RIGHTS CONFERRED BY

COPYRIGHT

By Rupal Rautdesai
Nature of Rights

 Statutory Rights [Section 14]

 Negative Rights
 Multiple Rights
 Economic Rights
 Moral Rights
Statutory Rights [Section 14]
 In the case of a literary, dramatic or musical
work (except computer programme),
copyright means the exclusive right
 To reproduce the work
 To issue copies of the work to the public
 To perform the work in public
 To communicate the work to the public.
 To make cinematograph film or sound
recording in respect of the work
 To make any translation of the work
 To make any adaptation of the work.
 Adaptation is defined in Section 2(a) in relation to
various works.
 S.2 (ff) as amended by the
Copyright (Amendment ) Act, 2012
 ‘(ff) "communication to the public” means making any
work or performance available for being seen or heard or
otherwise enjoyed by the public directly or by any
means of display or diffusion other than by issuing
physical copies of it, whether simultaneously or at places
and times chosen individually, regardless of whether any
member of the public actually sees, hears or otherwise
enjoys the work or performance so made available.
 Explanation.—For the purposes of this clause,
communication through satellite or cable or any other
means of simultaneous communication to more than one
household or place of residence including residential
rooms of any hotel or hostel shall be deemed to be
communication to the public;’
 In case of Computer Programme

 In addition to all the rights applicable to

a literary work, owner of the copyright
in a computer programme enjoys the
rights to sell or give on commercial
rental, or offer for sale or for
commercial rental, any copy of the
computer programme; provided that
such commercial rental does not apply
in respect of computer programme
where the programme itself is not the
essential object of the rental.
o In case of an artistic work
 To reproduce the work – in any material
form including
 the storing of it in any medium by electronic
or other means
 depiction in three dimensions of a two
dimensional work or
 Depiction in two dimensions of a three
dimensional work

 To communicate the work to the public

 To issue copies of the work to the public
 To include the work in any cinematograph
film
 To make any adaptation of the work.
o In the case of a cinematograph film

 To make a copy of the film

including a photograph of any
image forming part thereof or
storing of it in any medium by
electronic or other means
 To sell or give on commercial rental
or offer for sale or such rental any
copy of the film
 To communicate the film to the
public.
o In the case of a Sound Recording

 To make any other sound recording

embodying it including storing of it
in any medium by electronic or
other means
 To sell or give on commercial rental
or offer for sale or such rental any
copy of the sound recording
 To communicate the sound
recording to the public.
Definition of Commercial Rental added
by Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012
 ‘(fa) "commercial rental” does not include the
rental, lease or lending of a lawfully acquired copy
of a computer programme, sound recording,
visual recording or cinematograph film for non-
profit purposes by a non-profit library or non-
profit educational institution.’;
 Explanation.—For the purposes of this clause, a
"non-profit library or nonprofit educational
institution” means a library or educational
institution which receives grants from the
Government or exempted from payment of tax
under the Income-Tax Act, 1961.
Negative Right

 It stops others from exploiting the

work of the author for their own
benefit without the consent or
license of the author
Multiple Rights
 Copyright is a bundle of rights
which can exist and be exploited
independently.
 The nature of these multiple rights
depends upon the categories of
works
 Example – In a Literary work, there
exists right to translate, abridge,
adapt, communicate
Economic Rights
 Rights mentioned under Section 14 are
economic rights
 Exploitation of work by exercising these
rights may bring economic benefit
 The author may exploit the work himself
or authorize or license others to exploit
any one or more rights for consideration
which may be in form of royalty or lump-
sum payment
Moral Rights
1. The right to decide whether to publish or not to
publish the work, i.e. the right to publication
2. Right to claim authorship of a published or
exhibited work
3. Right to prevent alteration and other actions that
may damage the author’s honour or reputation –
the right of integrity

The Berne Convention recognizes 2 and 3 of above

mentioned rights.

