Copyright Act, 1957

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• What is copyright
• Historical development in India
• Objectives of copyright law
• Nature of copyright
• Salient features of the Copyright Act, 1957
o Scope of rights conferred to the author
o Provisions to assert the ownership
o Civil and criminal remedies
o Establishment of copyright boards and offices
• Important sections of the Copyright Act, 1957
• Fee application for copyright registration in India
• Subject matter of copyright
o Original Literary Work
o Original Dramatic Work
o Original Musical Work
o Original Artistic Work
o Cinematographic Films
o Sound Recording
• Rights of the copyright holder
o Economic rights
▪ In the case of original literary, musical, and dramatic work:
▪ In the case, of computer program work:
▪ In the case of artistic work:
▪ In case of a cinematograph film work:
▪ In the case of a sound recording work:
o Moral rights
• Authorship and Ownership in copyright
• Assignment of copyright
o

▪ Mode of the assignment agreement

▪ Disputes related to the assignment of copyright
▪ Operation of law in assignment
• Infringement and remedies
o Civil remedies
▪ Interlocutory injunction
▪ Mareva injunction
▪ Anton Piller order
▪ John Deo’s order
o Pecuniary remedies
o Criminal remedies
• Exceptions
 o Fair Dealing
• Landmark case laws
o R.G. Anand v. M/S. Delux Films and Others (1978)
▪ Facts
▪ Issues
▪ Judgment
o Super Cassettes Industries Ltd. v. Music Broadcast Pvt. Ltd. (2012)
▪ Facts
▪ Issue
▪ Judgment
o Tips Industries Ltd. v. Wynk Ltd. and Anr. (2019)
▪ Facts
▪ Issue
▪ Judgment
o Sanjeev Pillai v. Vennu Kunnapalli (2019)
▪ Facts
▪ Issue
o Judgment
• Lacunae in the Copyright Act
• Conclusion
• Frequently Asked Questions
o How can a copyright owner give up his copyright?
o Is there any copyright protection for foreign works in India?
o Who shall be the first owner of the copyright?
o What steps must be taken in order to register a work under the
Copyright Act of 1957?
• References

Introduction
The Copyright Act, 1957, governs the law pertaining to copyright in India. The major goals
of this copyright law are twofold: first, to guarantee authors, musicians, painters, designers,
and other creative individuals the right to their creative interpretation; and second, to enable
others to openly develop upon the concepts and knowledge made available by a work.
India’s history with copyright laws dates back to the British Empire’s colonial rule. A law
called the Indian Copyright Act, 1957, was passed; it went into effect in January 1958 and
has since undergone five revisions, in 1983, 1984, 1992, 1994, and 1999. The Copyright
Act of 1957 was India’s first copyright law following independence, and six amendments
have been made since then. The Copyright (Amendment) Act 2012, which was passed in
2012, was the most recent amendment. The concept of copyright in India is governed by the
Indian Copyright Act, 1957, as modified from time to time, and the Indian Copyright Rules,
1958 (Rules).

Copyright law as its name suggests is the simple law that suggests if you create something
you own it and only you get to decide what happens next with it. The objective of this
copyright law is mainly twofold: first to assure authors, composers, artists, designers and
other creative people, who risk their capital in putting their works before the public, the
right of their original expression, and second to encourage others to build freely upon the
ideas and information conveyed by a work.

What is copyright
Copyright is a type of intellectual property right. Authors who have original works such as
works of literature (including computer programs, tables, collections, computer datasets,
expressed in words, codes, schemes, or in any other context, along with a device readable
medium), dramatic, musical, and artistic works, cinematographic films, and audio
recordings are all awarded copyright safeguards under Indian law. Instead of protecting the
ideas themselves, Copyright Law safeguards manifestations of ideas. Literary works,
theatrical works, musical works, creative works, cinematographic films, and sound
recordings all have copyright protection under Section 13 of the Copyright Act of 1957. For
instance, the Act protects literary works such as books and computer programs.

The term “copyright” refers to a collection of exclusive rights that Section 14 of the Act
grants to the owner of the copyright. Only the copyright owner or another person who has
permission to do so from the copyright owner may exercise these rights. These rights
include the ability to adapt, reproduce, publish, translate, and communicate with the public,
among other things. Copyright registration just establishes an entry for the work in the
Copyright Register kept by the Registrar of Copyrights and does not grant any rights.

Historical development in India

In India, the earliest law of copyright was enacted by the British during the realm of East
India Company that is the Indian Copyright Act, 1847 which was passed for the
enforcement of rules of English copyright in India. After it, by Copyright Act 1911, this
law was repealed, replaced and applied to all British colonies including India. Further, it
was again modified in 1914 by the Indian Copyright Act, 1914, which remained applicable
in India until replaced by the Copyright Act, 1957 by the parliament of sovereign India.

Objectives of copyright law

Copyright is primarily intended to advance science and useful art and to compensate authors
for their labour. In order to do this, copyright guarantees authors the right to their creative
expression while allowing others to openly expand upon the concepts and knowledge
presented in a work. The primary goals of copyright law are twofold. First and foremost,
copyright laws were created by nations to guarantee the original expression of writers,
songwriters, designers, artists, and other creatives, as well as film and sound recording
producers, who risked their money to present their works to the public.

Second, a work’s knowledge and suggestions can be freely expanded upon by others, thanks
to copyright legislation. Additionally, it permits some unrestricted uses of copyrighted
content. The Copyright Act of 1957 outlines the range of these permissible uses. To
establish harmony between the rights of the copyright owner and the welfare of people to
the greatest possible degree in the interest of society, measures relating to free use are
included in the Act. The Madras High Court held that “copyright law is to preserve the
fruits of a man’s effort, labour, talent, or test from annexation by other
persons” in Sulamangalam R. Jayalakshmi v. Meta Musicals, Chennai (2000).
Nature of copyright
In nature, copyright is an incorporeal property. The premise that the legitimate owner
developed or created the work justifies the property in it. The property owner has two
options for disposing of his property: outright sale (assignment of his rights) or licensing.
Copyright is also a collection of exclusive rights. A negative right is one that allows the
owner to stop someone from copying his creation or carrying out any other actions that,
under Copyright Law, are only permitted to be carried out by him. The exclusive rights to
works protected by copyright have a term limit. In contrast to physical property, which
endures for the lifetime of the thing on which it is bestowed, copyright only exists for a
finite amount of time. After this time period has passed, the work enters the ‘public
domain’. In other words, it becomes public property and is available for use without
restriction by everyone. Therefore, the public interest is served by exclusive rights to
copyrighted works for a short time.

Salient features of the Copyright Act, 1957

The salient features of the Copyright Act, 1957 are herein mentioned below:

Scope of rights conferred to the author

Literary works, musical works, theatrical works, creative works, sound recordings, and
cinematographic films are all protected by copyright under Section 13 of the Copyright Act
of 1957. Literary works, for instance, books, manuscripts, poetry, and theses are
safeguarded by the Act. Original literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works as well as
cinematographic and sound recordings are shielded from illegal access under the Copyright
Act of 1957. In contrast to patents, copyright safeguards expressions rather than ideas.

Provisions to assert the ownership

The original owner of the copyright is the creator of the work itself, as stated in Section
17 of the Copyrights Act of 1957. The one exception to this rule is when an employee
creates work while performing duties as part of their employment, in which case the
employer assumes ownership of the copyright.

Civil and criminal remedies

Section 55 of the Copyright Act of 1957 addresses civil remedies for copyright
infringement. These civil remedies encompass restitution, injunctions, account
interpretation, deletion and surrender of copies made infringing, as well as conversion
damages. Section 63 of the Copyright Act of 1957 specifies criminal penalties for copyright
infringement. These criminal penalties can take the form of jail time, fines, searches, the
seizure of contraband, etc. The maximum sentence for imprisonment is 3 years, but it
cannot be less than 6, and the maximum fine is between 50,000 and 2,00,000 rupees.

Establishment of copyright boards and offices

The Copyright Act of 1957 also makes provisions for the establishment of a copyright board
to assist in resolving copyright-related issues and a copyright office, which comes under the
jurisdiction of the Registrar of the Copyright, for the registration of books and other
“works” of art. The establishment of an office to be known as the Copyright Office for Act
purposes is provided for under Section 9 of the Copyright Act, 1957. The Copyright Board
was established under Section 11 of the Copyright Act of 1957.

Important sections of the Copyright Act, 1957

The following are the important sections of the Copyright Act of 1957:

• Section 2 deals with various definitions of the work which can be covered under the
definition of copyright. For example, Section 2(o) deals with literary works, Section 2(h)
includes all dramatic works under the definition of copyright protection, and Section (p)
deals with musical and graphical works.
• Section 13 of the Copyright Act, 1957, is the most requisite Section as it deals with the
subject matter of copyright protection. According to Section 13(1), all of India is under
the purview of the Copyright, and the following classifications of works are protected by
the Copyright:

1. Original artistic, musical, dramatic, and literary works

2. Sound recording
3. Cinematograph films

The published and unpublished works of architecture are discussed in Section 13(2). If the
work is published, it must be published in India. If the work is published outside of India,
the author must be an Indian citizen at the time of publication or at the time of his death.
Except for works of architecture, the authors of unpublished works must be Indian citizens
or have a place of residence in India. When it comes to architectural works, only the work
itself must be from India and not the architect, because architectural works can also be done
in written form. The copyright in an architectural work shall only apply to the creative
character and design and shall not include the construction process or processes.

• A few rights are protected under copyright legislation. These three types of rights are
common or economic, moral, and neighbouring. According to Section 14, moral rights
are granted under Section 57, economic rights are granted under Section 14 and
neighbouring rights are granted under Sections 37A and 378.

Fee application for copyright registration in India

Based on the kind of work covered by copyright legislation, creators interested in
registering for copyright registration must pay a specified fee. See what these costs are for
the different kinds of projects below.

Fee charged by the

Copyright protection for
copyright office
 Artistic, musical, drama
Rs. 500 per work
and literary works

Artistic and literary works

Rs. 2000 per work
used for goods

Sound recording Rs. 2000 per work

Cinematograph films Rs. 5000 per work

Subject matter of copyright

All subject matters protected by copyright are called ‘works’. Thus according to Section
13 of The Copyright Act 1957, it may be subjected for the following works:

• Original Literary Work,

• Original Dramatic work,
• Original Musical work,
• Original Artistic Work,
• Cinematography films, and
• Sound recordings.

Original Literary Work

It is the product of the human mind which may consist of a series of verbal or numerical
statements, not necessarily possessing aesthetic merit, capable of being expressed in
writing, and which has been arrived at by the exercise of substantial independent skill,
creative labor, or judgment. The Copyright Act, 1957 provides an inclusive definition of
literary work, according to which the literary work includes computer programming, tablets,
and compilations including computer databases.

Original Dramatic Work

According to the Copyright Act,1957, the dramatic work includes any piece for recitation,
choreographic work or entertainment in dumb shows, the scenic arrangement or acting form
which is fixed in writing or otherwise but does not include a cinematographic film. Since
the definition is an inclusive one, the other things fall within the general meaning of
dramatic work, and may also be covered by the definition.

Original Musical Work

According to the Copyright Act, 1957, musical work means any work consisting of music
and includes any graphical notion of such work, but does not include any words or any
action intended to be sung, spoken or performed with the music. In order to qualify for
copyright protection, a musical work must be original.
Original Artistic Work
According to the Copyright Act, 1957, artistic work includes any painting, sculpture,
drawing, or engraving photograph of any work possessing artistic qualities. However, it also
includes the architecture and artistic craftsmanship of such works.

Cinematographic Films
According to the Copyright Act,1957 cinematographic films includes any work of visual
recording and a sound recording accompanying such visual recording and the expression
cinematograph shall be construed as including any work produced by any process analogous
to cinematographic including video films.

Sound Recording
According to The Copyright Act, 1957, sound recording suggests a recording of sounds
from which that sound may be produced regardless of the medium on which such recording
is made or the method by which the sounds are produced.

