PROJECT REPORT ON

WORKS PROTECT UNDER COPYRIGHTS

ACT
Submitted to- Prof. Dr. Supreet Gill Submitted by- Navjot Kaur Sidhu
Class- B.com LL. B. (Hons)
Section- D
Roll no. - 173/17

Date…………………….. Signature……………………….

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Acknowledgement
First of all I am thankful to the almighty who has given me the beautiful gift of education.
Secondly, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to our Intellectual Property Law’s teacher “Dr. Supreet
Gill” for being such a great teacher and guide. I really appreciate the way she has given us the
liberty to do our projects and her lectures have been a great help in preparing the project report.
The memes and bollywood stuff related to intellectual property discussed by ma’am made this
course all interesting and fun.

I am thankful to my parents for everything. I am grateful for the support and guidance extended
by my friends when required. Without them I would have not been able to complete and submit
this project on time.

Navjot Kaur Sidhu 173/17

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 Table of content
s.no Particulars Page no.
1. Introduction 5-6
2. Indian Perspective on Copyright Protection 7-8
3. Characteristic features of Copyright 9
4. Works Protected Under Copyright Act, 1957 10-21
5. Works not protected under Indian Copyrights 21-22
6. Works protected under International Conventions 22-24
7. Bibliography 25

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 Table of Cases
A

Abernethy v. Hutchinson

Associated Publications V. Bashyam

Blackwood v. Parasuram

Chappel v. Redwood Music

Eastern Book co. v. Navin J. Desai

Fateh Singh Mehta V. Singhal

Govindan V. Gopalakrishnan

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Introduction
Intellectual property is a creation of human mind. It is incorporeal. It is intangible the intellectual
worker innovates something new in the form of invention, which is original, new and having
inventive steps. It may be in the form of process or product when the creation of the mind is
recognized and protected by law, it becomes rights.1 Copyright is a form of intellectual property
protection granted under Indian law to the creators of original works of authorship such as
literary works (including computer programs, tables and compilations including computer
databases which may be expressed in words, codes, schemes or in any other form, including a
machine readable medium), dramatic, musical and artistic works, cinematographic films and
sound recordings.

Copyright law protects expressions of ideas rather than the ideas themselves. Under section 13 of
the Copyright Act 1957, copyright protection is conferred on literary works, dramatic works,
musical works, artistic works, cinematograph films and sound recording. For example, books,
computer programs are protected under the Act as literary works.

Copyright law protects expressions of ideas rather than the ideas themselves. Under section 13 of
the Copyright Act 1957, copyright protection is conferred on literary works, dramatic works,
musical works, artistic works, cinematograph films and sound recording. For example, books,
computer programs are protected under the Act as literary works.

Copyright refers to a bundle of exclusive rights vested in the owner of copyright by virtue of
Section 14 of the Act. These rights can be exercised only by the owner of copyright or by any
other person who is duly licensed in this regard by the owner of copyright. These rights include
the right of adaptation, right of reproduction, right of publication, right to make translations,
communication to public etc.

Copyright protection is conferred on all Original literary, artistic, musical or dramatic,

cinematograph and sound recording works. Original means, that the work has not been copied
from any other source. Copyright protection commences the moment a work is created, and its
registration is optional. However it is always advisable to obtain a registration for a better
protection. Copyright registration does not confer any rights and is merely a prima facie proof of
an entry in respect of the work in the Copyright Register maintained by the Registrar of
Copyrights.
As per Section 17 of the Act, the author or creator of the work is the first owner of copyright. An
exception to this rule is that, the employer becomes the owner of copyright in circumstances
where the employee creates a work in the course of and scope of employment.
1
Dr. S.C. Roy “Lectures on Intellectual Property Law”, Chanakya National Law University, Patna-1, 2009 edition at
page 20

