Copyright

Introduction

Copyright is a right given by the law to creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and producers of cinematograph films and sound recordings. 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.

Copyright ensures certain minimum safeguards of the rights of authors over their creations, thereby protecting and rewarding creativity. Creativity being the keystone of progress, no civilized society can afford to ignore the basic requirement of encouraging the same. Economic and social development of a society is dependent on creativity. The protection provided by copyright to the efforts of writers, artists, designers, dramatists, musicians, architects and producers of sound recordings, cinematograph films and computer software, creates an atmosphere conducive to creativity, which induces them to create more and motivates others to create.

The Copyright Act, 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 protection for ideas, procedures, and methods of operation or mathematical concept.

Copyright comes into existence as soon as a work is created and no formality is required, even filing for copyright is also not required. 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 or infringement and any other dispute arising on copyrighted content.

Why choose us?

We have a team of Legal professionals to guide about Copyright registration, they are experts of the industry, have filed so many copyright applications and represented matters in the registry and courts. The Content is kept confidential and they are capable of rendering all the other required services with most affordable price.

Advantages of having a copyright

  1. Legal protection: Owner of the copyright is owner of various rights arising from it which helps in protecting misuse or infringement of the work.
  2. Prima Facie Evidence: Rights under copyright arises when the work is created, but it is hard to prove in the court of law. Having a registration helps in provides a prima facie evidence in case if the litigation arises. The proof is essential to justify anything in the court of law; hence copyright registration is very beneficial for creators.
  3. Public Record: When the registration of copyright is done, a definite public record is created that helps the original creator to establish his ownership over the said copyright.
  4. Long term life: A copyright provides a long term rights to the owner, as they are valid for a long period of time, In the case of original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, the duration of copyright is the lifetime of the author or artist, and 60 years 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 organizations are protected for a period of 60 years which is counted from the year following the date of publication.
  5. Revenue generation: Copyrights can be revenue generator for the owner, in terms of royalty even without selling the copyrighted content.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does copyright apply to titles and names?

Copyright does not 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.
Software, Computer programs and App may be registered as a computer program under literary works as provided under Section 2(o) of the Copyright Act, 1957. For this purpose applicant is required to submit an application for registration under software category, accompanied with the details required.
After filing application there is a mandatory wait period of 30 days for scrutiny of the work. In case of any objection is there, the Registrar of Copyrights after giving an opportunity of hearing to both the parties, may decide to register the work or otherwise. If no objection is filed the application is examined by the examiners. If any discrepancy is found the applicant is given ordinarily 45 days time to remove the same. Therefore, in may take around 2 to 3 months time in consolidation for registration of any work in the normal course.
Yes, an opportunity of hearing must be given. However, only after hearing, it may be decided to register the work or to reject it. The applicant himself or his/her pleader may appear in the hearing.
Yes, any person aggrieved by the decision of the registrar can apple to Intellectual Property Appellant Board within 3 months of the decision.
Yes, Copyright can protect Painting or Photograph or Sculpture and not only these copyright can protect other work of arts too.
Yes, but not with every artistic work. A NOC from Trademark office may be required in case the artistic work is being capable of use with the goods or services.
There are many things which can’t be protected by Copyright such as Title of Work, Single Word, Slogans, Mathematical formulas, and Recipe etc.
A recipe can’t be protected under copyright laws. However, copyright protection can be granted to a literary expression, explanation or illustration - that accompanies a recipe or formula or a combination of recipes, as in a recipe book/cook book.
A Song is a combination of many works. It includes Lyrics, Sound / Musical composition and Sound / Musical Recording. For a protection on a song, copyright should be filed for every work in separately. Means Lyrics, Sound / Musical Composition and Sound / Musical Recording should be filed in 3 different application.
A video can be protected by filing copyright under the category of cinematographic film.