Copyright
Copyright  is a right given by the law to creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and producers of cinematographic 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.

Copyright is the legal protection given to the creator of an original literary or artistic work. It is the exclusive right granted by the law to creator of such original work, to do, authorize, or prohibit certain acts in relation to such work, there by protecting and rewarding creativity.

Rights Conferred by Registration
In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. Under Indian law, registration is not required either for acquiring copyright or for enforcing it in an infringement action. However, registration has evidentiary value in a court of law with reference to dispute relating to ownership of copyright.

Author of Copyright
Under the copyright law, the creator of the original expression in a work is its author. The author is also the owner of copyright, unless there is a written agreement by which the author assigns the copyright to another person or entity, such as a publisher. In cases of works made for hire, the provider of the work is considered to be the author.

Filing and Prosecuting Copyright Applications
An application for copyright on Form-IV accompanied by four copies of the work is to be made on Form IV ( Including Statement of Particulars and Statement of Further Particulars) along with the prescribed fee at Copyright Office of the Department of Education, New Delhi. The Copyright Office initially provides a filing number and filing date and issues a filing receipt. Thereafter the application is formally examined by the Office. Defects will be communicated to the applicant. Once the application is found to be in order it is accepted and the Copyright Office issues the registration certificate.

Duration of Registration
The duration granted for works of copyright varies depending on the type of work. Literary or musical works or artistic works, other than photographs, have a life span, which extends for the life of the author and 60 years from the end of the year in which the author dies. However, if the work has not been published, performed, or offered for sale or broadcast during the life of the author, the copyright protection shall continue for a period of 60 years from the end of the year in which any of these acts are done relating to the work.

Cinematograph films, photographs and computer programs are protected for 60 years from the end of the year in which the work is made available to the public with the consent of the owner of the copyright or published, or, failing such an event, for 60 years from the end of the year in which the work is made. Sound recordings are protected for 60 years from the end of the year in which the recording is first published.

In the case of anonymous or pseudonymous works, the copyright is for 60 years from the end of the year in which the work is made available to the public with the consent of the owner of the copyright or from the end of the year in which it is reasonable to presume that the author died, which ever term is shorter.

Use of the "©" Symbol
Anyone who claims copyrights in a work can use copyright notice to alert the public of the claim. It is not necessary to have a registration to use the designations though it is highly advisable to incorporate a copyright notice like the symbol, letter "c" in a circle or the word "Copyright" followed by name of copyright owner and year of first publication.

Remedies For Infringement
It is the sole responsibility of the owner to see that his copyright is not being infringed upon by someone else. It is the owner's duty to file a suit of infringement against the infringer. The reliefs which may be usually awarded in such a suit are :
  • Injunctons whether interim or final.
  • Damages.
Criminal action also can be taken on the basis of copyright registration. The minimum punishment for infringement of copyright is imprisonment for six months with the minimum fine of Rs. 50,000/-. In the case of a second and subsequent conviction the minimum punishment is imprisonment for one year and fine of Rs. one lakh.

International Copyright Protection
India is a member of both Berne and Universal Conventions and Indian law extends protection to all copyrighted works originating from any of the convention countries. Foreign works first published in a country which is a member of either of the Conventions would be accorded the same copyright protection in India as Indian works without undergoing any formalities, on the assumption that the home country accords reciprocity to Indian works.

Exclusive Rights
Several exclusive rights typically attach to the holder of a copyright:
  • To produce copies or reproductions of the work and to sell those copies (including, typically, electronic copies)
  • To import or export the work
  • To create derivative works (works that adapt the original work)
  • To perform or display the work publicly
  • To sell or assign these rights to others
  • To transmit or display by means of digital audio transmission (XM Satellite Radio, Sirius)
The phrase "exclusive right" means that only the copyright holder is free to exercise the attendant rights, and others are prohibited using the work without the consent of the copyright holder. Copyright is often called a "negative right", as it serves to prohibit people (e.g. readers, viewers, or listeners, and primarily publishers and would be publishers) from doing something, rather than permitting people (e.g. authors) to do something. In this way it is similar to the unregistered design right in English law and European law. The rights of the copyright holder also permit him/her to not use or exploit their copyright for its duration. This means an author can choose to exploit their copyright for some of the duration and then not for the rest, vice versa, or entirely one or the other.

There is however a critique which rejects this assertion as being based on a philosophical interpretation of copyright law, and is not universally shared. There is also debate on whether copyright should be considered a property right or a moral right. Many argue that copyright does not exist merely to restrict third parties from publishing ideas and information, and that defining copyright purely as a negative right is incompatible with the public policy objective of encouraging authors to create new works and enrich the public domain.

The right to adapt a work means to transform the way in which the work is expressed. Examples include developing a stage play or film script from a novel; translating a short story; and making a new arrangement of a musical work.

Copyright shall subsist throughout India in the following classes of works :-
  • Original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works,
  • Cinematograph  films,
  • Records.
The rights vary according to the class of work. Copyright also subsists in translations, abridgements or compilations of such works, provided the permission of the Copyright holder is obtained. Computer programmes are considered as literary works and are protected under the Copyright Act. There is no copyright in an idea.

Copyright shall not subsist in any work specified above unless :-
  • In the case of a published work, the work is first published in India, or where the work is at the date of such publication, or in a case where the author was dead at that date, was at the time of his death, a citizen of India;
  • In the case of an unpublished work other than an architectural work of art, the author is at the date of the making of the work a citizen of India or domiciled in India; and
  • In the case of an architectural work of art, the work is located in India.
  • In the case of a work of joint authorship, the conditions conferring copyright specified above must be satisfied by all the authors of the work.
  • The above conditions are not applicable to international copyrights and works of certain international organizations.
Copyright shall not subsist :-
  • In any cinematographic film if a substantial part of the film is an infringement of the copyright in any other work;
  • In any record made in respect of a literary, dramatic or musical work, if in making the record, copyright in such work has been infringed.
  • The copyright in a cinematographic film or a record shall not affect the separate copyright in any work in respect of which or a substantial part of which, the film, or as the case may be, the record is made.
  • In the case of an architectural work of art, copyright shall subsist only in the artistic character and design and shall not extend to processes or methods of construction.
  • Special provision regarding Copyright in designs registered or Capable of being registered under the Indian Patents and Designs Act, 1911
  • Copyright shall not subsist under this Act in any design which is registered under the Indian Patents and Designs Act, 1911.
  • Copyright in any design, which is capable of being registered under the Indian Patents and Designs Act, 1911, but which has not been so registered, shall cease as soon as any article to which the design has been applied has been produced more than fifty times by an industrial process by the owner of the copyright or, with his license, by any other person.
  • No copyright except as provided in this Act
  • No person shall be entitled to copyright or any similar right in any work, whether published or unpublished, otherwise than under and in accordance with the provisions of this Act or of any other law for the time being in force, but nothing in this section shall be construed as abrogating any right or jurisdiction to restrain a breach of trust or confidence.