INTRODUCTION
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHT (IPR) is a right given to a person over the creation of his mind. IPR protects the right of intangible property which includes patents, trademarks, copyright, geographical indication, etc. The owner of IP has rights over his intangible property. No one can make use of it without the consent of the owner. Among these rights, Copyright has a unique and important role to play in the intellectual world.
Copyright in a work does not subsist in perpetuity. The term copyright protection is limited to the life of the author and fifty years after his death (usually referred to as 'fifty years pma' i.e. post-mortem auctoris) in most countries. The limited duration of copyright protection is a compromise between those who argue that copyright should be permanent i.e. last as long as the work is used because it is appreciated and enjoyed by the public, and those who argue that it is a personal right and should terminate with the life of the author so that the public can enjoy its unrestricted use after his death.
The compromise between the two groups having two different opinions gives rise to the notion that eventually the work should enrich the national culture and become public property after a specified period. After the expiry of the copyright term, the work falls into the public domain. In other words, after the expiry of the copyright term, any person can use the copyrighted work without any permission or authorization and without paying any fee or royalty. Apart from economic rights, the moral rights of the author also cease to exist after the expiry of the copyright in the work. In such a case, the users may use the work in any way they like, and no cause of action will lie against them even if the work has been distorted or mutilated.
Copyright is an Exclusion right given to a person's work using this intellect. In simple words, the copyright is given to Creative Works by the person. The work derived from the public domain which involves creativity must be protected under the copyright. The copyright is a bundle of rights that includes the right to reproduction, communication, and adaptation of the work. It protects the Proprietary Rights of the authors over their creation and rewards creativity. From this article, we come to know about the merits and demerits of the law.
NATURE OF COPYRIGHT
Copyright is an incorporeal property in nature. The property in the work is justified by the fact that the right owner has created or made it. As he is the owner of the property, he can dispose of it by outright sale (assignment of his right) or by licensing. Since the subject of the property is incorporeal, it gives a dominium over the work, a right in the work erga omnes. Property is 'intellectual property in the sense that it originates in the mind of a person before it is in material form. However, it is noteworthy that ideas and thoughts are not protected and merely exist in a man's brain, as ideas and thoughts do not work under copyright law. But once reduced to writing or other material forms, the result becomes a work worthy of protection.
Further, copyright is a bundle of exclusive rights. It is called a negative right which means that the right owner can prevent all others from copying his work, or doing any other acts which according to copyright law can only be done by him. This is also referred to as a monopoly as it is recognized that the production of a person's skill and labor is his property. However, the term "monopoly" is misleading. The reason is that if it can be shown that two precisely similar works were produced wholly independently of one another, there can be no infringement of copyright by one or the other.
HISTORY OF COPYRIGHT
The history of copyright is a complex, subtle, and rich subject. Depending on one's interest it is possible to highlight many different themes and trends. For example history of copyright could look at the gradual expansion of the subject matter and the rights granted to owners, the role that copyright law plays in shaping the notion of authorship, or the impact that copyright has on particular cultural practices. Most histories of British copyright law tend to focus on the origins of copyright, which a usually be traced back to the 1710 Statute of Anne, or occasionally to the practices developed in the sixteenth century to regulate the book trade. In this section, we limit ourselves to a brief chronological account of some of the more important political and legal events that frame and shape the current law
While aspects of copyright law have a long history, copyright law did not take on its modern meaning as a discrete area of law that grants rights in works of literature and art until at least the mid-nineteenth century. Moreover, it was not until the passage of the 1911 Copyright Act that copyright law was rationalized and codified into the type of modern, abstract, and forward-looking statute that concerns us here. The 1911 Act was also important in so far as it abolished common law copyright in unpublished works and also repealed the plethora of subject-specific statutes that existed at the time. In their place, the 1911 Act established a single code that conferred copyright protection on some works (whether published or not and including many previously unprotectable works such as works of architecture, sound recordings, and films).
The world's first copyright law was the Statute of Anne, enacted in England in 1710. This Act introduced the concept of the author of a work being its owner and laid out fixed terms of protection. Based on the statute gradually appeared in other countries such as The Copyright Act of 1790 in the United States, but copyright legislation remained uncoordinated at an international level until the 19th century.
The Berne Convention was developed at the instigation of Victor Hugo. In 1886, however, the Berne Convention was introduced to provide mutual recognition of copyright between nation-states and to promote the development of international standards for copyright protection. The first version of the Berne Convention treaty was signed on 9 September 1886, by Belgium, France, Germany, Haiti, Italy, Liberia, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, and the United Kingdom. aim of the Berne Convention, as indicated in its preamble, is "to protect, in as effective and uniform a manner as possible, the rights of authors in their literary and artistic works."
OBJECTIVES OF COPYRIGHT LAW
The primary objective of copyright is not to reward the labor of authors, but to promote the progress of science and useful arts. To this end, copyright assures authors the right to their original expression but encourages others to build freely upon the ideas and information conveyed by a work." The objectives of copyright law are mainly twofold. Firstly, the copyright law is developed by the nations to assure authors, composers, artists, designers, and other creative people as well as the film producers and producers of sound recordings, who risk their capital in putting their works before the public, the right to their original expression.