Clause (a) of this Section 13 provides the definition of original work whereas clauses (b)
and (c) protect by-product works. This Section stipulates that copyright is subject to the
provisions of the aforesaid Section and therefore the different provisions of the Act don’t
exist de-hora and outside the ambit of the Act, it’s a right created under the statute and no
right outside the aforesaid Act is claimed.

Rights of the copyright holder

In the Copyright Act, 1957, the owner possesses the negative rights which are to prevent
others from using his works in certain ways and to claim compensation for the usurpation of
that right. In this Act, there are two types of rights given to the owner:

• Economical rights;
• Moral rights.

Economic rights
This right is also known as the Exclusive Rights of the copyright holder provided
under Section 14. In this Act different types of work come with different types of rights.
Such as:

In the case of original literary, musical, and dramatic work:

• Right to reproduce;
• Right to issue copies;
• Right to perform at public;
• Right to make cinematography and sound recording;
• Right to make any translation;
• Right to adaptation; and
 • Right to do any other activities related to the translation or adaptation.

In the case, of computer program work:

• Right to do any act aforesaid mentioned; and

• Right to sell, rent, offer for sale of the copyrighted work.

In the case of artistic work:

• Right to reproduce;
• Right to communicate;
• Right to issue copies;
• Right to make any cinematography and sound recording;
• Right to make an adaptation; and
• Right to do any other activities related to the translation or adaptation.

In case of a cinematograph film work:

• Right to sell, rent, offer for sale of the copyrighted work; and
• Right to communicate.

In the case of a sound recording work:

• Right to communicate;
• Right to issue copies; and
• Right to sell, rent, offer for sale of the copyrighted work.

Moral rights
In addition to the protection of economic rights, the Copyright Act, 1957 conjointly
protects ethical rights, that is due to the actual fact that a literary or inventive work reflects
the temperament of the creator, just as much as the economic rights reflect the author’s need
to keep the body and the soul of his work out from commercial exploitation and
infringement. These rights are supported by Article 6 of the Berne Convention of 1886,
formally referred to as a world convention for the protection of literary and inventive works,
whose core provision relies on the principle of national treatment, i.e. treats the opposite
good as one’s own.

Section 57 of The Copyright Act,1957 recognize two types of moral rights which are:

• Right to paternity– which incorporates the right to assert the authorship of the work,
and the right to forestall others from claiming authorship of his work; and
• Right to integrity- which incorporates right to restrain, or claim of damages in respect
of any distortion, modification, mutilation, or any other act relates to the said work if
such distortion, multiplication or alternative act would be prejudiced to claimant honor
or name.
Authorship and Ownership in copyright
Section 17 of this Act recognizes the author as the first owner, which states that subject to
the provision of this Act, the author of a work shall be the first owner of the copyright
therein:

• In the case of literary or dramatic composition, the author,

• In the case of musical work, the musician,
• In the case of creative work apart from photography, the artist,
• In the case of photographic work, the artist,
• In the case of cinematographic or recording work, the producer,
• In case of any work generated by any computer virus, the one who created.

However, this provision provided to bound exception:

• In case of creation is made by the author underemployment of the proprietor of

any newspaper, magazine or any periodic, the said proprietor,
• In the case where a photograph is taken, painting or portrait is drawn,
cinematograph is made for the valuable consideration of any person, such person,
• In case of a work done in the course of the author’s employment under the
contract of service, such employer,
• In case of address or speech delivered on behalf of another person in public, such
person,
• In the case of government works, the government,
• In the case of work done under direction and control of public undertaking such
public undertaking, and
• In the case of work done in which provision of Section 41 apply, concerned
international organizations.

Assignment of copyright
The owner of the copyright can generate wealth not only by exploiting it but also by sharing
it with others for mutual benefit. This can be done by the way of assignment and licensing
of copyright.

Only the owner of the copyright has the right to assign his existing or future copyrighted
work either wholly or partly and as a result of such assignment the assignee becomes
entitled to all the rights related to copyright to the assigned work, and he shall be treated as
the owner of the copyright in respect of those rights.

