COPYRIGHT ACT 1957 [14 of 1957] An Act to amend and consolidate the law relating to copyright be it enacted by Parliament in the Eighth Year of the Republic of India as follows: -

I. PRELIMINARY

1. Short title extent and commencement

(1) This Act may be called the Copyright Act 1957.

(2) It extends to the whole of India.

(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may by notification in the Official Gazette appoint.

3. Meaning of publication

For the purposes of this Act publication means making a work available to the public by issue of copies or by communicating the work to the public.

4. When work not deemed to be published or performed in public

Except in relation to infringement of copyright a work shall not be deemed to be published or performed in public if published or performed in public without the licence of the owner of the copyright.

5. When work deemed to be first published in India

For purposes of this Act a work published in India shall be deemed to be first published in India notwithstanding that it has been published simultaneously in some other country unless such other country provides a shorter term of copyright for such work; and a work shall be deemed to be published simultaneously in India and the publication in such other country does not exceed thirty days or such other period as the Central Government may in relation to any specified country determine.

6. Certain disputes to be decided by copyright board

If any question arises -

(a) whether a work has been published or as to the date on which a work was published for the purposes of Chapter V or

7. Nationality of author where the making of unpublished work is extended over considerable period

8. Domicile of corporations

For the purposes of this Act a body corporate shall be deemed to be domiciled in India if it is incorporated under any law in force in India.

Section 9 to Section 11 - MISSING

12. Powers and procedure of the Copyright Board

(1) The copyright board shall subject to any rules that may be made under this Act have power to regulate its own procedure, including the fixing of places and times of its sittings :

Explanation: In this sub-section "zone" means a zone specified in section 15 of the States Reorganisation Act 1956 (37 of 1956).

Provided that the Copyright Board shall ordinarily hear any proceeding instituted before it under this Act within the zone in which at the time of the institution of the proceeding the person instituting the proceeding actually and voluntarily resides or carries on business or personally works for gain.

(2) The Copyright Board may exercise and discharge its powers and functions through Benches constituted by the Chairman of the Copyright Board from amongst its members each Bench consisting of not less than three members :

Provided that if the Chairman is of opinion that any matter of importance is required to be heard by a larger bench he may refer the matter to a special bench consisting of five members.

(3) If there is a difference of opinion among the members of the Copyright Board or any Bench thereof in respect of any matter coming before it for decision under this Act the opinion of the majority shall prevail:

Provided that where there is no such majority the opinion of the Chairman shall prevail.

4) The Chairman may authorise any of its members to exercise any of the powers conferred on it by Section 74 and any order made or act done in exercise of those powers by the member so authorised shall be deemed to be the order or act as the case may be of the Board.

(5) No member of the Copyright Board shall take part in any proceedings before the Board in respect of any matter in which he has a personal interest.

(6) No act done or proceeding taken by the Copyright Board under this Act shall be questioned on the ground merely of the existence of any vacancy in or defect in the constitution of the Board.

(7) The Copyright Board shall be deemed to be a civil court for the purposes of Sections 345 and 346 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 (2 of 1974) and all proceedings before the Board shall be deemed to be judicial proceedings within the meaning of Sections 193 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).

13. Works in which copyright subsists

(1) Subject to the provisions of this section and the other provisions of this Act copyright shall subsist throughout India in the following classes of works that is to say -

(a) original literary dramatic musical and artistic works

(b) cinematograph film; and

(2) Copyright shall not subsist in any work specified in sub-section (1) other than a work to which the provisions of section 40 or section 41 apply unless -

(i) in the case of a published work the work is first published in India or where the work is first published outside India the author is at the date of such publication or in a case where the author was dead at that date was at the time of his death a citizen of India;

(ii) in the case of an unpublished work other than an architectural work of art the author is at the date of the making of the work a citizen of India or domiciled in India; and

(iii) in the case of an architectural work of art the work is located in India.

Explanation : In the case of a work of joint authorship the conditions conferring copyright specified in this sub-section shall be satisfied by all the authors of the work.

(3) Copyright shall not subsist –

(a) in any cinematograph film if a substantial part of the film is an infringement of the copyright in any other work;

(b) in any record made in respect of a literary dramatic or musical work if in making the record copyright in such work has been infringed.

(4) The copyright in a cinematograph film or a record shall not affect the separate copyright in any work in respect of which or a substantial part of which the film or as the case may be the record is made.

(5) In the case of an architectural work of art copyright shall subsist only in the artistic character and design and shall not extend to processes or methods of construction.

14. Meaning of copyright

For the purposes of this Act copyright means the exclusive right subject to the provisions of this Act to do or authorise the doing of any of the following acts in respect of a work or any substantial part thereof namely -

(a) in the case of a literary dramatic or musical work not being a computer programme -

(i) to reproduce the work in any material form including the storing of it in any medium by electronic means;

(ii) to issue copies of the work to the public not being copies already in circulation;

(iii) to perform the work in public or communicate it to the public;

(iv) to make any cinematograph film or sound recording in respect of the work;

(v) to make any translation of the work;

(vi) to make any adaptation of the work;

(vii) 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 (vi);

(b) in the case of a computer programme –

(i) to do any of the acts specified in clause (a);

(ii) to sell or give on hire or offer for sale or hire any copy of the computer programme regardless of whether such copy has been sold or given on hire on earlier occasions;

(i) 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;

(ii) to communicate the work to the public;

(iii) to issue copies of the work to the public not being copies already in circulation;

(iv) to include the work in any cinematograph film;

(v) to make any adaptation of the work;

(vi) to do in relation to an adaptation of the work any of the acts specified in relation to the work in sub-clauses (i) to (iv);

(d) in the case of a cinematograph film –

(i) to make a copy of the film including a photograph of any image forming part thereof;

(ii) 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;

(iii) to communicate the film to the public;

(e) in the case of a sound recording -

(i) to make any other sound recording embodying it;

(ii) 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;

(iii) to communicate the sound recording to the public.

Explanation : For the purposes of this section a copy which has been sold once shall be deemed to be a copy already in circulation.

15. Special provision regarding copyright in designs registered or capable of being registered under the Designs Act 1911

(1) Copyright shall not subsist under this Act in any design which is registered under the Designs Act 1911 (2 of 1911).

(2) Copyright in any design which is capable of being registered under the Designs Act 1911 (2 of 1911) but which has not been so registered shall cease as soon as any article to which the design has been applied has been reproduced more than fifty times by an industrial process by the owner of the copyright or with his licence by any other person.

16. No copyright except as provided in this Act

No person shall be entitled to copyright or any similar right in any work whether published or unpublished otherwise than under and in accordance with the provisions of this Act or of any other law for the time being in force but nothing in this section shall be construed as abrogating any right or jurisdiction to restrain a breach of trust or confidence.

17. First owner of copyright

Subject to the provisions of this Act the author of a work shall be the first owner of the copyright therein :

Provided that -

(a) in the case of a literary dramatic or artistic work made by the author in the course of his employment by the proprietor of a newspaper magazine or similar periodical under a contract of service or apprenticeship for the purpose of publication in a newspapers magazine or similar periodical the said proprietor shall in the absence of any agreement to the contrary be the first owner of the copyright in the work insofar as the copyright relates to the publication of the work in any newspaper magazine or similar periodical or to the reproduction of the work for the purpose of its being so published but in all other respects the author shall be the first owner of the copyright in the work;

(b) subject of the provisions of clause (a) in the case of a photograph taken or a painting or portrait drawn or an engraving or a cinematograph film made for valuable consideration at the instance of any person such person shall in the absence of any agreement to the contrary be the first owner of the copyright therein;

(c) in the case of a work made in the course of the author's employment under a contract of service or apprenticeship to which clause (a) or clause (b) does not apply the employer shall in the absence of any agreement to the contrary be the first of the copyright therein;

(cc) in the case of any address or speech delivered in public the person who has delivered such address or speech or if such person has delivered such address or speech on behalf of any other person such other person shall be the first owner of the copyright therein not withstanding that the person who delivers such address or speech or as the case may be the person on whose behalf such address or speech is delivered is employed by any other person who arranges such address or speech is delivered;

(d) in the case of a government work government shall in the absence of any agreement to the contrary be the first owner of the copyright therein;

(dd) in the case of a work made or first published by or under the direction or control of any public undertaking such public undertaking shall in the absence of any agreement to the contrary be the first owner of the copyright therein.

Explanation : For the purposes of this clause and Section 28A , public undertaking means -

(i) an undertaking owned or controlled by government; or

(ii) a government company as defined in Section 617 of the Companies Act 1956 (1 of 1956); or

(iii) a body corporate established by or under any Central Provincial or State Act;

(e) in the case of a work to which the provisions of section 41 apply the international organisation concerned shall be the first owner of the copyright therein.

18. Assignment of copyright

(1) The owner of the copyright in an existing work or the prospective owner of the copyright in a future work may assign to any person the copyright either wholly or partially and either generally or subject to limitations and either for the whole term of the copyright or any part thereof :

Provided that in the case of the assignment of copyright in any future work the assignment shall take effect only when the work comes into existence.

(2) Where the assignee of a copyright becomes entitled to any right comprised in the copyright the assignee as respect the rights so assigned and the assignor as respects the rights not assigned shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as the owner of copyright and the provisions of this Act shall have effect accordingly.

(3) In this section the expression "assignee" as respects the assignment of the copyright in any future work includes the legal representatives of the assignee if the assignee dies before the work comes into existence.

19. Mode of assignment

(1) No assignment of the copyright in any work shall be valid unless it is in writing signed by the assignor or by his duly authorised agent.

(2) The assignment of copyright in any work shall identify such work and shall specify the rights assigned and the duration and territorial extent of such assignment.

(3) The assignment of copyright in any work 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.

(4) Where the assignee does not exercise the rights assigned to him under any of the other sub-sections of this section 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.

(5) If the period of assignment is not stated it shall be deemed to be five years from the date of assignment.

(6) If the territorial extent of assignment of the rights is not specified it shall be presumed to extend within India.

(7) Nothing in sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) or sub-section (4) or sub-section (5) or sub-section (6) shall be applicable to assignments made before the coming into force of the Copyright (Amendment) Act 1994.

19A. Disputes with respect to assignment of copyright

(1) If an assignee fails to make sufficient exercise of the rights assigned to him and such failure is not attributable to any act or omission of the assignor then the Copyright Board may on receipt of a complaint from the assignor and after holding such inquiry as it may deem necessary revoke such assignment.

(2) If any dispute arises with respect to the assignment of any copyright the Copyright Board may on receipt of a complaint from the aggrieved party and after holding such inquiry as it considers necessary pass such order as it may deem fit including an order for the recovery of any royalty payable :

Provided that the Copyright Board shall not pass any other under this sub-section to revoke the assignment unless it is satisfied that the terms of assignment are harsh to the assignor in case the assignor is also the author.

Provided further that no order of revocation of assignment under this sub-section shall be made within a period of five years from the date of such assignment.

20. Transmission of copyright in manuscript by testamentary disposition

Where under a bequest a person is entitled to the manuscript of a literary dramatic or musical work or to an artistic work and the work was not published before the death of the testator the bequest shall unless the contrary intention is indicated in the testator's will or any codicil thereto be construed as including the copyright in the work insofar as the testator was the owner of the copyright immediately before his death.

Explanation : In this section the expression "manuscript" means the original document embodying the work whether written by hand or not.

21. Right of author to relinquish copyright

(1) The author of a work may relinquish all or any of the rights comprised in the copyright in the work by giving notice in the prescribed form to the Registrar of Copyrights and thereupon such rights shall subject to the provisions of sub-section (3) cease of exist from the date of the notice.

(2) On receipt of a notice under sub-section (1) the Registrar of Copyrights shall cause it to be published in the Official Gazette and in such other manner as he may deem fit.

