Disclaimer:
the information provided below is general information and may
not be treated as perfect and accurate and or legal advice.
The advice may be differing from one case to another.
Copyright
is a property right, which authors hold in respect of works which
they have created. As a property right (it is often described being
an "intellectual property"), copyright can be bought, sold,
leased or mortgaged. Copyright confers an exclusive right to exploit
an original work. Copyright covers; literary work, dramatic and musical
work, literary work, computer programs and software are also covered
within the definition of literary work, artistic work, cinematographic
films which include sound track and video films, record-any disc,
tape, perforated roll or other device. There is no copyright in an
idea. The
person who develop a particular work generally the owner of the copyright
in the said work In the case of a work made in the course of employment
or under a contract of service or apprenticeship, the employer shall,
in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, be the first owner
of the copyright.
Gaining
of copyright is automatic and it does not require any registration
under Law. It confers automatically, the moments, when it materialize,
in favour of the said person who materialized it. However, certificate
of registration of copyright and the entries made therein serve
as prima facie evidence in a court of law with reference to
dispute relating to ownership of copyright under the Copyright
Act, 1957.
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. In short
following are the rights:-
to
sell or give on hire, or offer for sale or hire any copy
of the computer program, regardless of whether such copy
has been sold or given on hire on earlier occasions;
In
the case of an artistic work -
To
reproduce the work in any material form including depiction
in three dimensions of a two dimensional work or in two
dimensions of a three dimensional work;
To
communicate the work to the public;
To
issue copies of the work to the public not being copies
already in circulation;
To
include the work in any cinematography film .
To
make any adaptation of the work;
To do, in relation to a translation or an adaptation of
the work, any of the acts specified in relation to the
work in sub-clauses (i) to (v);
To make a copy of the film including a photograph of.
any image forming part thereof;
To
sell or give on hire or offer for sale or hire, any copy
of the film, regardless of whether such copy has been
sold or given on hire on earlier occasions;
To
sell or give on hire or offer for sale or hire, any copy
of the ,sound recording, regardless of whether such copy
has been sold or given on hire on earlier occasions;
To
communicate the sound recording to the public;
For
the purpose of this section, a copy which has been sold once
shall be deemed to be a copy already in circulation.
If published within the life time of the author of a literary
work the term is for the life time of the author plus
60 years.
For
cinematography films, records, photographs, posthumous
publications, anonymous' publication, works of government
and international agencies the term is 60 years from the
beginning of the calendar year following the year in which
the work was published.
For
broadcasting the term is 25 years from the beginning of
the calendar year following the year, in which the broadcast
was made.
The
owner of the copyright in an existing work or prospective owner
of the copyright in a future work may assign to any person the
copyright, either wholly or partially in the following manner:-
for the entire world or for a specific country or territory;
or
for
the full term of copyright or part thereof ; or
relating
to all the rights comprising the copyright or only part
of such rights.
The
assignment of Copyright 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. It is also notable that 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. 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?
Copyright
infringement a cognizable offence. Under the Section 63 and
64 of Copyright Act, 1957, any police officer, not below the
rank of a sub inspector, may, if he is satisfied that an offence
in respect of the infringement of copyright in any work has
been, is being, or is likely to be committed, seize without
warrant, all copies of the work and all plates used for the
purpose of making infringing copies of the work, wherever found,
and all copies and plates so seized shall, as soon as practicable
be produced before a magistrate. If person found to be guilty
of such offence, 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. 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.
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