CHAPTER 5

125
 CYBER LAWS
The virtual world of internet is known as cyberspace and the laws governing this area are
known as Cyber laws and all the netizens of this space come under the ambit of these laws as
it carries a kind of universal jurisdiction. Cyber law can also be described as that branch of law
that deals with legal issues related to use of inter-networked information technology. In short,
cyber law is the law governing computers and the internet. The growth of Electronic Commerce
has propelled the need for vibrant and effective regulatory mechanisms which would further
strengthen the legal infrastructure, so crucial to the success of Electronic Commerce. All these
regulatory mechanisms and legal infrastructures come within the domain of Cyber law. Cyber
law is important because it touches almost all aspects of transactions and activities on and
involving the internet, World Wide Web and cyberspace. Every action and reaction in
cyberspace has some legal and cyber legal perspectives. In today’s techno-savvy environment,
the world is becoming more and more digitally sophisticated and so are the crimes. Internet
was initially developed as a research and information sharing tool and was in an unregulated
manner. As the time passed by it became more transactional with e-business, e-commerce, e-
governance and e-procurement etc. All legal issues related to internet crime are dealt with
through cyber laws. As the number of internet users is on the rise, the need for cyber laws and
their application has also gathered great momentum.6 In today's highly digitalized world,
almost everyone is affected by cyber law. For an example: 1)Majority of transactions in shares
are in demat form. 2)Today each and every companies extensively depend upon their computer
networks and keep their valuable data in electronic storage form. 3) Our state and central
Governments all types of forms including income tax returns, company law forms etc. are now
filled in electronic form in all departments 4) We as Consumers are increasingly using credit
cards for shopping and all related transactions 5)People are using email, cell phones and SMS
messages for communication. 6)Youth are increasingly using internet on smart phones and
other Devices.7)Many tims even in "non-cyber crime" cases, important evidence is found in
computers / cell phones e.g. in cases of divorce, murder, kidnapping, tax fraud, organized
crime, some terrorist operations, counterfeit currency and many as well.8)All kind of Cyber
crime cases like online banking frauds, online share trading fraud, source code theft, credit card
fraud, tax evasion,” virus attacks, cyber sabotage, phishing attaccks, email hijacking, denial of
service, hacking, pornography” etc are becoming common and increasing day by day. 9) Digital
signatures/autographs or impression and e-contracts are fast replacing conventional methods

126
of transacting business. Technology per se is never a disputed issue but for whom and at what
cost has been the issue in the ambit of governance. The cyber revolution holds the promise of
quickly reaching the masses as opposed to the earlier technologies, which had a trickledown
effect. Such a promise and potential can only be realized with an appropriate legal regime based
on a given socio-economic level.
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION BILL:
Personal Data protection bill has been realesed in Parliement.It has been sent to joint parliament
committee for analysis.

127
56sandesh news paper

128
  Applicability57: The Bill governs the processing of personal data by: (i) government,
(ii) companies incorporated in India, and (iii) foreign companies dealing with personal
data of individuals in India. Personal data is data which pertains to characteristics, traits
or attributes of identity, which can be used to identify an individual. The Bill
categorises certain personal data as sensitive personal data. This includes financial
data, biometric data, caste, religious or political beliefs, or any other category of data
specified by the government, in consultation with the Authority and the concerned
sectoral regulator.

 Obligations of data fiduciary: “‘A data fiduciary is an entity or individual who

decides the means and purpose of processing personal data. Such processing will be
subject to certain purpose, collection and storage limitations. For instance, personal
data can be processed only for specific, clear and lawful purpose. Additionally, all data
fiduciaries must undertake some transparency and accountability measures such as: (i)
implementing security safeguards (such as data encryption and preventing misuse of
data), and (ii) instituting grievance redressal mechanisms to address complaints of
individuals. They must also institute mechanisms for age verification and parental
consent when processing sensitive and confidantioal personal information of
children”.”

 Rights of the individual:”The Bill sets out certain rights of the individual (or data
principal). These include the right to: (i) obtain confirmation from the fiduciary on
whether their personal data has been processed, (ii) seek correction of inaccurate,
incomplete, or out-of-date personal data, (iii) have personal data transferred to any other
data fiduciary in certain circumstances, and (iv) restrict continuing disclosure of their
personal data by a fiduciary, if it is no longer necessary or consent is withdrawn”

 Grounds for processing personal data:”The Bill allows processing of data by

fiduciaries only if consent is provided by the individual. However, in certain
circumstances, personal data can be processed without consent. These include: (i) if
required by the State for providing benefits to the individual, (ii) legal proceedings, (iii)

57
www.prsindia.org

129
 to respond to a medical emergency.

 Social media intermediaries: The Bill defines these to include intermediaries which
enable onliine interaction between users and allow for sharing of information. All such
intermediaries which have users above a notified threshold, and whose actions can
impact electoral democracy or public order, have certain obligations, which include
providing a voluntary user verification mechanism for users in India.

 Data Protection Authority58: The Bill sets up a Data Protection Authority which may:
(i) take steps to protect interests of individuals, (ii) prevent misuse of personal data, and
(iii) ensure compliance with the Bill. It will consist of a chairperson and six members,
with at least 10 years’ expertise in the field of data protection and information
study. Orders of the Authority can be appealed to an Appellate Tribunal. Appeals from
the Tribunal will go to the Supreme Court.

 Transfer of data outside India59: Sensitive personal data may be transferred outside
India for processing if explicitly consented to by the individual, and subject to certain
additional conditions. However, such sensitive personal data should continue to be
stored in India. Certain personal data notified as critical personal data by the
government can only be processed in India.

 Exemptions: The central government can exempt any of its agencies from the
provisions of the Act: (i) in interest of security of state, public order, sovereignty and
integrity of India and friendly relations with foreign states, and (ii) for preventing
incitement to commission of any cognisable offense/s (i.e. arrest without warrant)
relating to the above matters. Processing of personal data is also exempted from
provisions of the Bill for certain other purposes such as: (i) prevention, investigation,
or prosecution of any offense/s, or (ii) personal, domestic, or (iii) journalistic
purposes. However, such processing must be for a specific, clear and lawful purpose,
with certain security safeguards.

58
www.prsindia.org
59
www.prsindia.org

130
  Offense/s: Offense/s under the Bill include: (i) processing or transferring personal data
in violation of the Bill, condemned with a fine of Rs 15 crore or 4% of the annual
turnover of the fiduciary, whichever is higher, and (ii) failure to conduct a data audit,
condemned with a fine of five crore rupees or 2% of the annual turnover of the
fiduciary, whichever is higher. Re-identification and processing of de-identified
personal data without consent is puniishabale with imprisonnment of up to three years,
or fine, or both.”

 Sharing of non-personal data with government: “The central government may direct
data fiduciaries to provide it with any: (i) non-personal data and (ii) anonymised
personal data (where it is not possible to identify data principal) for better targeting of
services”.’

 Reformation amendmentds to other laws:” ‘The Bill amends the Information

Study Act, 2000 to delete the provisions related to compensation payable by
companies for failure to protect personal data’”.

“CYBER LAWs”

Cyberoffense under the purview of ‘”Indian “Penal Code’:

Indian Penal Code become amended through infusing the time period “digital”. Thus, all of the
digital files and information had been made commensurate with the bodily files and
information included withinside the ambit of the IIPC. Further the subsequent Offense/s had
been made condemned below Indian Penal.Code1860:
 U/Secct.292 Indian “Penal.Code”: “Obsccenity”
 U/Secct.292A” Indian” Penal.Code1860: Priinting etc. of “grossly indecent or
scurrilous count or count supposed to blackmail”
 U/Secct.293 “Indian Penal.Code1860”:To “Sale obsccene items to younger man or
woman”
 U/Secct.”294 Indian Penal.Code1860”: “Obsccene acts and songs”
 U/Secct.12O Indian. Penal.Code1860”: “Boguss web sites, cyber frauds”

131
  U/Secct.463 “Indian Penall.Code1860: “Email spoofing"
 U/Secct.464 Indian Penall.Code1860: “Makiing a fakes report”
 U/Sectt. 468 “Indian Penal.Code”: “Falsification for cause of dishonest”
 U/Secct. 469 Indian Penal.Code: ‘Falsification for cause of harmingg recognition’
 U/Secct. 499 Indian Penal.Code: ‘Sending defammatory messaages through electronic
mail’
 U/Secct. 5OO ‘Indian Penal.Code1860’: ‘E-mail abuase’
 U/Secct. 5O3 ‘Indian Penal.Code1860: ‘Sending threatening messages through
electronic mail’
 U/Secct. 5O6 ‘Indian Penal.Code1860’: ‘Punishment for crook intimidation’
 U/Secct. 5O7 Indian Penal.Code1860: ‘Criminal intimidation through an nameless
communique’
Few first-rate instances in records of cybercrimeare: -
The TamilNadu v. Suhaash.. Kattee may be taken into consideration as a landmark case
withinside the records of Cyber Crime Management in India. This become the primary case in
India in which the culprit become convicted below S.sixty seven of IT ACT 2000 of India.
The case of Nassccom v. Ajjay S0ood and Others is every other landmark judgement brought
in March 2005, wherein the ‘Delhi High Court” declared ‘Phishing’ at the net to be an unlawful
act. Though there may be no precise regulation in India to penalize phishing, the courtroom
docket described it below Indian Law as “a misrepresentation made withinside the direction of
change main to confusion as to the supply and foundation of the email inflicting massive
damage now no longer best to the patron however even to the man or woman whose call,
identification or password is misused”.
Cyber Offense under purview of IT Act 2000 and further Amendmentt/(reformation)
along with few case studies
IT Act, 2000 and IT (Amendmentt/Reformation) Act, 200860
“These two pieces of legislation form the bedrock of cyber law infrastructure in India.
“The Information Study (IT) Act”, 2000 was passed by the Indian Parliament in May 2000 and
came into force in October of the same year. Its prime purpose is to provide the legal
infrastructure for e-commerce in India. It was the first legal instrument to provide legal sanctity
to electronic records and contracts expressed through electronic means of communication”.