(3) The relinquishment of all or any of the rights comprised in the copyright in a work shall not effect any rights subsisting in favour of any person on the date of the notice referred to in sub-section (1).

22. Term of copyright in published literary dramatic musical and artistic works

Except as otherwise hereinafter provided copyright shall subsist in any literary dramatic musical or artistic work (other than a photograph) published within the lifetime of the author until sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the author dies.

Explanation : In this section the reference to the author shall, in the case of a work of joint authorship be construed as a reference to the author who dies last.

23. Term of copyright in anonymous and pseudonymous works

(1) In the case of a literary dramatic musical or artistic work (other than a photograph) which is published anonymously or pseudonymously copyright shall subsist until sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the work is first published :

Provided that where the identity of the author is disclosed before the expiry of the said period copyright shall subsist until sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the author dies.

(2) In sub-section (1) references to the author shall in the case of an anonymous work joint authorship be construed –

(a) where the identity of one of the authors is disclosed as references to that author;

(b) where the identity of more authors than one is disclosed as references to the authors who dies last from amongst such authors.

(3) In sub-section (1) references to the author shall in the case of a pseudonymous work of joint authorship be construed

(a) where the names of one or more (but not all) of the authors are pseudonymous and his or their identity is not disclosed as references to the author whose name is not a pseudonym or if the names of two or more of the authors are not pseudonyms as references to such of those authors who dies last;

(b) where the names of one or more (but not all) of the authors are pseudonyms and the identity of one or more of them is disclosed as references to the author who dies last from amongst the authors whose names are not pseudonyms and the authors whose names are pseudonyms and are disclosed; and

(c) where the names of all the authors are pseudonyms and the identity of one of them is disclosed as reference to the author whose identity is disclosed or if the identity of two or more of such authors is disclosed as reference to such of those authors who dies last.

Explanation: For the purposes of this section the identity of an author shall be deemed to have been disclosed if either the identity of the author is disclosed publicly by both the author and the publisher or is otherwise established to the satisfaction of the Copyright Boars by that author.

24. Term of copyright in posthumous work

(1) In the case of a literary dramatic or musical work or an engraving in which copyright subsists at the date of the death of the author or in the case of any such work of joint authorship at or immediately before the date of the death of the author who dies last but which or any adaptation of which has not been published before that date copyright shall subsist until sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the work is first published or where an adaptation of the work is published in any earlier year from the beginning of the calendar year next following that year.

(2) For the purposes of this section a literary dramatic or musical work or an adaptation of any such work shall be deemed to have been published if it has been performed in public or if any records made in respect of the work have been sold to the public or have been offered for sale to the public.

25. Term of copyright in photographs

In the case of a photograph copyright shall subsist until sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the photograph is published.

26. Term of copyright in cinematograph films

In the case of cinematograph film copyright shall subsist until sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the film is published.

27. Term of copyright in sound recording

In the case of a sound recording copyright shall subsist until sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the sound recording is published.

28. Term of copyright in government work

In the case of government work where government is the first owner of the copyright therein copyright shall subsist until sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the work is first published.

28A. Term of copyright in works of public undertakings

In the case of a work where a public undertaking is the first owner of the copyright therein copyright shall subsist until sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the work is first published.

29. Term of copyright in works of international organisations

In the case of a work of an international organisation to which the provisions of section 41 apply copyright shall subsist until sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the works is first published.

30. Licences by owners of copyright

The owner of the copyright in any existing work or the prospective owners of the copyright in any future work may grant any interest in the right by licence in writing signed by him or by his duly authorised agent :

Provided that in the case of a licence relating to copyright in any future work the licence shall take effect only when the work comes into existence.

Explanation: Where a person to whom a licence relating to copyright in any future work is granted under this section dies before the work comes into existence his legal representatives shall in the absence of any provision to the contrary in the licence be entitled to the benefit of the licence.

30A. Application of sections 19 and 19A

The provisions of Section 19 and Section 19A shall with any necessary a