R.S.

PRAVEEN RAJ
Senior Scientist - IP Management & Technology
Transfer
CSIR-NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram

praveenraj@niist.res.in
 COPYRIGHT
Copyright is the exclusive right granted to the owner of
a literary, artistic or scientific work to use or authorize others
to use it for its reproduction, public performance, translation
and adaptation.
Artistic Dramatic
Literary

Sound Recording

Cinematographic
Musical
 Origin of copyright
• The origin of copyright had a link with the
invention of printing press by Gutenberg in the
fifteenth century.

• With the easy multiplying facility made possible

by the printing press, there was voluminous
increase in the printing and distribution of books
which ,in turn, led to adoption of unfair practices
such as unauthorised printing by competing
printers.
 COPYRIGHT
Copyright protects all types of original literary, artistic and
scientific works – published or not

Literary works
Musical works
Dramatic works
Pictorial, graphic and sculptural works (artistic)
Motion Pictures and other audio visual works- cinematographic
Sound recordings
Pantomimes and other choreographic works
Architectural works
Software and multimedia productions
 Why Copyright?
Fair Play: Reward creative efforts.
“Thou shall not steal”

Exclusive rights for limited time →

Negative right: prevent
copying/reproduction

Copyright is necessary → encourage

dissemination of copyrighted
works = public interest
 Copyright laws offer protection to the expressions of thought
based on some idea and not for the idea as such.

BUNDLE OF EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS TO THE OWNER

o Right of Reproduction

oRight for adaptation and translation

oRight of distribution
oRight of public performance
oRight of broadcasting
 MORAL RIGHTS/ECONOMIC RIGHTS

Moral Rights

1. Right of Authorship : To have the name of author mentioned

2. Right of respect : To object to distortion of work affecting the artistic/ cultural

integrity

Licensing/Assignment of economic rights

a) wholly or partially
b) for a specific period of time/full term of copyright
c) In a limited territory/worldwide.
 EFFECTS AT A GLANCE
 copyright is not territorial.
 Copyright doesn’t prevent individuals to make
single copies of the work for private , personal
and noncommercial purposes.
 In order to reproduce and publish a translation or
adaptation authorization must be obtained from the
owner of the copyright in the original work even if
the owner of the copyright in the translation or adaptation
grants permission.
 Copyright offers protection for a minimum period of
lifetime of the author plus 50 years in almost all the
countries.
 Both civil and criminal remedies are available against
infringement and piracy of the protected work.
Fair Use – The Four Factors
• The purpose and character of the use,
including whether such use is of commercial
nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
• The nature of the copyrighted work
• The amount and substantiality of the portion
used in relation to the copyrighted work as a
whole
• The effect of the use upon the potential
market for or value of the copyrighted work
 Copyright- Ownership
*author is the first owner of copyright in a work
•In the case of a literary or dramatic work the author,
i.e., the person who creates the work.
•In the case of a musical work, the composer.
•In the case of a cinematograph film, the producer.
•In the case of a sound recording, the producer.
•In the case of a photograph, the photographer.
•In the case of a computer generated work, the person
who causes the work to be created.

Joint authorship/ co-authors and joint work

 Copyright protection in India is for 60 years
Life time of the author + 60 years for a literary work
60 years from the date of registration for
cinematography, sound recording
Broadcaster,s right, Performer’s right is for 25
years
For Related Rights as per Rome Convention

20 years from the end of the year of performance, fixation in

phonograms or broadcasting

For Related Rights as per TRIPS agreement

Performers and producers : 50 years

Broadcasting organisations: 20 years
 Copyright protection in India

 Under Ministry of HRD, Governed by Copyright act 1957

Registration at B.2/W.3, C.R. Barracks, Kasturba Gandhi
Marg, New Delhi- 110 003
Fees
Literary, dramatic and musical work : Rs. 50 per work
Literary or artistic work used in relation to any goods : Rs. 400
Sound recording : Rs. 400
Cinematographic film : Rs. 600

Civil cases from district court

Offence cases- metropolitan or judicial magistrate.
 Copyright and the Internet
• Everything on the Internet is copyrighted
World Wide Web pages
Courses
Electronic mail, listservs and newsgroups
• The same copyright laws apply to electronic
materials as to print materials
 What you can do to protect IP
• Password protect your site
• Prominently display a copyright notice on
your course – watermark
• Use PDF files instead of HTML
 RELATED RIGHTS
Related rights also termed as neighboring rights are
the rights of persons or organizations who add substantial
creative, technical or organizational skill in the process of
bringing a work available to public. Protection is available to
performing artists, producers of phonograms and broadcasting
organizations from unauthorized exploitation of their rights
resulted from the financial and organizational resources and
technical skills which they add to the copyright protected work.
Unauthorized fixation, broadcasting ; direct or indirect
reproduction , importation and distribution of phonograms ;
unauthorized re-broadcasting and recording etc. can be
prevented by virtue of the above rights.
Protection under related rights also extends to broadcasting
of live events and folklores.
 Copyright - Evolution
LICENCING ACT 1662
STATUTE OF ANNE 10 April 1710
INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT ACT 1886
BERNE CONVENTION
COPYRIGHT ACT 1911
COPYRIGHT ACT 1956

COPYRIGHT ACT 1957 in INDIA

 INTERNATIONAL ACCORDS

BERNE CONVENTION 1886 (Paris text 1971)