60
www.digit.in/study-guides/indian-cyber-crime-laws.html

132
The act was later amended in December 2008 through the ITAct, 2008. Some of their salient
points are:
Digital Signnature -Autograph or endorsements: “Electronic records may be authenticated
by a subscriber by affixing digital signtatur (autograph or endorsements); further, the autograph
or endorsement may be verified using the public key provided by the subscriber”.
Certifying Authorities: domestic and foreign certifying authorities (which provide digital
autograph or endorsement certificates) are recognized by the law; a “Controller of Certifying
Authorities” shall supervise them.
Electronic governance: Documents required as per law by any arm of the government may
be supplied in electronic form, and such documents are to be treated the same as handwritten,
typewritten or printed documents.
Offense/s and Penalties61: An Adjudicating Officer shall judge whether a person has
committed an offense/s in contravention of any provision of the IT Act, 2000; the maximum
penalty for any damage to PC(Computer/s System) or PC(COMPUTER/S SYSTEM) systems
is a fine up to `1 crore
Appellate Tribunals: A Cyber Regulations Appellate Tribunal shall be formed which shall
hear appeals against orders passed by the Adjudicating Officers.
Investigation: Offense/s shall only be investigated by a police officer of the rank of the Deputy
Superintendent of Police or above.
Amendmentt/(reformation) to other laws: Other acts such as the Indian Penal Code, 1860,
the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, the Bankers’ Books Evidence Act, 1891, the Reserve Bank of
India Act, 1934 were to be amended to align them with the IT Act
Groups of Machines Service Providers: Intermediaries in the data transmission process, such
as Internet Service Providers, are not liable in certain cases, so long as the intermediary
expeditiously acts to prevent the cybercrime on getting such instruction from the Government
or its agency
Cases Studies as per selected IT Act U/Ss:Here are the case studies for selected IT Act U/Ss.
For the sake of simplicity and retaining readability, information at the IT Act U/Ss had been
omitted. Kindly refer the Appendix on the ultimate segment for the distinctive account of all
of the consequences and Offense/s referred to in IT Act.
U/Sec. 43 – Penalty” and Compensation for damage to PC(COMPUTER/S SYSTEM),
PC(COMPUTER/S SYSTEM) system, etc.

61
www.digit.in/study-guides/indian-cyber-crime-laws.html

133
Related Case62 : In December 2004,Four middle personal name were operated an outsourcing
facilty operated through ‘Mphasis’iin India These personnel had been now no longer legal to
gain the PINs. In affiliation with others, the decision middle personnel opened new bills at
Indian banks the use of fake identities. Within months, they used the PINs and account statistics
gleaned at some point of, the Indian police had tipped off to the rip-off through a U.S. financial
institution, and fast recognized the people concerned withinside the rip-off. Arrests had been
made while the ones people tried to withdraw coins from the falsified bills, dollor $426,000
become stolen; the quantity recoveredwas US dollor $230,000.

U/Sec. 65 – Tampering with PC(COMPUTER/S SYSTEM) Source DocumentsRelated

Case63 In this example,”Tataa Indicom’ personnel had been arrested for manipulation of the
digital 32- bit range programmed into mobileular telephones robbery had been solely
franchised to Reliance Infocomm.

U/S 66 – PC(COMPUTER/S SYSTEM) Related offensesRelated Case In this example the

accused won unauthorized” get admission to to the Joint Academic Groups of Machines and
deleted, brought documents and modified the passwords to disclaim get admission to to the
legal customers. Investigations had discovered that Kumar become logging directly to the
BSNL broadband Internet connection as though he become the legal real person and ‘made
alteration withinside the PC(Computer/s System) database bearing on broadband Internet
person bills’ of the subscribers.
U/S 66A – Punishmentt for sending offensive messages through thru communique carrier
associated
Case No 1: Fake profile of one President posted by imposter64 In 2010 September nine,
2010, the imposter made a faux profile withinside the call of the Hon’ble President Mrs.P. Patil.
It has been reported under S.469 ofIIIPC and ‘66A Information Study Act”, 2000 become
registered primarily.The elite wing of NewDelhi Police-cops which makes a speciality of
investigating financial offense inclusive of such cyber Offense/s.
Case No 2: Bomb Hoax mail65 mail withinside the 12 months of 2009, a one15-12 months-
antique Bangalore teen become arrested through the cybercrime research mobileular .He sent

62
cyberlawsinindia.wordpress.com
63
cyberlawsinindia.wordpress.com
64
cyberlawsinindia.wordpress.com
65
cyberlawsinindia.wordpress.com

134
mail that he planned five bombs in Mumbai City.It was realy hard to discover bombs tin
Mumbai city by cops.later on he was arrested and punished accordingly.