Section 57 of CR Act as amended in 1994 also

recognizes 2 and 3

These rights remain with the author even after

the transfer of copyright and lasts throughout
the entire term of copyright
 Amar Nath Sehgal v. Union of
India [2005 (30)PTC 253]
 Plaintiff a sculptor created a mural cast in bronze
for Vigyan Bhavan
 Artistic work was kept there from1962 to 1979
 During renovations Govt. removed it and dumped
in store room
 Because of mishandling mural lost its aesthetic and
market value.
 Plaintiff claimed injunction and damages Rs.50 lacs
 Court observed – right of author - honour and
reputation to be protected –as the intellectual
work has earned for him – and prevent distortion,
mutilation or modification
 Court awarded Rs.5 lac as damages.
Statutory limitations on Scope of Rights
[Section 52]

 Section 52 allows others persons to

exercise the rights comprised in a
copyright for specified purposes
under specified circumstances
without infringement
Assignment & Licence of Copyright

 Copyright is a bundle of right – they

can be exercised independently of
each other
 E.g. – Novel – can be published as a
volume, published in a newspaper
or magazine by serial publication, or
licensed to make a film
Assignment of Copyright

 Section 18 – Assignment of
copyright
 Section 19 – Mode of Assignment
 Section 19A – Disputes with respect
to assignment of copyright
Section 18: Assignment of Copyright
 Owner of a copyright or the prospective owner of the
copyright in a future work may assign to any person
the copyright wholly or partially…
 Assignment may be general – without any limitation
being placed or the assignee or the assignment may be
subject to certain limitations
 Assignment may be for a full term of copyright or for a
limited period of time
 Assignment may be on a territorial basis – for a
particular territory or country
 E.g. – An author assigns the right to serialize the work
into a television serial to a producer for a period of 15
years provided the serial is broadcast only within the
territory of India. ( It is a Limited assignment with
limitation as to time and territory)
 The 2012 amendment provides that the author of the
literary or musical work shall share royalties on an
equal basis with the author of cine film in all cases
other than communication of cine film to the public
along with communication in the cinema hall
Section 19: Mode of Assignment
 Assignment valid only if in writing signed by the
assignor or by his duly authorized agent
 The assignment instrument shall identify the work
and specify the rights assigned and the duration
and territorial extent
 Instrument should also specify the amount of
royalty and any other consideration payable to
the author or his legal heirs during the
subsistence of assignment and the assignment
shall be subject to revision, extension or
termination on terms mutually agreed upon by
the parties.
Section 19: Mode of Assignment ….
 If the assignee does not exercise the rights assigned to
him within one year from the date of assignment, the
assignment deemed to have lapsed after the expiry of
such period unless otherwise specified in the
assignment instrument
 When period of assignment is not stated the period is
deemed to be five years from date of assignment
 If territorial extent not specified – it is presumed to
extend within India
 If the assignment was made before coming into force
of Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1994, all the above
provisions would not be applicable. Except that the
assignment should have been through a written
instrument
Transmission of Copyright by
Operation of Law
 Copyright is kind of personal movable property.
 It can be transferred by assignment,
testamentary disposition (through will) or by
operation of law
 That means when the owner of copyright,
whether it is published or unpublished, dies, the
copyright will pass on to his personal
representatives as a part of estate, if such person
dies intestate (without making a will)
 Section 20 provides for transmission of copyright
in manuscript by testamentary disposition.
 Relinquishment of Copyright
 Section 21 deals with the right of the author to
relinquish copyright
 The author of a work may relinquish all or any
of the rights comprised in the copyright in the
work by giving notice in the prescribed form to
the Registrar of Copyright or by way of public
notice
 Registrar may cause such notice to be published
in official gazette
 Within 14 days of such publication in official
gazette, the Registrar of Copyrights, shall post
the same on official website so as to remain
there for a period of 3 years
Licenses in copyright
 Section 30 – Licences by owners of copyright
 Section 30A – Application of Sections 19
 Section 31 – Compulsory licence in works
withheld form public
 Section 31A- Compulsory licence in unpublished
Indian works
 Section 32 – Licence to produce and publish
translations
 Section 32A – Licence to reproduce and publish
works for certain purposes
 Section 32B – Termination of Licences issued
Section 30: Licences by owners of
Copyright
 The owner of the copyright in any existing work or
the prospective owner of the copyright in any
future work may grant any interest in the right by
licence in writing signed by him or by his duly
authorized agent.
 Provided that in the case of a licence relating to
copyright in any future work, the licence shall take
effect only when the work comes into existence.