ROME CONVENTION for the protection of Performers,
Producers and Broadcasting organizations 1961
Geneva convention for the protection of Producers of
Phonograms against Unauthorized duplication 1971
Brussels convention relating to the distribution of Programme-
carrying signals transmitted by satellite 1974
WIPO Copyright Treaty (WPT) , 1996
WIPO Performance and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT), 1996
Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
(TRIPS) Agreement, 1995
Universal Copyright Convention
 BERNE CONVENTION
•Established in 1886, oldest international convention concerning
copyright.
•Revised at Paris in 1896 and at Berlin in 1908,
•completed at Berne in 1914,
•revised at Rome in 1928, at Brussels in 1948, at Stockholm in 1967
and at Paris in 1971,
•and was amended in 1979
•Administered by WIPO
•No discrimination to member country citizens
•Protection by virtue of creation
•Minimum 50 years protection (life + 50 years)
 WIPO Copyright Treaty, 1996
Protection of works when transmitted by digital means,
including via the Internet.
SOFTWARE
DATABASE

The WIPO Performance and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT)

that entered into force on May 20, 2002 offer protection to
economic and moral rights as regards exploitation in digital
form including that over Internet.
 INFRINGEMENT AND REMEDIES

UNAUTHORISED USE
PIRACY

CIVIL REMEDIES
CRIMINAL REMEDIES
 Copyright infringement
• As the copyright owner has the exclusive
proprietary rights in its work, the copyright law
in India provides for both civil and criminal
remedies by which the rights holder can
enforce its rights Civil Litigation:

• A suit for infringement of copyright can be

initiated under the Act, irrespective of the fact
whether the copyright has been registered or
not.
 Copyright infringement
• Jurisdiction and Venue: The suit for infringement can be
initiated either in the District Court or in the High Court
depending on the valuation of the suit. The suit can be at the
place where the rights holder or one of the rights holders
actually and voluntarily reside or work for gain or carries on
business.

• Elements of the Complaint: In the Complaint, the rights holder

is required to demonstrate that (a) the alleged infringing act
involves a work that is identical or similar to the copyright of
the rights holder; (b) the unlawful act interfered with the
copyright holder's rights of exclusive use or caused the rights
holder economic loss.
 Statute of Limitation:

• As a general policy in India and as has been prescribed

in the Limitation Act, the rights holder has a period of
three years from the cause of action for filing the suit.
However, as copyright infringement is a continuing
offence and the infringer violates the exclusive
proprietary right of the rights holder every time he
commits a discreet infringing act, the limiting period
will anew with each new act. Nevertheless, it is
advisable that the legal action be initiated against the
infringer as promptly as possible in order to establish the
seriousness of the rights holder's intent before the Court.
 Ex-parte Interim Injunction
• Most Indian courts will grant ex-parte interim injunctions
should the rights holder establish its rights before the
Court, establish the gravity of the offence and that the
violation of its proprietary rights merit immediate
consideration.

• Ex-parte interim injunction is a temporary injunction

granted for the course of the trial restraining the infringer
from use of the infringing work and without any notice to
the infringer. These injunctions, depending on the gravity
of the offence, could be granted on the first day of the
hearing itself.
 Appointment of the Local
Commissioner
• : Depending on the facts of the case, it is
also advisable to ask the court to appoint a
local commissioner on the first date of the
hearing who will raid the premises of the
infringer where the infringing good are
stored in order to seize the goods.
 Damages
There has recently been a change in the
mindset of the Indian judiciary and some of the
courts grant damages to the rights holders. In
the case of Microsoft Corporation v. Yogesh
Papat & Anr {2005 (30) PTC 245 (Del)}, the
Delhi High Court awarded damages against the
Defendants for INR 19.75 lacs for loading the
software owned by Microsoft Corporation on
the computer of their customers without
seeking any permission from Microsoft
Corporation for use of the software
 Criminal Litigation:
• The Act provides for remedies for
infringement under the criminal laws too.
Under the copyright laws, the police have the
power to suo moto conduct raids and seizure
operations.
Knowing infringement shall be punished by
imprisonment of not less than 6 months or
more than three years with a fine, which may
extend to two lakhs
 Administrative Remedies:
• The Copyright Board is constituted under the Act,
and its jurisdiction extends to the whole of India.

• The Board is entrusted with the task of adjudication

of disputes pertaining to copyright registration,
assignment of copyright, grant of licenses in respect
of Indian works withheld from public, unpublished
Indian works, production and publication of
translations of works for certain specified purposes.

• It also hears cases in other miscellaneous matters

instituted before it under the Act
 Administrative Remedies:
• Furthermore, the rights holder can make an
application to the Registrar of Copyrights and the
Registrar of Copyrights, who will conduct an
inquiry, and can order that copies made outside of
India, which if made inside India would infringe the
work not be imported. Such copies will be deemed
to be goods for which the import has been
prohibited and/or restricted under the Customs Act,
1962, and the Registrar of Copyright or any person
authorized by him can enter any ship, dock or
premises where such infringing copies may be
found and may examine such copies.
Provisions under the Customs Laws:
• There are also certain provisions under the
customs laws that prohibit the importation of
infringing goods in India.

• The Customs Authorities have recently

promulgated guidelines known as the Intellectual
Property Rights (Imported Goods) Enforcement
Rules, 2007. These guidelines authorize the
Customs officials to seize goods infringing the
copyrights of the rights holder at the border
without obtaining any orders from the court
E-mail:secularcitizen@gmail.com
Phone:0471-2515218
Mobile : 9995632522