U/S 66C – Punishment for identificationn theftRelevant Cases: Whoever, fradulently or

dishonestly make use of the electronic signature, password or any other unique identification
feature of any other person, shall be punished .
Sabahat D/O Sultan Pathan vs State Of Gujarat in GHC Dec 2020

U/S 66D – Punishment for dishonest through impersonation through the use of
PC(COMPUTER/S SYSTEM)resourceRelevant Case: “Sandeep Varghese v/s State of
Kerala”66
Main accused along with Preethi and Mr.Charan has done offence of cyber defamation.they
together done act of forgery and cheated the agency also.they use official email aids,records
and done malified use of company website.This case has been filed through one of the
consultant of the company.They faux the bills of clients on mails and banks mails.Company
went in to huge loss from service provders,producers,distributirs and other clients because of
this impersonation.

U/S 66E – Punishment for violation of privacyRelevant Cases 67:”Jawaharlal Nehru

University MMS scandal in a excessive surprise to the distinguished and famend
institute“.
U/S 67 – “”Punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic”
form68Relevant Case””.
U/S 69 – “Powers to “trouble guidelines for interception or tracking or decryption of any
statistics’ thru any PC(Computer/s System) resourceRelevant Case”. .
U/S 69A – Power to trouble guidelines for blockading for public get admission to
U/S 69B69. Power to authorize to screen and gather visitors facts or statistics thru any
PC(Computer/s System) useful resource for Cyber Security
U/S 71 – Penalty for misrepresentation Whoever makes any misrepresentation to
U/S 72A – Punishment for Disclosure of statistics in breach of lawful contract

66
cyberlawsinindia.wordpress.com
67
cyberlawsinindia.wordpress.com
68
cyberlawsinindia.wordpress.com
69
IT ACT 2008

135
U/S 73Seventy Three1 -Penalty for publishing digital Autograph or endorsement
Certificate fake in positive details.
U/S 74Seventy Four – Publication for fraudulent cause:
U/S 75Seventy Five – Act to use for offense/s or contraventions devoted outdoor India
Subject.
U/S 77A Seventy Seven A – Compounding of Offense/s.
U/S 77B Seventy Seven B – Offense/s with 3 years’ imprisonment to be cognizable

Offence/Crime U/S IT Act 2000

Tampering with Computer source documents U/Sec.65

Hacking with Computer systems, Data alteration U/Sec.66

Sending offensive messages through communication

U/Sec.66A
service,
Retains any stolen computer resource or communication
U/Sec.66B
device

Fraudulent use of electronic signature U/Sec.66C

Cheats by personating U/Sec.66D

Publishing obscene images U/Sec.66E

Cyber terrorism U/Sec.66F

Publishes or transmits unwanted material U/Sec.67

Publishes or transmits sexually explicit material U/Sec.67A

Abusing children online U/Sec.67B

Preservation of information by intermediary Sec.67C

136
 Breach of Confidentiality and Privacy U/Sec.72

Disclosure of information in breach of contract U/Sec.72A

Publishing false digital signature certificates U/Sec.73 & 74

U/S IT Act
Offence/Crime Penalty-Fine
2000

Compensation not exceeding1Cr

U/Sec.43 Damage to computer/s, INR to the Affected person
computer system/s

Body corporate failure to Compensation not exceeding 5Cr INR

U/Sec.43A
protect system data to the Affected person

Failure to furnish
document, return or
U/Sec.44{a} Penalty or fine not exceeding 1.5 Lac
report to the
INR to affected person/authority
Controller or the
Certifying Authority

Failure to file any return or

Penalty or fine not exceeding 5000 INR
furnish any information, books
U/Sec.44{b} to affected person/authority for
or other documents within
everyday during such failure occurs.
the time specified
Penalty or fine not exceeding 10000
Failure to maintain INR to affected person/authority for
U/Sec.44{c}
books of account or records everyday during such failure
continues.

137
 Compensation or penalty not
Where no penalty has been exceeding 25K INR to the person
U/Sec.45
separately provided affected by such contravention.

Tampering with Imprisonmentt up to 3Yrs, &/or with

U/Sec.65
Computer source documents fine up to 2 Lacs INR, or both

Imprisonmentt for a term extend to

Hacking with Computer
U/Sec.66 3Yrs or with fine up to 5 Lacs INR or
systems, Data alteration etc.
both
Sending offensive

U/Sec.66A messages through Imprisonment up to 3 Yrs and with fine

communication service etc.
Retains any stolen computer
Imprisonmentt up to 3Yrs, &/or with
U/Sec.66B resource or communication
fine up to 1 Lac INR, or both
device

Fraudulent use of electronic Imprisonmentt up to 3Yrs, &/or with

U/Sec.66C
signature fine up to 1 Lac INR, or both

Cheats by personating by using Imprisonmentt up to 3Yrs, &/or with

U/Sec.66D
computer resource fine up to 1 Lac INR, or both

Imprisonmentt up to 3Yrs, &/or with

U/Sec.66E Publishing obscene images
less than 1 Lac INR, or both

Imprisonment which may extend to

U/Sec.66F Cyber terrorism
imprisonment for whole life

Imprisonmentt for a term extend to

Publishes or transmits
U/Sec.67 3Yrs or with fine up to 5 Lacs INR or
unwanted material
both & in the event of Second or

138
 subsequent conviction with
imprisonment of either description for
a term which may extend to 5 Yrs with
fine of 10 Lacs INR or both.

Imprisonmentt for a term extend to

5Yrs or with fine up to 10 Lacs INR or
Publishes or transmits both & in the event of Second or

U/Sec.67A sexually explicit subsequent conviction with

material imprisonment of either description for
a term which may extend to 7 Yrs with
fine of 10 Lacs INR or both.

Imprisonmentt for a term extend to

5Yrs or with fine up to 10 Lacs INR or
both & in the event of Second or

U/Sec.67B Abusing children online subsequent conviction with

imprisonment of either description for
a term which may extend to 7 Yrs with
fine of 10 Lacs INR or both.
Imprisonmentt for a term which may
Preservation of
U/Sec.67C extendd to 3 years and shall also
information by intermediary
be liable to fine also.
Imprisonment for a term which may
Un-authorised access to
U/Sec.70 extend to 10tenyears and shall also
protected system
be liable to fine

139
 Misrepresentation to the
Controller or the Certifying
Authority for obtaining Imprisonmentt up to 2Yrs, &/or with
U/Sec.71
license fine up to 1 Lac INR, or both with.
or Electronic
Signature Certificate

Breach of Imprisonmentt up to 2Yrs, &/or with

U/Sec.72
Confidentiality and Privacy fine up to 1 Lac INR, or both with.

Disclosure of information in Imprisonmentt up to 3Yrs, &/or with

U/Sec.72A
breach of contract fine up to 2 Lacs INR, or both

Publishing false digital Imprisonmentt up to 2Yrs, &/or with

U/Sec.73
& 74 signature certificates fine up to 1 Lac INR, or both with.

INDIAN EVIDENCE ACT 1872:-

The enactment and adoption of the Indian Evidence Act become a path-breaking judicial degree
added in India, which modified the complete machine of principles bearing on admissibility of
evidences withinside the Indian courts of regulation. Until then, the guidelines of evidences
had been primarily based totally at the conventional felony structures of various social
organizations and groups of India and had been extraordinary for extraordinary Homasepian
beings relying on caste, groups of Machines, religion and social function. The Indian Evidence
Act added a fashionable set of regulation relevant to all Indians. The regulation is especifically
primarily based totally upon the corporation paintings through Sir James Fitzjames Stephen,
who will be referred to as the founder of this complete piece of regulation.
This act has been essentially retained its authentic shape besides positive
Amendmentt/(reformation) from time to time. The Court shall presume that each digital

140
document purporting to be an settlement containing the virtual singture autograph or
endorsements of the events become so concluded through affixing the virtual autograph or
endorsement signature of the events.

88A. Presumrption as to digital messagesx.—The Court might also additionally presume that
an piece of email, forwarded through the originator thru an email server to the addressee to
whom the message purports to be addressed corresponds with the message as fed into his
PC(Computer/s System) for transmission; however the Court shall now no longer make any
presumption as to the man or woman through whom such message become
despatched.three[88A. Presumption as to electronic messages.—The Court may presume that
an electronic message, forwarded by the originator through an electronic mail server to the
addressee to whom the message purports to be addressed corresponds with the message as fed
into his PC(COMPUTER/S SYSTEM) for transmission; but the Court shall not make any
presumption as to the person by whom such message was sent".

CYBER OFFENSE UNDER PURVIEW OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS:

