COPYRIGHT

Under the Copyright Act, Copyright means an exclusive right in case of the following acts:

in the case of a literary, dramatic or musical work, to do and authorise the doing of any of the following acts,   namely:-

• to reproduce the work in any material form;
• to publish the work;
• to perform the work in public;
• to produce, reproduce, perform or publish any translation of the work;
• to communicate the work by radio-diffusion or to communicate to the public by a loud-speaker or any other similar instrument the radio-diffusion of the work;
• to make any adaptation of the work;

in the case of an artistic work, to do or authorise the doing of any of the following acts, namely:-

• to reproduce the work in any material form;
• to publish the work;
• to include the work in any cinematograph film;
• to make any adaptation of the work;

in the case of a cinematograph film, to do or authorise the doing of any of the following acts, namely:-

• to make a copy of the film;
• to cause the film, in so far as it consists of visual images, to be seen in public and, in so far as it consists of sounds, to be heard in public;
• to make any record embodying the recording in any part of the sound track associated with the film by utilising such sound track;
• to communicate the film by radio-diffusion;

in the case of a record, to do or authorise the doing of any of the following acts by utilising the record, namely:-

•  to make any other record embodying the same recording;
•  to cause the recording embodied in the record to be heard in public;
•  to communicate the recording embodied in the record by radio-diffusion.

A copyright exist only where the work is an original work. Hence, in order to claim copyright the creator must show that the work is an original creation.

In order to protect one’s copyright, it is imperative that such a work is registered with the Registrar of Copyright in order to assist the owner of the Copyright to prove his claim to the said work. The Register of Copyrights which is in the Copyright office is deemed to be prima facie evidence of the particulars entered therein and is admissible as evidence in all courts without further prove or production of the original.

When a copyright of the creator is infringed by a third party registration or pending application for registration will assist the owner in suing the third party for infringement.

In conclusion, we advice that a creator of any work should understand the importance of registering his/her copyright in order to enable the said owner to enjoy the fruits of his creation.

Sanchayeeta Das

Associate

The Indian Lawyer