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Copyright registration is invaluable to a copyright holder who wishes to take a civil or criminal
action against the infringer. Registration formalities are simple and the paperwork is least. In
case, the work has been created by a person other than employee, it would be necessary to file
with the application, a copy of the assignment deed.
One of the supreme advantages of copyright protection is that protection is available in several
countries across the world, although the work is first published in India by reason of India being
a member of Berne Convention. Protection is given to works first published in India, in respect
of all countries that are member states to treaties and conventions to which India is a member.
Thus, without formally applying for protection, copyright protection is available to works first
published in India, across several countries. Also, the government of India has by virtue of the
International Copyright Order, 1999, extended copyright protection to works first published
outside India.

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Indian perspective on copyright
protection
The Copyright Act, 1957 provides copyright protection in India. It confers copyright protection
in the following two forms:

 Economic Rights:
The copyright subsists in original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works; cinematographs
films and sound recordings. The authors of copyright in the aforesaid works enjoy economic
rights u/s 14 of the Act. The rights are mainly, in respect of literary, dramatic and musical, other
than computer program, to reproduce the work in any material form including the storing of it in
any medium by electronic means, to issue copies of the work to the public, to perform the work
in public or communicating it to the public, to make any cinematograph film or sound recording
in respect of the work, and to make any translation or adaptation of the work.

In the case of computer program, the author enjoys in addition to the aforesaid rights, the right to
sell or give on hire, or offer for sale or hire any copy of the computer program regardless
whether such copy has been sold or given on hire on earlier occasions. In the case of an artistic
work, the rights available to an author include the right to reproduce the work in any material
form, including depiction in three dimensions of a two dimensional work or in two dimensions of
a three dimensional work, to communicate or issues copies of the work to the public, to include
the work in any cinematograph work, and to make any adaptation of the work.

In the case of cinematograph film, the author enjoys the right to make a copy of the film
including a photograph of any image forming part thereof, to sell or give on hire or offer for sale
or hire, any copy of the film, and to communicate the film to the public. These rights are
similarly available to the author of sound recording. In addition to the aforesaid rights, the author
of a painting, sculpture, drawing or of a manuscript of a literary, dramatic or musical work, if he
was the first owner of the copyright, shall be entitled to have a right to share in the resale price of
such original copy provided that the resale price exceeds rupees ten thousand.

 Moral Rights:
Section 57 of the Act defines the two basic 'moral rights of an author. These are:

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 I. Right of paternity, and
II. Right of integrity.

The right of paternity refers to a right of an author to claim authorship of work and a right to
prevent all others from claiming authorship of his work. Right of integrity empowers the author
to prevent distortion, mutilation or other alterations of his work, or any other action in relation to
said work, which would be prejudicial to his honour or reputation.

The proviso to section 57(1) provides that the author shall not have any right to restrain or claim
damages in respect of any adaptation of a computer program to which section 52 (1)(aa) applies
(i.e. reverse engineering of the same). It must be noted that failure to display a work or to display
it to the satisfaction of the author shall not be deemed to be an infringement of the rights
conferred by this section. The legal representatives of the author may exercise the rights
conferred upon an author of a work by section 57(1), other than the right to claim authorship of
the work.2

2
https://www.legalserviceindia.com/article/l195-Copyright-Law-in-India.html Retrieved on 26 May 2022 at 1:37
pm

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Characteristic features of Copyright
The main essential characteristic features of copyright are:

Originality

Expression in some form

Bundle of rights

Originality

To have copyright, work must be original. This means literary, dramatic, musical, artistic,
cinematographic film and sound recordings must be created by the author’s intellect by
employing his skill, judgment, labour, time or capital and they must not be copied.

Expression in some form

Copyright protection is given only when the created work is expressed or fixed in manual or
electronic or in some tangible form. A mere idea is not capable of protection under copyright.

