CONCEPT OF COPYRIGHT
According to World Intellectual Property Organisation, “ Copyright (or author’s right) is a legal term used to describe the rights that creators have over their literary and artistic works. Works covered by copyright range from books, music, paintings, sculpture, and films, to computer programs, databases, advertisements, maps, and technical drawings.”
HOW DID THE CONCEPT OF COPYRIGHT EVOLVE IN INDIA?
The origins of copyright law in India may be traced back to the rule of the East India Company in 1847. At the time, the work was not automatic, and registration with the Home Office was required to enforce the copyright. The duration of copyright was extended to the author’s lifetime plus seven years post-mortem. In 1914, a new copyright statute was enacted in India, containing the following changes:
In the event of a copyright violation, criminal consequences will be imposed.
It enlarged the definition of copyright and redefined it as a “sole right” in which the author has the only right to reproduce, alter, make, or publish a translation of his or her work.
The 1914 Act remained in effect until the advent of a new administration.
CONCEPT OF INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT
When someone uses the copyright protected work of the original owner of any work, such as a topic of a book, an essay, the lyrics of a song, etc., without the owner’s consent, the owner’s copyright is deemed infringed. Furthermore, if anything is protected by copyright, it cannot be generally lawfully made available to the public in any way, whether digital or otherwise, without the consent of the person or body holding the copyright, such as a publishing company or corporation.
REMEDIES FOR THE INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT
n the event of a copyright infringement, there are three sorts of remedies available:
- Civil remedies
Civil remedies include injunctions, profit restitution, delivery of infringing copies of copyright material, and conversion damages.
- Criminal remedies
In criminal cases, the accused may be imprisoned or fined, or both.
- Administrative remedies
Administrative remedies include petitioning the Registrar of Copyrights office to prohibit the importation of infringing copies into India if the infringement is caused by such importation, and the infringing copies must be handed to the owner of the copyright.
CASES OF INDIAN JUDICIARY RELATED TO COPYRIGHT
The issue in Eastern Book Company v Navin J.Desai was whether there was any copyright in the reporting of a court’s verdict. The Delhi High Court stated: It is not contested that a work prepared or published under the direction or supervision of any Court, tribunal, or other judicial authority in India is a Government work under Section 2(k) of the Copyright Act. The replication or publishing of any decision or order of a court, tribunal, or other judicial body under section 52(q) does not constitute a violation of the government’s copyright in these works. As a result, it is apparent that anybody may replicate and distribute government work, including a court’s decision or order.
The Delhi High Court held in Godrej Soaps (P) Ltd v Dora Cosmetics Co that where the carton was designed for valuable consideration by a person in the course of his employment for and on behalf of the plaintiff and the defendant had led no evidence in his favour, the plaintiff is the assignee and the legal owner of copyright in the carton, including the logo.
THE INDIAN VIEWPOINT ON COPYRIGHT PROTECTION
In India, copyright is protected under the Copyright Act of 1957. It provides copyright protection in two ways:
- Economic rights to the author and
- Moral rights to the author.
CONCLUSION
The provisions of the two enactments described above demonstrate that copyright protection in India is robust and effective enough to safeguard the concerned person’s copyright. The protection applies not just to the old understanding of copyright, but also to its current aspect. Thus, online copyright concerns are properly safeguarded, but not in a clear and explicit manner.
REFERENCES
- https://www.wipo.int/copyright/en/
- https://www.legalserviceindia.com/article/l195-Copyright-Law-in-India.html
- https://blog.ipleaders.in/copyright-intellectual-property-rights/
Aishwarya Says:
I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.
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In the year 2021, we wrote about 1000 Inspirational Women In India, in the year 2022, we would be featuring 5000 Start Up Stories.