Copyright is a form of legal protection provided y statutes and is granted to authors of ‘original works’. Through copyright, the author is safe and protects his work. Copyright law prohibits bookstores from making copies and selling them to consumers without the permission of the copyright owner. Not only do customers buy the book, but they also buy the author’s intellectual property, the story of the book, the characters described therein, and all the related settings.
The ultimate aim of the writer is to deliver the right or desired message.
Writing mistakes may cause people to doubt that authority.
Our team will check for the basic punctuation errors and rectify them.
What exactly is protected by the Copyright Act of 1957? Original literary, dramatic, musical, and creative works, cinematograph films, and sound recordings are shielded from unlawful uses under the Copyright Act of 1957. In contrast to patents, copyright safeguards expressions rather than ideas.
We think that if your work is fiction, there is no immediate need to register a copyright. According to The Indian Copyright Act 1957, you have an exclusive right to the information in your book as soon as it is written and published.
Regarding copyright law, there are only two absolutes: If the creative work is not protected by copyright, you are free to use it in whatever you like. That includes anything released before 1923 that is in the public domain or has a Creative Commons licence.
Does obtaining an ISBN imply that my work is protected by copyright? No. Getting an ISBN does not automatically make a book copyrighted. A sole legal right to print, publish, perform, or record literary works belongs to the original work’s author.
What is the scope of protection in the Copyright Act,1957?
The Copyright Act of 1957 protects original literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works and cinematograph films and sound recordings from unauthorized uses. Unlike the case with patents, copyright protects the expressions and not the ideas. There is no copyright in an idea.
Does copyright apply to titles and names?
Copyright does not ordinarily protect titles by themselves or names, short word combinations, slogans, short phrases, methods, plots or factual information. Copyright does not protect ideas or concepts. To get the protection of copyright a work must be original.
What is a work of joint authorship?
“Work of joint authorship” means 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 copyright assignable?
Yes. 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.
What is the mode of assigning copyright?
It shall be in writing signed by the assignor or by his duly authorised agent. It shall identify the specific works and specify the rights assigned and the duration and territorial extent of such assignment. It shall 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 shall be subject to revision, extension or termination on terms mutually agreed upon by the parties.
Does an assignment lapse automatically?
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 shall be deemed to have lapsed after the expiry of the said period unless otherwise specified in the assignment.
What will be the period of assignment if not specifically stated in the assignments?
If the period of assignment is not stated, it shall be deemed to be five years from the date of assignment.
What will be the territorial extent of the assignment if not specified in the assignment?
If the territorial extent of assignment of the rights is not specified, it shall be presumed to extend within the whole of India.
Can an author relinquish copyright and, if so, how?
The author of a work may relinquish all or any of the rights comprising the copyright in the work by giving notice in the prescribed form to the Registrar of Copyrights.
What will be the period of assignment if not specifically stated in the assignments?
If the period of assignment is not stated, it shall be deemed to be five years from the date of assignment.
What will be the territorial extent of the assignment if not specified in the assignment?
If the territorial extent of assignment of the rights is not specified, it shall be presumed to extend within the whole of India.
Can an author relinquish copyright and, if so, how?
The author of a work may relinquish all or any of the rights comprising the copyright in the work by giving notice in the prescribed form to the Registrar of Copyrights.
What are the rights in the case of a literary work?
In the case of a literary work (except computer programme), copyright means the exclusive right
To reproduce the work
To issue copies of the work to the public
To perform the work in public
To communicate the work to the public.
To make cinematograph film or sound recording in respect of the work
To make any translation of the work
To make any adaptation of the work.
Is translation of an original work also protected by copyright?
Yes. All the rights of the original work apply to a translation also.
What is an adaptation?
Adaptation involves the preparation of a new work in the same or different form based upon an already existing work. The Copyright Act defines the following acts as adaptations:
Conversion of a dramatic work into a non dramatic work
Conversion of a literary or artistic work into a dramatic work
Re-arrangement of a literary or dramatic work
Depiction in a comic form or through pictures of a literary or dramatic work
Transcription of a musical work or any act involving re-arrangement or alteration of an existing work.
The making of a cinematograph film of a literary or dramatic or musical work is also an adaptation.
Is there any copyright over news?
No. There is no copyright over news. However, there is copyright over the way in which a news item is reported.
Is copyright protected in perpetuity?
No. It is protected for a limited period of time.
What is the term of protection of copyright?
The general rule is that copyright lasts for 60 years. In the case of original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works the 60-year period is counted from the year following the death of the author. In the case of cinematograph films, sound recordings, photographs, posthumous publications, anonymous and pseudonymous publications, works of government and works of international organisations, the 60-year period is counted from the date of publication.
What are the moral rights of an author?
The author of a work has the right to claim authorship of the work and to restrain or claim damages in respect of any distortion, mutilation, modification or other acts in relation to the said work which is done before the expiration of the term of copyright if such distortion, mutilation, modification or other act would be prejudicial to his honour or reputation. Moral rights are available to the authors even after the economic rights are assigned.
Do the author’s moral rights remain after assignment of copyright?
Yes. The moral rights are independent of the author’s copyright and remains with him even after assignment of the copyright.
What is the proof of the authorship of a work?
Where, in the case of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, a name purporting to be that of the author or the publisher appears on copies of the work as published, or, in the case of an artistic work appeared on the work where it was made, the person whose name so appears or appeared shall, in any proceeding in respect of copyright in such work, be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to be the author or the publisher of the work, as the case may be.
What are the rights of owner over infringing copies and equipments used for making infringing copies?
All infringing copies of any work in which copyright subsists and all plates used or intended to be used for the production of such infringing copies shall be deemed to be the property of the owner of the copyright.