Bundle of rights

The term copyright includes a number of rights. The creator or author of the works will have a
bundle of rights in his creation. For example, Ms. J. K. Rowling who is the author of the famous
novel Harry Potter has multiple rights like the right of reproduction, right to issue copies, right to
perform or communicate the work in public, right to make a film, right to translate, etc.

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Works protected under Indian Copyright Act,
1957
Section 13 of the copyright act lists out the works, in which copyright subsists. Listed below are
the works in which copyright subsists:

(1) LITERARY WORKS

“Literary works” are defined in Section 101 of the Copyright Act as “works, other than
audiovisual works, expressed in words, numbers, or other verbal or numerical symbols or
indicia, regardless of the nature of the material objects, such as books, periodicals, manuscripts,
phono-records, film, tapes, disks, or cards, in which they are embodied.”

Copyright subsists in original literary work. The meaning of literary work under copyright Act is
not in consonance with common meaning of the term. It does not mean novel, poetry, drama
written in any language and printed. The Berne convention defines literary work as “every
production in the literary, scientific and artistic domain, whatever may be the mode or form of its
expression, such as books, pamphlets and other writings, lectures, addresses, sermons and other

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works of the same nature, dramatic or dramatic-musical works, choreographic works and
entertainments in dumb show, musical composition with or without words.3

Copyrights subsists in original works of the author and also the literary work does not always
need to be of literary quality it includes all works expressed in writing whether they have any
literary merit or not.

SOME ILLUSTRATIONS OF COPYRIGHT IN LITERARY WORK

 Adaptation of Literary work

Copyright subsists in original adaptation of another literary work because the adaptation
itself can be a literary work. Adaptation in relation to literary work means the conversion
of the work into a dramatic work by way of performance in public or otherwise.

According to Section 2(a)(v) of the act adaptation in relation to any work includes any
such use of such work involving the rearrangement or alteration. Where the owner of
copyright in an original work licenses another person to arrange or adapt it e.g to base a
film script or a play upon a book, the copyright in the arrangement then vests in the
arranger.4

 Abridgement of Literary work

Abridgement is the reproduction of an original work in a much more precise and concise
way. So a genuine abridgement of a literary work is an ‘original work’ and is the subject
matter of copyright. An abridgement of a literary is entitled to protection if it is original
and the author has bestowed sufficient skill and labour upon it as observed in Govindan
V. Gopalakrishnam5

 Translation

The word translation has not been defined in the act. The expression translation as
definedin Black’s Law Dictionary means: “the reproduction in one language of a book,
document or speech in another language.”

3
Supra 1 at page 55
4 th
Dr. B.L. Wadehra “Law Relating to Intellectual Property”, Universal Law Publications, 4 edition at page 270
5
AIR 1955 Mad 391

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 In Blackwood v. Parasuram6it was held that translation of a literary work is itself a
literary work and is entitled to copyright protection if it is original and the author has
expended sufficient labour and skill on it.

 New editions of Existing work

To create a copyright in a new edition there must be evidence of labour skill and capital
invested to make alterations which give a new face to the already existing book.

 Report/Judgement/Order of Judicial Proceedings

The Judgement or order of a court, tribunal or other judicial authority is exempted from
copyright protection. Whereas, the judgements of the courts are published in the law
reports. If the reporters prepare the headnotes and publish them, that headnote is
copyrightable. The headnotes may qualify as original literary work. Similar observations
have been made in Eastern Book co. V. Navin J. Desai7

Copyright subsists also in commentaries on the acts as the author needs to bestow
considerable amount of labour, skill, knowledge and judgement in selecting materials
from large number of judgements spread out in volumes and it also requires interpretation
of various judgements.

 Historical work

Historical facts are not copyrightable per se. But a book on history, designed to convey
information in particular form is copyrightable because it is a product of mental labour,
skill and judgement over the historical facts.

 Lecture

A lecture includes address, speech and sermon. A lecture will be entitled to copyright
only if it is reduced to writing before it is delivered.

