Unit 4 of Intellectual Property Laws (syllabus: Module IV — the Copyright Act 1957: subject-matter, ownership and term, the rights of the owner and of performers and broadcasters, assignment and licensing, fair dealing and the other exceptions, infringement and remedies, and the digital provisions so far as the sources allow). Below: what the unit covers, the provisions it turns on, and the cases an examiner expects you to name.
What this unit covers
- In what works does copyright subsist, and can copyright exist outside the Act?
- What does originality require in Indian copyright law?
- How many copyrights are there in a recorded film song?
- Who is the first owner of copyright, and when does the author lose it?
- What rights does copyright give the owner, and what rights remain with the author after assignment?
- How may copyright be assigned or licensed, and how does a compulsory licence differ from a statutory licence?
- Does Indian law have a fair use defence, and how wide is the teaching exception?
- When is copyright infringed by a work that is similar but not identical?
Treat that list as a self-test: recite each topic's rule from memory before you open its cases.
Provisions
- The Copyright Act, 1957, s. sections 16 and 13, with sections 22 to 29 on term
- The Copyright Act, 1957, s. section 13(1)(a)
- The Copyright Act, 1957, s. sections 2(o), 2(h), 2(p), 2(c), 2(f) and 2(xx)
- The Copyright Act, 1957, s. sections 17 and 2(d)
- The Copyright Act, 1957, s. sections 14 and 57
- The Copyright Act, 1957, s. sections 18, 19, 30, 31, 31A, 31D and 32
- The Copyright Act, 1957, s. section 52(1), and in particular clauses (a), (aa), (b) and (i)
- The Copyright Act, 1957, s. sections 51, 55, 62 and 63
Leading cases
- Eastern Book Company v. D.B. Modak
- Rupendra Kashyap v. Jiwan Publishing House
- Amar Nath Sehgal v. Union of India
- R.G. Anand v. M/s. Delux Films