-
Meaning and Types of Intellectual Property Rights The concept of Intellectual property can be
traced back to the Byzantine Empire where monopolies were granted. For instance, in Greece
a one year monopoly was given to cooks to exploit their recipes. A statutory legislation in the
Senate of Venice provided exclusive privileges to people who invented any machine or process
to speed up silk making. Thus, from Intellectual property being totally alien to the nomadic
community came an era where every new idea was given protection under the category of
Intellectual Property Rights. Copyright is known as one of the types of Intellectual properties.
Before going into details of the copyright and related issues in cyberspace, we need to know
the concept of Intellectual property and its importance. To go home is to enter a place built &
filled with Homasepian creativity & invention. From a carpet to a sofa, from the washing
machine, the refrigerator and the telephone, to the music, the books, the paintings, family
photographs, everything which we live is a product of Homasepian creativity. These things are
creations of the Homasepian mind and hence called Intellectual property. Today the internet is
not only used for educational purposes but also for business. Intellectual property can be
categorized into two categories i.e. Industrial property and Copyright. Industrial property deals
with patents, trademarks, geographical indications, designs and semiconductors layout design.
On the other hand Copyright co
141
vers literary, dramatic, artistic, musical, cinematographic films and sound recording etc. etc.
The primary legislations regulating Intellectual property in India are: The Patents Act 1970,
The Trade Marks Act 1999, The Geographical Indications of goods (Registration and
Protection) Act 1999, The Design Act 2000, The Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-
Design Act 2000 and the Copyright Act 1957.
Copyright Issues in Cyberspace:-
The object of the copyright is to encourage authors, composers, directors to crate original works
by way of providing them the exclusive right to reproduce, publish the works for the benefit of
the people. When the limited right i.e. term of copyright is over, the works belong to the public
domain and anyone may reproduce them without permission. The copyright subsists in original
literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, cinematographic film, sound recording and
PC(COMPUTER/S SYSTEM) programmer as well. Today, copyright serves a variety of
industries including production and distribution of books, magazines and newspaper, media of
entertainment that is dramatic and musical works for performances, publication of musical
works and cinema, broadcasting etc. etc. copyrights being Intellectual Property travel from
country to country more easily and quickly than other kinds of property. Technological
progress has made copying of copyright material easy and simple. Consequently, the control
of copyright infringement has very difficult and often impossible. Books, recorded tapes or
video cassettes of films or PC(COMPUTER/S SYSTEM) programs can be taken from one
country to another without any difficulty and thousands of copies can made from it and
distributed. Unauthorized home taping of radio and television programmed has become
rampant all over the world. Infringement of Copyright in Cyberspace Taking content from one
site, modifying it or just reproducing it on another site has been made possible by digital study
and this has posed new challenges for the traditional interpretation of individual rights and
protection. Any person with a PC(COMPUTER/S SYSTEM) (Personal PC(Computer/s
System)) and a modem can become a publisher. Downloading, uploading saving transforming
or crating a derivative work is just a mouse click away. A web page is not much different than
a book or a magazine or a multimedia CD-ROM and will be eligible for copyright protection,
as it contains text graphics and even audio and videos. Copyright law grants the owner
exclusive right to authorize reproduction of the copy righted works preparation of derivative
works, distribution etc.
Copyright in a piece will be deemed to be infringed

142
a) while any man or woman, with out a license granted through the proprietor of the copyright
or the Registrar of copyrights below this Act, or in contravention of the situations of a license
so granted or of any circumstance imposed through a able authority below this Act-
i) does something, the distinctive proper to do that's through this Act conferred upon the
proprietor of the copyright;
ii) lets in for earnings any location for use for the communique of the paintings to the general
public wherein such communique constitutes an infringement of copyright withinside the
paintings, except he become now no longer conscious and had no affordable floor for believing
that such communique to the general public could be an infringement of copyright or while any
man or woman i) makes or sale or rent, or sells or shall we for rent, or through manner of
change shows or gives on the market or rent or ii) distributes both for the cause of change or to
such an volume as to have an effect on prejudicially the proprietor of the copyright; or iii)
through manner of change famous in public; or iv) imports into India In all above referred to
instances copyrighted paintings will be taken into consideration as infringed. The software
program copyright proprietor will must show the misleading similarity, prima facie case &
irreparable loss to assert the damages from infringer.
PC(COMPUTER/S SYSTEM) Software & Copyright Law
According to segment 2(face) of the Copyright Act, a PC(Computer/s System) programmer is
a "set of commands expressed in phrases, codes, schemes or in every other shape, inclusive of
a system readable medium, able to inflicting a PC(Computer/s System) to carry out a selected
project or acquire a selected outcomes". PC(COMPUTER/S SYSTEM) software program is
"PC(Computer/s System) programmer" withinside the which means of the Copyright Act. This
PC(Computer/s System) softwareis additionally situation count of copyright safety below the
Copyright Act. PC(COMPUTER/S SYSTEM) programmed are blanketed withinside the
definition of literary paintings below the Copyright Act. Owner of the PC(Computer/s System)
software program possesses with diverse proper inclusive of the proper to supply software
program licenses. Software licenses may be of diverse types.
Software Licenses
Freeware licenses:
Freeware is PC(COMPUTER/S SYSTEM) software that is copyrighted, available for use free
of charge, available for an unlimited time. Freeware licenses are generally created and
distributed free of cost by software developers who want to contribute something to the society.
However, there are some limitations as well. For e.g. A freeware license is personal,
nonexclusive, non-transferable and with limited use. Many freeware licenses restrict the use of
143
the software for commercial purposes. The license is non-exclusive as it does not confer any
exclusive rights on a particular user. Moreover, the license is nontransferable and does not
permit the licensee to transfer any rights to a third person.
Open Source Licenses:
As the word itself indicates, this license is open for all without any limitations. To qualify as
"open source" particular software must comply with several conditions. Once any person has
developed such open source license, then there must be free distribution, redistribution of such
software. Owner of the Open source license cannot restrict any person from selling, modifying,
distributing or using such license for genetic research etc.
Shareware:
This is also known as "try before you buy" software. This software usually come with full
functionality for a limited period. After this trial period users must either buy the software or
uninstall it from their PC(Computer/s System). The trial period could be in terms of number of
days.
Demo ware:
Demo ware is meant only for demonstrations. The demo ware does not have any functional
features, it only serves to demonstrate the features to potential users. Software copyright owner
has the right to reproduce and make any number of copies of his work as he likes.