Section 38 of the Copyright (Amedment ) Act,1994, has conferred on performers certain

special rights called ‘performers’ rights’. A person who delivers a lecture is a performer
under section 2(qq) and is therefore entitled to performer’s rights.

6
AIR 1959 Madras 410
7
AIR 2001, Del. 201.

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 In the case of Abernethy v.Hutchinson8it was held that students are under an implied
contract not to publish classroom lectures though they are entitled to use them for their
own information in studies.

 Question Papers

The person who sets out question papers invests labour, skill and time on the preparation.
He is the author of the question paper and the copyright vests in him. This opinion has
been time and again reiterated in different judgements of the courts, e.g. Jagdish Prasad
v. Parmmeswar Prasad9 and Aggarwala Publishing House V. Board of High School
and Intermediate Education10

 Research thesis and Dessertations

In Fateh Singh Mehta V. Singhal11the guide copied from a student’s thesis for his own
Ph.D thesis, interim injunction was granted against awarding Ph.D to the guide.

 Dictionaries, Compilations, Directories

Copyright subsists in the dictionaries because they are compilations and compilations are
included in the definition of literary work. In Chappel V. Redwood Music12 it was held
that the collective works like encyclopedia or a dictionary constitute works written in
distinct parts by different authors or in which works or parts of works of different authors
are incorporated. Each such author has a copyright besides the compiler of the dictionary
who also has a separate copyright in the work.

 Computer programme

Section 2(ffc) defines computer programme as a set of instructions expressed in words,

codes, schemes or any other form, including a machine readable medium capable of
causing a computer to perform a particular task or achieve a particular result. Computer
programmes are considered to be literary works entitled to copyright protection.

 Letters

Copyright subsists in private letters, commercial and government letters as they are
original literary works. The author of the letter is the owner of copyright in the case of
8
9
AIR 1966 Pat 33
10
AIR 1957 All 9
11
(1990) IPR 69 Raj
12
1981 RPC 337

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 private letters. In the case of commercial or government letters written by employees in
the course of employment, the copyright belongs to employer in accordance with the
provisions of section 17(a).when a person sends a letter to a newspaper, the newspaper
gets an implied license to publish it and also a right to edit or alter it so long as it does not
affect the literary reputation of the writer.13

(2) DRAMATIC WORKS

The Dramatic Work is also a type of literary work. As per section 2(h) the Dramatic Works
includes any arrangement of acting a play, or a part for recitation, or choreographing work or
dumb show entertainment, a picturesque arrangement, or acting work based on a fixed writing
work. But, the Dramatic works does not include any type of cinematograph films.14

Dramatic works include dance and mime and therefore cover operas, ballets and screenplays as
well as plays. However as in the case of literary work, for a copyright to subsist, a dramatic
work must also be recorded.

Types of published or unpublished dramatic works that may be submitted for registration include
choreography, pantomimes, plays, treatments, and scripts prepared for cinema, radio, and
television. These works may be with or without music.

Generally, dramatic works such as plays and radio or television scripts are works intended to be
performed. Dramatic works usually include spoken text, plot, and directions for action. It
however needs to be emphasized that certain matters of a dramatic work are not subject to
copyright. These include:

 The title of a program or series of programs.

 The general idea or concept for a program. Copyright will protect the literary or dramatic
expression of an author’s idea but not the idea itself.
 Registration for a particular script applies only to the copyrightable material in that script.
“Blanket” registration for future scripts or for a series as a whole is not available.
However, an unpublished collection of material may be registered with one application.

For the purpose of copyright of a dramatic work, a copy of the manuscript, printed copy, film
or video recording, or a phonorecord may be treated as a script. The registration of the work is
normally effective on the day all the material is received in the Copyright Office in acceptable
form.

13
Wadehra at page 274s
14
https://corpbiz.io/learning/type-of-works-protected-by-copyright-in-india/ retrieved on 27 may 2022 at 12:54
pm

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Copyright in a dramatic work can be claimed for choreographic show of the work, the script or
the scenario in case of a cinematograph film, but does not include the film itself. Dramatic work
also includes the script or lines for a performer as well as choreographic notation. In short, any
work that is intended to be performed would be covered as a dramatic work.

The author of a dramatic work can apply for copyright protection. The law protects the author of
a dramatic work by preventing others from:

1. Reproducing the copyrighted work in copies or recordings

2. Preparing derivative works (e.g., arrangements) based upon the copyrighted work
3. Distributing copies or recordings of the copyrighted work to the public (mostly by sale,
but also by rental or other methods.
4. Performing the work publicly
5. Performing the copyrighted work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission

The author of a dramatic work generally has copyright in the work and in such cases, permission
will be needed from the copyright owners before a dramatic work may be copied, communicated
or performed. There are only very limited circumstances under which a dramatic work may be
copied, communicated or performed without permission from the copyright owners15

(3)MUSICAL WORKS
Copyright is recognized in original musical work under the provision of section 13 (1)(a) Section
38 of the Copyright act, as amended in 2012 recognizes performers rights where the
commercially recorded song for 50 years from the beginning of the calendar year of next
following year in which the performance is made. During this period, the performance or music
cannot be recorded nor published without the assent of the performer. The person has the right to
receive royalty in case their performances or music are commercially utilised but when the singer
signs over his rights to other person then royalty cannot be claimed in case someone has the
copyright. Everyone except the copyright holder needs to get permission and pay royalty to the
performer or owner of the music.

There is no copyright in the song, the words of the song create a copyright in the author of the
song (lyricist) and the music of the song is the copyright of the composer but the song itself has
no copyright. In a case where a song is written and the music is composed by the same man, he
would own the copyright in the song.16

15
https://copyright.uslegal.com/enumerated-categories-of-copyrightable-works/dramatic-
works/#:~:text=In%20case%20the%20author%20of%20the%20work%20h retrieved on 27 may 2022 at 12: 59 pm
16
Wadehra page 281

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Copyright in musical works where the original work of a composer is copyrighted raises an
issue as to the legality of remixes of their songs. The Copyright Act does not define the word
“remix”. Remix is nothing but an alteration of just the beats along with minor additions and
subtractions to the lyrics of the song.

Consider an example of the famous song “Tamma Tamma”. The song was an iconic number.
The same song is remixed and is seen in the movie “Badrinath Ki Dulhaniyaa”. The old song
was altered with new beats and modern essence. Therefore, a major legal challenge is the
protection of the authors rights of the remixed work while protecting the rights of the author of
the original work at the same time with no violation of copyright law.

Protection to remix makers under the Copyright Act

According to section 51 of the Act, if any person infringes the right conferred upon the owner of
the copyright, it shall be noted as an infringement. However, it will not amount to an
infringement if:

 A person copies musical work, artistic work, or any other work by giving a prior notice of
his intention and pays advance royalty to the owner of the original work. Just like in the
case of making the remix songs, royalties are paid to the author in advance.
 The new work must not be marketed with labels or packaging that might mislead the
public about the identity of the artist.
 The new work should not be made until the expiration of two years after the end of the
year in which the original work was made.
 The author of the original work should be given the right to inspect all the books of
account related to the new work.

It is clear that remix versions of the songs in a music industry require an equal number of
protections as the original works when such remix versions are launched legally by following the
above-mentioned guidelines. A major issue with “remixes” is the extent of original contribution
in the adaptation of older work and even the amount of royalty has not been specified anywhere
that leads to the payment of paltry amounts to the authors.17

“Musical works" include the instrumental component of the work as well as any accompanying
words. Copyright of musical works includes both the author of the lyrics and music notation, as
well as the performer.