Mode of the assignment agreement

As per Section 19, these conditions are necessary for a valid assignment:

• It should be in writing and signed;

 • It should specify the kinds of rights assigned and the duration or territorial extent;
and
• It should specify the amount of royalty payable if required in any case.

It is also provided that, if the period is not mentioned in the agreement it will be considered
as five years and if the territorial extent is not stipulated in the agreement, it will be
considered as applicable to the whole of India.

Disputes related to the assignment of copyright

According to the Copyright Act, 1957, the appellant board where the receipt of the
complaint by the assignor and after holding necessary inquiry finds that the assignee has
failed to make the exercise of the rights assigned to him, and such failure is attributed to any
act or omission of the assignor, may by suitable order, revoke such assignment. However, if
the dispute arises with respect to the assignment of any copyright then that appellate board
may also order the recovery of any royalty payable.

Operation of law in assignment

According to The Copyright Act, 1957, where under a bequest a person is entitled to the
manuscript of any literary, dramatic or any other kind of work and such work has not been
published before the death of the testator, unless the contrary is proved such person shall be
treated as the owner for such work.

Infringement and remedies

Where a person intentionally or unintentionally infringes the rights of the copyright holder,
the holder may be subject to the following remedies available under this Act.

Civil remedies
These remedies are given under Section 55 of the Copyright Act,1957 which are:

Interlocutory injunction
This is the most important remedy against copyright infringement, it means a judicial
process by which one who is threatening to invade or has invaded the legal or equitable
rights of another is restrained from commencing or continuing such act, or is commanded to
restore matters to the position in which they stood previous to the relation. Thus for granting
the interlocutory injunction, the following three factors are considered as necessary:

• Prima facie case, is an assumption of the court that the plaintiff can succeed in the case
and become eligible for relief.
• Balance of convenience, in it the court will determine which parties suffer the greater
harm, this determination can vary with the facts of each case.
• Irreparable injury, it is difficult to decide and determine on a case-by-case basis. Some
examples of it include- loss of goodwill or irrevocable damages to reputation, and loss of
market share.
Mareva injunction
This is a particular form of the interlocutory injunction which restrains the defendant from
disposing of assets that may be required to satisfy the plaintiff’s claim or for removing them
from the jurisdiction of the Court.

Anton Piller order

This order is passed to take into possession the infringed documents, copies and other
relevant material of the defendant, by the solicitor of the plaintiff. This order is named after
the famous case of Anton Piller KG v/s Manufacturing Process Ltd, 1976. In this case, the
plaintiff Antone Piller, the German manufacturer is successful in passing ex-parte awards of
restraining the use of his copyrighted products against the defendant.

John Deo’s order

In this order, the Court has the power to injunct rather than those impeded in the suit, who
may be found violating the rights in the field of copyright. Thus this order is issued against
the unknown person, who has allegedly committed some wrong, but whose identities cannot
entertain the plaintiff.

Pecuniary remedies
There are three types of pecuniary remedies provided:

1. An account of profit, lets the owner seek the sum of money made, equal to the profit
made through unlawful conduct.
2. Compensatory damages, which let the copyright owner seek the damages he suffered.
3. Conversational damages are assessed to the value of the article.

Criminal remedies
Section 63 of the Copyright Act provides for criminal remedies if there is any copyright
infringement. According to Section 63 of the Act, anyone found guilty of willfully violating
or aiding in the violation of a work’s copyright will be sentenced to at least six months in
prison and a fine of at least 50,000 rupees. A person who is found guilty under Section
63A a second time faces an additional sentence of imprisonment for a term not less than one
year and a fine that cannot be less than one lakh rupees due to the widespread copyright
infringement. According to Section 63B, a person who intentionally uses an illegal copy of
computer software on a computer faces a minimum seven-day sentence in jail and a fine of
at least 50,000 rupees.

For infringement of copyright, the criminal remedies provided under Section 63:

• Imprisonment, not less than 6 months which may extend up to 3 years;

• Fine may not be less than 50,000 which may extend up to 2,00,000;
• Search and seizure of copyrighted goods; and
• Delivery of copyrighted goods to the copyrighted owner.

In the case of repeat offenders, minimum punishment terms of 1 year and fine of 1 lakh
however, the highest punishment will be the same as the first time offender.
Exceptions
This act shall not constitute copyright infringement in cases of:

Fair Dealing
Fair dealing is the statutory limitation on the exclusive right of the copyright owner which
permits reproduction or use of copyrighted work in a manner that otherwise would have
constituted infringement. This law is given under Section 52 of the Copyright Act,1957
according to which the free uses can be made for any work except computer program for the
purposes:

• For private and personal use including research,

• For criticism and review,
• For reporting of current events or issues including lectures in public,
• For broadcasting in cinematographic films or by posting photographs,
• For reproduction and reporting of any judicial proceeding,
• For reproduction, or publication of any kind of work prepared by the secretariat of
a legislature,
• For reproduction of any kind of work in a certified copy made or supplied
accordance with any law,
• For reading and recitation of any literary or dramatic work in the public domain,
• For publication of any non-copyright matter bonafide intended for the use of
educational institutes, and
• For recording any sound by the owner of the right in the work.

Landmark case laws

R.G. Anand v. M/S. Delux Films and Others (1978)
Facts
The respondent is a film production firm, while the appellant is a playwright and an
architect by profession. In the year 1953, the appellant wrote a play titled “Hum
Hindustani,” which was performed in New Delhi the following year, in the year 1954. The
play was so popular that it was presented again in Calcutta in the years 1954, 1955, and
1956. Due to the play’s popularity, the appellant sought to have it made into a movie. The
appellant’s purpose was made known to the respondent, and the two met in New Delhi to
talk about the possibility of hearing it. The respondent was given a detailed explanation of
the entire play by the appellant, but no promise to film it was made by the respondent. In
1956, the respondent produced a film titled “New Delhi,” which was thereafter released.
After watching the film, the appellant claimed that the respondents had plagiarised his play
and used it as the basis for a movie without his consent. The appellant then presented a case
to the Delhi District Judge. The appellants argued in court that the play and movie share
striking parallels and are both founded on the same concept, namely “Provincialism.” The
District Judge, however, disagreed with the appellant’s assertion following the arguments.

Issues
Whether the plaintiff’s copyright in the play “Hum Hindustani” was violated by the
defendants’ distribution, production, and screening of the movie “New Delhi”?
Judgment
The Court’s judgment was given by Justice Fazal Ali. The Court determined that even if
both the play and the movie may have been inspired by the concept of “Provincialism,” they
are very different from one another. The movie also depicts other aspects of
“Provincialism,” such as “Provincialism” in the leasing of outhouses, which are not
depicted in the play when it comes to marriage. The play doesn’t illustrate the evils of
dowry, but the movie does. Because the concept in both the play and the movie is identical,
the court struck down the appellants’ claim because it is well-established law that a concept
cannot be protected by copyright. The Court cited N.T. Raghunathan and Anr. v. All India
Reporter Ltd., Bombay (1957), and held that there may be some similarities. According to
the Court, a regular person would not consider the play and the movie to be a duplicate of
the play if they were to view both. The claim made by the appellants that their copyright has
been violated cannot stand due to the significant disparities between the play and the movie.
The Delhi High Court’s decision has been maintained court. As a result, the Court ruled in
favour of the respondents on both matters, and thus there was no violation.

Super Cassettes Industries Ltd. v. Music Broadcast Pvt. Ltd. (2012)

Facts
The case between Music Broadcast Pvt. Ltd. (MBPL) and Super Cassette Industries Limited
(SCIL) over the determination of a licence agreement’s royalty rate gave rise to the interim
orders made by the Copyright Board, which are the subject of this appeal. In accordance
with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two parties, if the parties are
involved in lawsuits and a court or arbitration board, whether in an interim or final order,
specifies a rate that is distinct from what the parties have agreed upon, MBPL shall make
payments to SCIL at the altered rate so specified by the court or arbitration board, with
immediate effect so specified in such an order. The appellant had sought the Copyright
Board in 2001 to seek redress against the respondent’s inflated royalty fee claim. The Board
had granted an obligatory licence in favour of the appellant for 661/- per needle hour based
on the initial evidence, the balance of convenience, and irreparable damage. The respondent
argues that, in accordance with Section 31 of the Copyright Act of 1957, the Copyright
Board lacks the express authority to issue such interim decisions and asks for the orders
granted by the Copyright Board to be revoked.

