This can either be the author or an organization or an individual who has received ownership rights from the author either via written contract/assignment/will or any other transfer of rights.
• The Authorized Agent – Any individual or institution duly authorized to perform on author’s behalf, other copyright claimant or a holder of exclusive rights.
• The Owner of Exclusive Rights – An owner of any of the exclusive rights that form a copyright to be transferred and separately owned.

A copyright registered grants protection to the right holder/creator and his/her representatives for the works and prevents such works from being copied or reproduced without the prior consent.

The creator/originator of a work can prohibit or he/she/it can authorize anyone to:

• reproduce the said work in any form, such as prints, sound, video, etc;
• use the said work for a public performance, such as a play or a musical work;
• make copies or recordings of the work, like via compact discs, cassettes, etc.;
• broadcasting it in various forms; or
• translating the same to various other languages

Yes, the Copyright Act, 1957 grants the author “special rights,” which exist independently and solely with the author’s copyright, and subsists with him/her even after the assignment (wholly or partially) of the said copyright. There are following right granted to the author which are as follows:-

• Right to claim authorship of the work; and
• Right to restrain or claim damages with respect to any distortion, mutilation, modification, or other act in
• Relation to the said work if such distortion, mutilation, modification, or other act would be prejudicial to.
• his honor or repute

These are the special rights which can also be exercised by the legal representatives/heirs of the author.

The right against the distortion is available even after the expiry of the term of a copyright after the recent amendment as earlier, it was available only against the distortion, mutilation etc. done during the term of copyright of the work.

The author’s moral right as a right against the distortion is available even after the expiry of the term of the copyright.

As per the Copyright Act, the “work of joint authorship” means a work produced by with the collaboration of two or more authors in which the contribution of one author is not different from the contribution of the other authors. Hence, the Act recognizes the joint authorship. The Joint authors fully enjoy all of the rights granted under the Act. The tenure of copyright of a work in case joint authorship is calculated with respect to the author that dies last.

An assignment of the copyright shall be valid only if it is reduced to writing duly signed by the assignor or by his/her authorized agent.

Following are the special circumstances under which a copyright can be used without a license:

• For the purpose of private study, research or entertainment etc.
• Quoting for an appropriate portion from the Copyright work
• Reporting of the current events in newspapers, magazines or radios/television etc.
• Translation or reproducing it in small quantity for use by the teachers or scientific researches
• Performance free of charge
• Copying, drawing, photographing or recording an artistic work which is placed or displayed in an outdoor public space
• Usage by government officials in performance of their duties

The duration of protection for the copyright works varies with the type of work and the date of creation: