FAQs on Law & Registration of Copyright in India


What is a Copyright?

Copyright is a form of Intellectual Property, which confers an exclusive right on the Author to do and /or authorise others to do certain acts in relation to:

  • Literary;
  • Dramatic;
  • Musical;
  • Artistic work;
  • Cinematograph films;
  • Photographs;
  • Sound recordings;
  • Computer Programmes; and
  • Performers’ rights.

What is the main object of Copyright?

The main object of the Copyright is to secure the author from the labour, skill, knowledge and capital used and to encourage him for further creativity.

Copyright in What?
  • Copyright subsists only on original work. But original work does not always mean expression of new and novel idea. The important criterion is that the work should originate from the author and not copied substantially from the work of other.

  • There is no Copyright in ideas but only on expression of ideas.

  • It is not an infringement of Copyright to adopt anyone’s idea or concept but how it is created or expressed is a matter of concern.

    COPYRIGHT PROTECTS EXPRESSION OF THOUGHTS AND NOT IDEAS
What are the rights conferred by Copyright?
  • There are many rights conferred by the Copyright Act, 1957 depending upon the nature of work with certain exceptions.
  • Most important kind of rights are to:
    • Reproduce;
    • Translate;
    • Perform;
    • Adapt;
    • Grant license;
    • Assign (can be different - to 2 or more persons for the same work for the similar or different portion of the entire work) the work either exclusively or non exclusively.
    • In case of Computer Software, in addition to the above mentioned rights, the author can sell, give on hire or offer for sale the said Computer Software for any number of times.
  • Broadly the rights can be divided into two:
    • Economic Rights which derives a monetary reward to the author by exploiting the same through publishing, performing, selling, distributing, hiring, licensing in different forms or assigning in favour of some one for a consideration or otherwise; and
    • Moral Rights which allows the author to take certain actions to preserve the personal link between himself and the work.

      • MANY TIMES PERSONS ECONOMICALLY EXPLOITING THE COPYRIGHT IN A PARTICULAR WORK ARE MORE BENEFICIAL THAN THE AUTHOR/CREATOR OF THE WORK
Which is the governing law of Copyright in India?

In India the Copyright is governed by Copyright Act, 1957.

What about Registration of Copyright?
  • It is to be noted that the registration of a Copyright is not mandatory. On the contrary, unlike other Intellectual Properties, the rights under the Copyright work are inherited by original creation.
  • However, it is advisable to protect not all but certain types of Copyrighted work such as Artistic work which can be used as a Trademark (e.g. artistic work of logo, stylized way of writing a Trademark), Computer Programme etc.
  • The procedure for registration of these works is little different. The Copyright Registry is situated at New Delhi where the application is required to be made.

    • THE WORK IS PROTECTED BY THE FACT OF ITS CREATION. HOWEVER, THE WORK SHOULD BE WRITTEN DOWN OR RECORDED
What is the term of a Copyright?

The term of a Copyright is life time of the author and 60 years thereafter from the end of the year of the death of the author.

What is the infringement of a Copyright?

The Copyright is considered as infringed if any person reproduce the Copyrighted Work without any license or consent of the author or in contravention of the license granted or offer for sale or hire or sells or distributes or exhibits any infringing copy of the Copyrighted Work.

What are the remedies available against the infringement of a Copyright?

There are two types of remedies available under the Copyright Act;

  • CIVIL REMEDIES
    • To grant the Temporary or Permanent injunctions;
    • Impounding and destruction of all infringing copies;
    • Actual monetary damages or profits earned from the sale of infringing copies;
  • CRIMINAL REMEDIES
    • The seizure of plates, floppy and other diskettes etc. are impounded and/or destroyed;
    • The infringer is liable to imprisonment and/or penalty up to Rs. 200,000/-.

What is a Related or Neighbouring Rights?

The Related Rights are the rights which protects the legal interest of the certain person who have contributed in making a particular works available to the public.

RELATED RIGHTS ARE TO PROTECT PEOPLE OR ORGANIZATIONS THAT ADD SUBSTANTIAL CREATIVE, TECHNICAL OR ORGANIZATIONAL SKILL IN BRINGING THE WORK TO THE PUBLIC. (Source WIPO)

What types of Rights can be considered as a Related Rights?
  • The Performers like singers, actors, musicians, dancers etc.
  • Producers of Sound Recording; and
  • Broadcasters for broadcasting or communicating the work to the public such as distribution on cable system or on internet.
What are the rights enjoyed by Related Rights holder?

In principal, they are similar rights covered by the Copyrights that are to prevent others from unauthorized exploitation of the performance, recording or broadcasting.

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Do's & Dont's

ALWAYS choose a Trademark which is appealing to eye and ear, short, easy to pronounce and remember as well as easy to spell and write

NEVER choose a Trademark which is descriptive or having direct reference to the quality or characteristics of the Product but suggestive Trademarks are considered be a good Trademarks

ALWAYS choose a Trademark which satisfy the requirements of registration and does not belong to a class of mark prohibited for registration

NEVER use plural words in a Trademark e.g TIC TAC for Candies and not TIC TACS.

ALWAYS conduct a complete availability search for a Trademark. This search should include search at the Trademarks office in India, search in all the available database such as industry magazines /periodicals, Yellow Pages, market resources etc. Legal clearance is always necessary to be obtained to avoid any future disputes.

NEVER modify a Trademark from its possessive form (i.e. with apostrophe 'S) e.g McDONALD’S, DOMINO’S PIZZA, LEVI’S JEANS, and KELLOGG’S for Cereals.

ALWAYS distinguish Trademark from other words in printed matters. In any printed materials like Agreements, Invoice copies, Instruction materials etc., the Trademark should be written either in block letters or within quotation marks or always use appropriate symbols like ® or TM (e.g. in Agreements like Software license, words (marks) like MICROSOFT, INTEL, IBM or LOTUS are always written with appropriate symbols).

NEVER adopt any generic word as a Trademark e.g ASPIRIN

ALWAYS use a Trademark properly with correct style, spelling and in its exact format. It is improper to modify a Trademark (e.g. DOLBY STEREO, MONTBLANC and not MONT BLANC, NESCAFE and not NES CAFE)

NEVER use a Trademark as a noun but use an adjective modifying a noun.

ALWAYS advertise Trademarks rather than Products or Services. This creates a brand loyalty among the consumers. (e.g. COKE for COCA COLA, BAND – AID for first aid dressing from Johnson & Johnson)

NEVER use a Trademark as a verb. Trademarks are for Products or Services and never actions. E.g. it is not XEROXING but Photocopying.

ALWAYS register and maintain registration of the Trademark. It grants many advantages like protection against infringement of trademark, exclusive use of the mark and prevent others from using, applying the said Trademark without proper authority. It is quite necessary to monitor the activities of competitors, their adoption and use of the Trademark.

ALWAYS consider registering a Trademark in all the countries of potential interest.

ALWAYS keep a watch on unauthorized use of identical and/or similar Trademarks and take appropriate action (passing off or infringement as the case may be) at the earliest to prevent such use. Collect as many evidence of unauthorized use as possible.

ALWAYS acknowledge with a footnote, if you are using a Trademark of another party.

ALWAYS make and create awareness among the internal staff about the proper selection and use of a Trademark. Circulation of a note on “do’s” and “don’ts” of Trademark selection and use will be quite useful. Such explanatory and inexpensive brochure can be very effective in creating awareness.

ALWAYS appoint a responsible person within an organization to supervise and co-ordinate the adoption and use of the Trademark. He should be responsible to review advertising, packaging and other documentation for compliance with the basic rules of a Trademark. He may conduct a periodical audit to monitor compliance on all the printed matters including packaging of the Products.

ALWAYS use symbol ® on the shoulder of a mark in case of Registered Trademark (e.g. MICROSOFT® with a phrase “Registered Trademark of Microsoft Corporation”) and TM in case of unregistered Trademarks (e.g.- BAZOOKA™ with a phrase “Trademark of Matshushita Corporation”). Such symbols indicate Trademark rights of an owner in respect of the goods for which it is applied.

It is a criminal offence to indicate an unregistered Trademark as registered Trademark or use of a symbol ®.

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