THE SWEAT ON THE BROW
The doctrine of "sweat of the brow", rewarded compilers for their efforts in collecting facts with a de facto copyright to those facts, and this doctrine would prevent, preclude the author absolutely from saving time and effort by referring to and relying upon prior published material. It extended copyright protection in a compilation beyond selection and arrangement-the compiler's original contribution to the facts themselves drawn on "sweat of the brow." The Court discarded the "sweat of the brow" notion of copyright law
In the case of Bleistein v. Donaldson Lithographing Co, The plaintiff was hired to design and produce chromolithographs to produce posters used as advertisements for a circus. The plaintiffs alleged that the defendants copied the chromolithographs without permission, and thus, the plaintiff brought a copyright infringement suit to recover damages. Defendant claimed that the plaintiff's work does not have any creativity. the court held that if there is a little amount of creativity, can award copyright to the owner.
THE IDEA CAN NOT BE COPYRIGHTED
Copyright gives basic protection to authors' ideas for their works and thereby preserves and rewards creativity. Because creativity is the keystone of development. it is a basic obligation all over the world which cannot be neglected. The idea of the author only when it gets a physical structure it can be protected. The efforts of writers, artists, musicians, architects, sound recording producers, cinematographic films, computer software, etc can be protected through copyrights.
works that are protected by the Copyright Act?
According to the Copyright Act, of 1957, the word 'work' involves a creative work consisting of a painting, a sculpture, a sketch (including a diagram, a map, a schematic, or a graph), a photograph, an architectural or artistic work, dramatic work, literary work (including computer programs, charts, compilations, and digital databases), musical work (including music and graphics).
- Literary works (Speeches, books, computer gaming)
- Musical (cassette, DVD, cd) Copyrights differ for
- different people. Dramatic (Plays, movies, etc.) work
- Choreographic works
- Graphic and cultural activities (Toys etc.)
- Additional Activities.
COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION PROCEDURE
The Copyright Act of 1957 governs copyright registration in India. One acquires the exclusive right in respect of their creative works, such as books, paintings, music, websites, software, novels, etc. by registering their copyrights.
The original work is protected by copyright in India from duplication or abuse by third parties. Copyright protects original works and prevents their unauthorized replication. Thus, essential application information like name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and nationality is necessary for copyright registration in India.
The applicant must obtain a clear copyright lookup certificate from the trademark office if the copyright is connected to any creative work. If the original author of the work is willing to register the copyright through a designated agent, they must give any advocate a power of attorney.
Documents Required for Copyright Registration in India. Documents required for copyright registration in India are listed below
Personal details:
- Name, address, and nationality of the applicant
- Name, address, and nationality of the author of the work
- Nature of the applicant's interest in the copyright - whether the applicant is the author of the work or the representative of the author
- Copies of the original work
- ID proof of the owner and incorporation certificate if it is for business
Nature of the work:
- Class & description of the work
- Title of the work
- Language of the work
- Date of publication - publication in internal magazines, like a company magazine or a research paper submitted to a professor does not count as publication.
Documents:
- Three copies of your work
- Authorization letter (will be sent to you)
OFFENCE OF INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT OR OTHER RIGHT
Knowingly abet Section 63 makes it an offense for any person who knowingly infringes (a) the copyright in a work, or (b) any other right conferred by the Act (except the resale of such infringement. However it is clarified that the construction of a building or share right in original copies as provided by section 53A) or other structure which infringes or which, if completed would infringe the copyright in some other work is not an offense and therefore not punishable.
The offense of Infringement of copyright is punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to three years and with a fine which shall not be less than Rs. 50,000/- but which may extend to Rs. 2 lakhs. The court has the discretion to reduce the minimum term of imprisonment and the minimum fine for adequate and special reasons where the infringement has not been made for gain in the course of trade or business. For the second and subsequent convictions, the minimum term of imprisonment is enhanced to one year and the minimum fine to Rs. 1 lakh which may be relaxed for adequate and special reasons to be mentioned in the judgment where the infringement was not made for gain in the course of trade or business. There I, however, no change in the maximum punishment."
In A.K. Mukherjee v. State & Another, the Delhi High Court observed: A bare perusal of the provision would go to show that emphasis is on the words "knowingly infringe the copyright in a work." These words postulate knowledge on the part of the accused that he was infringing the copyright in a work. The mere possibility of his having known it would not suffice. There has to be clear and conclusive proof of the requisite knowledge. Even the existence of reasonable means of knowing would not be enough. In short thus the use of the word "knowingly" in the provision results in requiring "men's rea in the full sense. This, in short, being the legal requirement under section 63 of the Copyright Board, evidence shall have to be led to bring home the required guilty knowledge.
CONCLUSION
To conclude, the purpose of copyright is to protect the rights of the creator and provide incentives and economic benefits to the creator. The scope of copyright extends to literary or artistic works which demand creativity including Databases and computer software. The registration of work is not necessary to be eligible for copyright however, it is often advised to register the work because it serves as a piece of evidence in court.
If a person infringes the copyrighted work of someone then he will be liable for both criminal liabilities and civil liabilities. However, there are certain exceptions to copyright infringement i.e. in certain cases a person is not required to obtain the permission of the copyright holder to use his work. However, it is always advised to produce the original work and not to use someone's copyrighted work without permission.
REFERENCE
Law Relating to Intellectual Property right - V.K Ahuja [second edition]
Intellectual Property Rights and the law- DR.G.B Reddy's
Principles of Intellectual property law – N.S Gopalakrishnan & T.G. Agitha
- The above Article is Written by Tamizh Mani T. (LLM - VIT SOL).
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