Issue
Whether the Copyright Board has the authority to issue temporary orders and determine the
royalties for a temporary order in proceedings under Section 31 of the Copyright Act, 1957?

Judgment
The Copyright Board was ordered for the purpose of setting an interim fee, and this Court
stated that the Board had the authority to rule on both the interim and final terms of a
compulsory licence. Considering the subject matter of the Special Leave Petitions, the Court
declined to issue an interim stay of the Copyright Board’s order.
Tips Industries Ltd. v. Wynk Ltd. and Anr. (2019)
Facts
The Indian music label Tips Industries Ltd. (Plaintiff) has the copyright to a sizable music
archive, and in 2016 it allowed Wynk Music Ltd. (Defendant) permission to access this
archive. Both parties attempted to renegotiate the licensing terms at the licence’s expiration
but were unsuccessful, thus Wynk sought protection under Section 31D of the Copyright
Act. Tips contested Wynk’s use of Section 31D and filed a lawsuit against Wynk under
Section 14(1)(e) for violating their exclusive sound recording rights.

Issue
Whether the Copyright Act has a legislative licensing scheme for streaming platforms?

Judgment
The Bombay High Court reached a decision after hearing the arguments from both parties
and concluded that Wynk had engaged in direct violation on two counts: firstly, by making
the copyrighted work available under Section 14(1)(e)(ii), which allowed users to download
and subscribe to the plaintiff’s work offline; and secondly, by making the plaintiff’s works
available to users via their streaming platform. The decision was made in the plaintiff’s
direction, and the Court determined that the plaintiff was eligible for an interim injunction
since they had presented a strong case and would incur severe financial damage.

Sanjeev Pillai v. Vennu Kunnapalli (2019)

Facts
The appellant, director, and screenwriter Sajeev Pillai, asserted to have done a background
study on the great festival of Mamankam and written a script for a film based on the same
epic. He signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kunnapalli-related Kavya Film
Company after meeting Venu Kunnapalli. Initially designated as the director, Sajeev’s
position was later removed and filled by someone else. After that, the movie’s filming was
finished, according to Sajeev, who claimed that his script had been altered, mutilated, and
otherwise changed. In light of this, Sajeev filed a lawsuit and requested a number of reliefs.
A request for an interim injunction was also made to prevent the respondents from
publishing, releasing, disseminating, and exploiting the movie and from releasing pre-
release advertising without adequately crediting Pillai as the author in accordance with film
industry norms.

Issue
Whether Section 57(1) of the Copyright Act grant the creator of a work particular rights to
assert authorship of that work even after the assignment of that work?

Judgment
In reaching its decision, the Court stated that Section 57(1) grants the author the right to
enjoin third parties, and its second sub-section grants the author the right to sue those third
parties for damages if their actions result in deformations, destruction, or other alteration of
his work or in any other action related thereto that would be detrimental to his dignity or
reputation. This gave the appellant an unmatched edge in the situation and ensured that his
assignment of the work would preserve his legal claim to authorship.

Lacunae in the Copyright Act

The development of copyright law has a lengthy and complicated history. It has been in the
evolving phase for centuries. This is a result of how quickly technology is evolving. The old
law is becoming obsolete when new methods are discovered, especially when it comes to
non-literal works. Because copyright infringement is so subjective in nature, it is frequently
exceedingly challenging to come to a verdict on cases involving it. Thus, in order to reduce
this subjectivity and effectively address this issue, we need new regulations that are
specifically related to copyright.

Conclusion
The copyright law is considered as an essential law of protection for a country because it
enriches its national cultural heritage of it. However, higher the level of protection given
to literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work in any country, automatically higher is the
number of intelligent creation, i.e. higher its renown. Thus, in the final analysis, we can
say for economic, cultural and social development, it is the basic perquisites.