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. Copyright assumes supreme importance for authors, artists, architects, composers, music production companies and producers, film production companies, computer programmers and designers Before the signing and the subsequent introduction of the 1957 Act, the copyright laws of India were governed by the Copyright Act of 1914. This act was linked to the British Copyright of 1911 to India. Most of the laws contained in the Copyright Act of 1957 are based on the copyright law of the United Kingdom--specifically the Copyright Act of 1956. Indias copyright laws comply with most international conventions and treaties dealing with copyright protection. The country is a member of the Berne Convention of 1886, the Universal Copyright Convention of 1951 and the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement of 1995--or TRIPS. The country is not a signatory to the Rome Convention of 1961, but the laws regarding the copyrights in the country still comply with the convention. The Copyright Act, 1957 protects original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and cinematograph films and sound recordings from unauthorized uses. The present article is an attempt to highlight major areas of the copyright law in India. It does not cover the entire law but is an endeavour to make the law and the process easier to understand from perspective of man with or without legal background. 1. Definitions a) Work Classes of works for which copyrights protection is available in India · Original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works; · Cinematograph films; and · Sound recordings. b) Artistic work · a painting, a sculpture, a drawing (including a diagram, map, chart or plan), an engraving or a photograph, whether or not any such work possesses artistic quality; · a work of architecture; and · any other work of artistic craftsmanship. c) Musical work Musical work means a work consisting of music and includes any graphical notation of such work but does not include any words or any action intended to be sung, spoken or performed with the music. d) Sound recording Sound recording means a recording of sounds from which sounds may be produced regardless of the medium on which such recording is made or the method by which the sounds are produced. A phonogram and a CD-ROM are sound recordings. e) Cinematograph film Cinematograph film means any work of visual recording on any medium produced through a process from which a moving image may be produced by any means and includes a sound recording accompanying such visual recording and cinematograph shall be construed as including any work produced by any process analogous to cinematography including video films. f) Coverage for Government Work The copyright of 1957 also calls for protection of government work. Government work, according to the act, refers to all works that are made, published and made under the direction or control of the government, the legislature, the courts, tribunal and other judicial authority. g) Author Ordinarily the author is the first owner of copyright in a work. · In the case of a literary or dramatic work the author, i.e., the person who creates the work. · In the case of a musical work, the composer. · In the case of a cinematograph film, the producer. · In the case of a sound recording, the producer. · In the case of a photograph, the photographer. · In the case of a computer generated work, the person who causes the work to be created. 2. Assignment of copyright Assignment of Copyrights can be made in whole or in part either generally or subject to limitations and either for the whole term of the copyright or any part thereof. In other words, you may assign away 50%, 1%, or 99% of your interest in that Copyright. Assignments may be integrated into a contract, or may be drafted separately. a) 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. b) Period of assignment If the period of assignment is not stated, it shall be deemed to be five years from the date of assignment. c) Assignment and License • A license is an authorization of an act which, without such authorization becomes infringement. • In essence a license is a grant of authority to do a particular thing which otherwise could not have been done. • It amounts to a consent or permission granted by the owner of copyright that the licensee could carry out a restricted act which but for such permission could have been an infringement • Owner of copyright in an existing work or future work ‘may grant any interest in the right by license in writing signed by him or his duly authorized agent’ (S. 30) Transfer of ownership of the rights Assignment leaves nothing in the grantor qua the right assigned bestowing in the grantee the whole of the legal interest in the right Capacity to sue for infringement A licensee cannot sue for infringement of copyright unless he joins the copyright owner as a co plaintiff in the action. Section 61 of the Act provides that in every civil suit or other proceeding regarding infringement of copyright instituted by an exclusive licensee, the owner of copyright shall be made a defendant, unless the court otherwise directs. In such situations the owner of the copyright can dispute the claim of exclusive license. This provision thus protects the interests of the right holders. 3. Examples of subsistence/rights a) Rights in a musical sound recording A sound recording generally comprises various rights For example, the lyricist who wrote the lyrics, the composer who set the music, the singer who sang the song, the musician (s) who performed the background music,. It is necessary to obtain the licences from each and every right owner in the sound recording. This would, inter alia, include the producer of the sound recording, the lyricist who wrote the lyrics, and the musician who composed the music. b) Owner of copyright in works by journalists during the course of their employment In the case of a literary, dramatic or artistic work made by the author in the course of his employment by the proprietor of a newspaper, magazine or similar periodical under a contract of service or apprenticeship, for the purpose of publication in a newspaper, magazine or similar periodical, the said proprietor shall, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, be the first owner of the copyright in the work in so far as the copyright relates to the publication of the work in any newspaper, magazine or similar periodical, or to the reproduction of the work for the purpose of its being so published, but in all other respects the author shall be the first owner of the copyright in the work. c) Owner of the copyright in the case of a work produced for valuable consideration at the instance of another personIn the case of a photograph taken, or a painting or portrait drawn, or an engraving or a cinematograph film made, for valuable consideration at the instance of any person, such person shall, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, be the first owner of the copyright therein. 4. Adaptation In the law of copyrights the exclusive right of the author of a literary project to reproduce, publish, and sell his or her work, which is granted by statute, adaptation refers to the creation of a derivative work, which is protected by copyright laws. A derivative work involves a recasting or translation process that incorporates preexisting material capable of protection by copyright. An adaptation is copyrighted if it meets the requirement of originality, in the sense that the author has created it by his or her own proficiency, labor, and judgment without directly copying or subtly imitating the preexisting material. Mere minor alterations will not suffice The Copyright Act defines the following acts as adaptations: Ø Conversion of a dramatic work into a non dramatic work Ø Conversion of a literary or artistic work into a dramatic work Ø Re-arrangement of a literary or dramatic work Ø Depiction in a comic form or through pictures of a literary or dramatic work Ø 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.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Feb 2014 05:33:47 +0000
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