Definition
Law protecting original creative works.
Grants exclusive economic and moral rights to creators of original literary, artistic, and musical works.
Statutory Definition
Copyright Act, 1957.
Etymology & Origin
From 'copy' (the right to multiply copies — from Middle Latin 'copia', abundance, from Latin 'co' + 'ops', wealth) and 'right' (Old English 'riht', what is just or lawful). 'Copyright' — literally the right to make copies — has expanded far beyond reproduction to encompass the full range of exclusive rights in original creative expression. The Copyright Act, 1957 is India's implementation of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
Full Legal Analysis
The Copyright Act, 1957 is India's primary statute governing intellectual property rights in creative works. It grants creators of original literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and cinematographic works exclusive rights — including reproduction, distribution, adaptation, public performance, and broadcasting — for specified periods. The Act also grants rights in sound recordings and computer programs. India is a signatory to the Berne Convention (1886) and the TRIPS Agreement (1994), and the Copyright Act has been amended multiple times to comply with international obligations — most significantly in 2012.
The essential categories of works protected under Section 13 of the Copyright Act are: (1) original literary works (including computer programs, tables, and compilations); (2) dramatic works; (3) musical works; (4) artistic works; (5) cinematograph films; and (6) sound recordings. The term of copyright for most works is the author's lifetime plus 60 years. For cinematograph films and sound recordings, the term is 60 years from the year of publication. The 'originality' requirement for copyright protection is low — it requires only that the work originated with the author (some minimal creative expression) and was not copied from another work; it does not require novelty or artistic merit.
Copyright infringement (Section 51) occurs when a person does anything that only the copyright owner has the exclusive right to do, without licence or within a permitted exception. The Act provides for both civil remedies (injunction, damages, delivery up of infringing copies, accounts of profits) and criminal penalties (Section 63: minimum 6 months imprisonment and fine). The fair use/fair dealing exception (Section 52) permits certain uses without infringement — including research, private study, criticism, review, news reporting, and educational use — subject to the 'fair dealing' standard.
The Supreme Court laid down the foundational test for copyright infringement in India: (1) copyright subsists in the expression of an idea, not in the idea itself — an idea, theme, or plot cannot be copyrighted; (2) to constitute infringement, the defendant must have copied not merely the idea but a substantial part of the original expression; (3) the test is whether a lay observer with reasonable knowledge would recognise the later work as a copy of the earlier. The Court emphasised that the question is not similarity of idea but substantial similarity of expression. This 'expression vs. idea' dichotomy is the foundational principle of all copyright law.
The 2012 Amendment to the Copyright Act made significant changes, particularly relating to: (1) authors' rights — assignment of copyright to producers of films and sound recordings does not deprive the author/lyricist/composer of royalty rights; even after assignment, the original author retains the right to receive royalties for certain uses; (2) exception for persons with disabilities — a broader fair dealing exception for creating accessible formats for visually impaired persons; and (3) digital rights management — prohibiting circumvention of technological protection measures applied to copyrighted works.
For advocates in copyright matters, the central questions are: (1) Does the work attract copyright — is it original and in a protectable category? (2) Who is the first owner of the copyright — the author (general rule), the employer (for works made in the course of employment), or the commissioning party (for specific categories)? (3) Is the alleged use an infringement — does it reproduce a substantial part of the expression, or merely use the underlying idea? (4) Is a fair dealing exception available? (5) What remedies are appropriate — injunction, damages, or accounts of profits?
This Term in Indian Statutes
Copyright Act, 1957, 1957
"Independently of the author's copyright and even after the assignment either wholly or partially of the said copyright, the author of a work shall have the right to claim authorship of the work as well as the right to restrain or claim damages in respect of any distortion, mutilation, modification or other act in relation to the said work, if such distortion, mutilation, modification or other act would be prejudicial to his honour or reputation."
Moral rights — persist after assignment; cannot be contracted away; R.G. Anand expression vs. idea test governs infringement; fair dealing exception under Section 52