Trademark Law & Domain Names Issues in Cyberspace

Definition of Trademark- “A mark able to being representedgraphically and that's able to
distinguishing the products orservices of 1 man or woman from the ones of others and can
consist of shapeof items, their packaging and aggregate of colors”.
Functions of a Trademark
A trademark serves the purpose of identifying the source of originof goods. Trademark perform
the following four functions.
i. It identifies the product and its origin.
ii. It guarantees its quality.
iii. It advertises the product
iv. It creates an image of the product in the minds of the public,
particularly consumers or the prospective consumers ofsuch goods. Examples of trademark-
Lee, Skoda, Colgate, Pepsi, Brooke Bond,Sony etc.
What is a domain name?

144
Very simply put, a domain name is the linguistic counterpart ofwhat we call an Internet
Protocol address. Every PC(COMPUTER/S SYSTEM) has anaddress, which is asking to a
telephone number. If one wants to callup a friend, he needs to dial the friend’s number. In much
thesame way, if he needs to access a website has to type out its IPnumber. But since it is very
difficult for one to remember acomplete number such as 202.162.227.12 a system evolved
underwhich a name is mapped to the concerned number or IP address.Thus, today, instead of
typing 202.162.227.12, one has merely totype in www.tata.com.What is there in a domain
name? These unmemorable lines by thegreat poet, William Shakespeare, were no doubt written
in an erawhen neither trademarks, nor domain names were ever heard of.If only Shakespeare
knew that Shakespeare.com had beenavailable for sale, he would have thought twice before
penning
those lines. Thus, value of domain names can’t beunderestimated.
Dispute between Trademark and Domain Names:-
The Trademark Act, 1999 has been enacted with an object toamend and consolidate the law
relating to trademarks for goodsand services and for the prevention of the use of fraudulent
marks. However, trademark owners desirous of using their marksas domain names have
found that such domain names have beenrecognized by unauthorized parties, often as a
deliberate attempt to violate the rights of the original trademark owner. Actually,domain
names are registered on ‘first come first serve basis’ whichleads many a time to what are
commonly referred to as ‘abusiveregistrations’ i.e. registration by a person of a domain name
containing a trademark, in which such person/entity has nolegitimate right or interest.
Various Forms of Infringement of Trademark throughCyberspace:-
A. Cybersquattting
Various types of domain names disputes come forconsideration before the courts all over
world. One of themost serious kinds of disputes have been about‘Cybersquatting’ which
involves the use of a domain nameby a person with neither registration nor any inherentrights
to the name. Trademarks and domain names beinganother person. The practice of
‘cybersquatting’ is abusivedomain names back to the trademark’s owners or thirdparties at a
high profit. This is known as ‘cybersquatting’similar, have been exploited by some people who
registertrademarks of others as domain names and sell thosewhich means some person sitting
on the property of?whereby one entity registers a domain name that includesthe name or the
trademarks of another. This practiceshows the importance of the role played by domain
namesin establishing onliine identity. This practice is usually .amous in order to either block
the legitimate userregistering its most sought-after domain name or hoping tosell the names for
145
profit in the market. Such a trend ofcybersquatting has led the courts to consider therelationship
between trademarks and domain names. Tofile a complaint to prevent cybersquatting, the
complainantwill have to prove the dishonest intention, lack oflegitimate rights and interests
and similarity of domainname with the trademark.
B. Reverse domain name hijacking
It is also known as reverse cybersquatting. It happens whena trademark owner tries to secure a
domain name bymaking false cybersquatting claims against a domainname’s rightful owner
through legal action. Sometimes,domain names owner has to transfer ownership of thedomain
name to the trademark owners to avoid legal action and costly expenses, particularly when the
domainnames belong to the smaller organizations or individualwho are not economically sound
to fight the case? Reversedomain name hijacking is most commonly done by larger
corporations and famous wealthy individuals.
C. Meta tags
Meta tag is an element of web pages that is also known asMeta elements. Meta tags provide
information about pagedescriptions, key words and other relevant data.Originally, Meta tags
were used in search engines to definewhat the page was about when the internet was in the
early stages, Meta tags were used to help the place webpages in the correct categories.
Nowadays, people beganabusing Meta tags to build false page rankings for web
pages that were poorly constructed. Meta tags can becategorized into title, description and
keywords.

