Copyright
A copyright is an intellectual property right granted by a government that gives the owner exclusive right to use, with some limited exceptions, original expressive work.
The Copyright act 1957 as amended governs the subject of copyright law in India. The act is applicable from 21 January 1958. The Copyright Act 1957 was the first post-independence copyright legislation in India and the law has been amended six times since 1957. The most recent amendment was in the year 2012, through the Copyright Amendment Act 2012.
Copyright applies to a wide range of creative works, including:-
(1) Literary works:- Novels, poetry, newspapers, articles, nonfiction porse, magazines etc.
(2) Musical works:- Songs, compositions, instruments and advertising jingles.
(3) Dramatic works:- Plays, choreography, opera
(4) Pictorial, Graphics and Sculptural works:- Maps, photographs, drawings, paintings, statues, graphics art etc.
(5) Audiovisual works:- Movies, travelogues, documentaries and television shows etc
(6) Sound recording:- Recording of music, sounds etc
(7) Software:- Computer Software.
Copyright Exceptions:- Where copyright does not protect:-
~1 Product name
~2 Title of works
~3 Name of organizations
~4 Slogans and short advertising phrases. etc.
Note*- Such products names may be afforded protection under trademark law.
Duration of Copyright:- Generally, a copyright work is protected for the length of the author’s life plus another 60 years.
Features of Copyright
[1] The work must be original
[2] Copyright exists in expression of ideas and not slender idea
[3] Bundle of Rights
[4] Creation of Statute (copyright 1957)
[5] Transferable, and
[6] Duration of the right
The Copyright Act 1957 provides three kind of remedies-
(1) Civil Remedies: – The civil remedies are provided under chapter XII of the Copyright Act 1957 and the remedies provided include injunctions, damages and account of profits.
(2) Administrative Remedies: – The administrative remedies provided under the statue include detention of the infringing good by the customs authorities.
(3) Criminal Remedies: – The criminal remedies are provided under chapter XIII of the statute and the remedies provided against copyright infringement include imprisonment (up to 3 years) along with a fine (up to 2,00,000).
Source- Wikipedia
Written By Rajat Ranjan