Explanation – When a person to whom a licence

relating to copyright in any future work is granted
under this section dies before the work comes into
existence, his legal representatives shall, in the
absence of any provision to the contrary in the
licence , be entitled to benefit of the licence.
Difference between licence and
assignment
 Licence the rights granted are limited, ownership
remains with the author
 In case of assignment the ownership is
transferred to the assignee
 Case – Dharam Dutt Dhawan v. Ram Lal Suri, AIR
1953 Punj 279 (280)- Agreement in which author
agreed that the publishing and selling rights shall
be vested in and remain with the publishers. The
preamble defined the parties to include their
respective heirs, executors, administrators or
assignees. It was held that this was partial
assignment of publishing rights and not a licence.
Section 30A: Application of Sections 19

 The provision of Sections 19 (Mode

of Assignment) shall, with any
necessary adaptations and
modifications, apply in relation to a
licence under Section 30 as they
apply in relation to assignment of
copyright in a work.
Section 31: Compulsory licence in
works withheld from public
 (1) If at any time during the term of
copyright in any work which has been
published or performed in public, a
complaint is made to the Copyright Board
that the owner of copyright in the work-
 (a) Has refused to republish or allow the
republication of the work or has refused to
allow the performance in public of the work,
and by reason of such refusal the work is with
held from the public, or
 (b) Has refused to allow communication to the
public by broadcast of such work or in the case
of a sound recording the work recorded in such
sound recording, on terms which the
complainant considers reasonable;
 The Copyright Board, after giving to the owner of the
copyright in the work reasonable opportunity of
being heard and after holding such inquiry, as it may
deemed necessary, may, if it is satisfied that the
grounds for such refusal are not reasonable, direct
the Registrar of Copyrights to grant to the
complainant a licence to republish the work, perform
the work in public or communicate the work to the
public by broadcast, as the case may be, subject to
payment to the owner of the copyright of such
compensation and subject to such other terms and
conditions as the Copyright Board may determine,
and thereupon the Registrar of Copyrights shall
grant the licence of the complainant in accordance
with the direction of the Copyright Board, on
payment of such fees, as may be prescribed.
 (2) Where two or more persons have
made a complaint under sub section (1),
the licence shall be granted to the
complainant who in the opinion of the
Copyright Board would best serve the
interests of the general public.

Copyright Amendment 2012 - Sections 31

and 31A now apply to ‘any work’ instead of
only to Indian works, and to ‘unpublished
or published works’ instead of only to
unpublished Indian Works, respectively. As
such, their scope has been expanded
Super Cassette Industries Ltd. v.
Entertainment Network (India) Ltd.
[AIR 2004 Del 326]

 Held – that question of grant of

compulsory licence would arise only when
the artistic work has been withheld from
public. Compulsory licence need not be
issued to all who apply and are ready to
pay fee.
 While making orders, the Board has to
maintain a delicate balance between
private rights of copyright owner vis-a-vis
public interest.
 Various other provisions
 Section 31A – Compulsory licence in unpublished or
published works – to publish work or translation -
where author may be dead or unknown –
 Section 31B – Compulsory license for benefit of
disabled
 Section 31C- Statutory license for cover versions
 Section 31D – Statutory licence for broadcasting of
literary and musical works and sound recording
 Section 32 - Licence to produce and publish
translations
 Section 32A – Licence to reproduce and publish works
for certain purposes
 The new Section 31C facilitates the making of cover
versions five years after the first sound recording of
the concerned work is made, and generally with
royalty payable for a minimum of 50,000 copies
during each year in which copies are made. It could
be considered to be a substitute for the old Section
52(1)(j) which the 2012 amendments deleted from
the copyright statute.

The new Section 31D enables ‘any broadcasting

organisation desirous of communicating to the public
by way of a broadcast or by way of performance of a
literary or musical work and sound recording which
has already been published’ to do so by paying
royalty to the copyright owner.