Loopholes under the IT, Trademarkk and Copyright Actt

There is no provision in the current or proposed Information study Act in India to punish cyber-
squatters, at best, thedomain can be taken back. Though there is no legal compensation
under the IT Act, .IN registry has taken proactive steps to grantcompensation to victim
companies to deter squatters from furtherstealing domains. Most squatters however operate
under guise ofobscure names. Under NIXI (National Internet Exchange of India),the .IN
Registry functions as an autonomous body with primaryresponsibility for maintaining the .IN
cc-TLD (country code top-leveldomain) and ensuring its operational stability, reliability, and
security. It will implement the various elements of the new policyset out by the Government of
India and its Ministry ofCommunications and Information Study, Department of
Information Study.The Information study Act lack somewhere in respect of
jurisdiction issues, cyberoffense related to IPR, cyber stalking,cyber defamation etc. etc.
Likewise, the Indian Trademark Act,1999 and Copyright Act, 1957 are also silent on issues
146
arising outof onliine Trademark and Copyright infringement. ThoughPC(COMPUTER/S
SYSTEM) programs are protected under the Copyright Act butit does not provide remedies for
onliine software piracy.
LAWS IN EVIDENCE ACT RELATING TO CYBERCRIME
Indian Evidence Act, 1872 Amendmentt/(reformation) associated with the proof Act had been
contained in Sec.ninety two and the Second Schedule of the IT Act, 2000. Pursuant to the
enactment of the Information Study (modification) Act, 2008, Sec.ninety two become
deletedand the provisions in regards to the Indian Evidence Act had been referred to in Part IV
of the modification Act.
1) Amendmentt/(Reformation) of Sec.3(three) –
In segment three referring to interpretation clause, withinside the paragraph acting on
the end, for the phrases "virtual autograph or endorsement" and "Digital Autograph or
endorsement Certificate", the phrases "Electronic autograph or endorsement" and
"Electronic Autograph or endorsement Certificate" will be respectively substituted
2) Insertion(Reformation) of recent Sec.45Aa -
Opinion of Examiner of Electronic proof -45A:When in a intending, the Court has to
shape an opinion on any count referring to any statistics transmitted or saved in any
PC(Computer/s System) useful resource or every other digital or virtual shape, the
opinion of the Examiner of Electronic Evidence stated in segment 79A of the
Information Study Act, 2000,is a applicable truth. Explanation: For the functions of this
segment, an Examiner of Electronic Evidence will be an professional.
3) Amendmentt(Reformation) of Sec.47Aa –
In segment 47A, - (i) for the phrases "virtual autograph or endorsement", the phrases
"digital autograph or endorsement" will be substituted;(ii) for the phrases "Digital
Autograph or endorsement Certificate", the phrases "Electronic Autograph or
endorsement Certificate" will be substituted.
4) 4) Amendmentt(Reformation) of Sec.67A –
In segment sixty seven A, - for the phrases "virtual autograph or endorsement", the
phrases "digital autograph or endorsement"will be substituted.
5) 5) Amendmentt(Reformation) of Sec.85A –
In segment 85A, for the phrases "virtual autograph or endorsement", anywhere they
arise, the phrases "digital autograph or endorsement" will be substituted.

147
 6) 6) Amendmentt(Reformation) of Sec.85B – In segment 85B, - for the phrases "virtual
autograph or endorsement", anywhere they arise, the phrases "digital autograph or
endorsement" will be substituted.
7) 7) Amendmentt(Reformation) of Sec.85C –
In segment 85C, for the phrases "Digital Autograph or endorsement Certificate", the
phrases "Electronic Autograph or endorsement Certificate" will be substituted
8) 8) Amendmentt(Reformation) of Sec.90A –
In segment 90A, the phrases "virtual autograph or endorsement", at each locations
wherein they arise, the phrases "digital autograph or endorsement" will be substituted.
CYBER LAW UNDER THE BANKERSs BOOK(BBE) EVIDENCE
This very important act named BBE Act was amended as: "’bankers 'bookss’It comparises of
ledgers, day-books, coins-books, “account-books and all different books used withinside the
normal enterprise of a financial institution whether or not saved withinside the written shape
or as printouts of facts saved in a floppy, disc, tape or every other shape of electro-magnetics
facts garage” “tooll”.
CYBER LAW UNDER RESERVE BANK OF INDIA ACT
Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. U/S fifty eight of the Act sub-segment (2), after clause (p), a
clause referring to the law of price range switch thru digital approach among bank transactions
become inserted, to facilitate such digital price range switch and make sure felony admissibility
of files and information therein. Here once more, allow us to reiterate that the regulation does
now no longer kingdom that any PC(COMPUTER/S SYSTEM)ised print-out despite the fact
that now no longer signed, constitutes a legitimate document.

PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION BILL

Researcher has shared this bill on personal data protection in below graphical image.This can
easily identified and spread some light on this bill in concise way.

148
149