(4) ARTISTIC WORKS

According to Section 2(c) Artistic work means –

17
https://blog.finology.in/intellectual-property-law/music-industry-copyright-law-in-india retrieved on 27 may
2022 at 1:35 pm #A.C. Joshi Library

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 (i) Painting, a sculpture, a drawing, map, chart or plan, an engraving on a
photograph whether or not only such work possesses artistic quality;
(ii) A work of architecture;
(iii) Any other work of Artistic Craftsmanship

Section 2(a)(ii) also provides that adaptation in relation to an artistic work means the conversion
of the work into a dramatic work by way of performance in public or other wise. Adaptation in
accordance to section 2(a)(v) also means in relation to any work including artistic work any use
of such work involving its alteration or arrangement.18

INGREDIENTS OF ARTISTIC WORKS

 Drawing

According to section 2(c )(i) drawing includes a map, diagram, chart or plan is covered
by definition of artistic work and qualifies for copyright protection irrespective of the
quality of work. Drawing here includes any kind of drawing whether mechanical or
engineering drawing

 Painting

Painting is an artistic work which is entitled copyright due to its originality i.e. the
painting should be the creation of the painter and not a mere copy of another painting. A
painting in order to be copyrighted must be on a surface; it is a tangible object and not an
idea only.

Facial makeup cannot be considered a painting by any stretch of imagination.

 Engravings

Section 2(i) defines engraving to include etchings, lithographs, woodcuts, prints and other
similar works not being photographs. Engraving is the art of inscribing or covering
figures upon surfaces particularly hard, or cutting figures etc in lines on metal surfaces
for printing.

Although an engraver is ordinarily a copyist, his art requires considerable work and
talent. Accordingly copyright subsists in an engraving distinct from the copyright on the

18
Wadehra at page 281

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 picture from which it is produced. Copying from an engraving is an infringement of the
copyright therein, but as engraving produced from a picture is not infringement.19

 Sculptures

Sculpture is an art of carving, moulding, constructing materials into statues, ornaments or

figures. Before the 20th century sculpture was considered as representational art. But now,
it has been extended to non-representational art also

 Photograph

A photograph is an artistic work entitled to copyright. Copyright protects the original

skill and labour involved in taking a photograph, i.e. drawing the objects photographed
(e.g. family group photo) or in selecting the moment or setting to capture in the camera.
When some particular person or persons are asked to pose for a photograph the
publication of the photograph would be possible only with prior permission of the posers
in question. Taking a photograph of a crowd would not need such a prior consent.

In Associated Publishers V. Bashyam20 Where a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi was made

based on two photographs, it was held that a portrait based on photographs will be
entitled to copyright if it produced a result different from the photograph and the portrait
itself is original

 Works of Architecture

Architectural works are probably the least expected category of works protected by
copyright law. The architectural work category protects the design of a building in
architectural blueprints, architectural drawings, and even buildings themselves. For this
category, copyright can protect the work’s overall form as well as the arrangement and
composition of spaces and elements in the design. On the other hand, it doesn’t protect
the standard features that make buildings habitable and the utilitarian aspects that make it
useful.
The phrase “arrangement and composition of spaces and elements” recognizes that
creativity in architecture frequently takes the form of a selection, coordination, or
arrangement of unprotectable elements into an original, protectable whole.

For example, homes are often a simple collection of standard and utilitarian elements
such as bathrooms, doorways, kitchens, and hallways. Yet, when architects arrange these
elements in novel ways, they create a work deserving of protection.

19
Wadehra at page 281
20
AIR 1961 Mad 114

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 To receive protection, architectural works must contain original design elements, like a
sufficiently original overall shape and interior design.

 Works of Artistic Craftsmanship

Section 13(1) confers copyright on the works of artistic craftsmanship. Since the term
has not been defined therefore, the term ‘artistic craftsmanship’ is a composite phrase
which must be construed as a whole. A work craftsmanship cannot be confined to
handicraft. A craftsman is a person who practices craft. Craft signifies special skill or
technique. Thus when the ‘artistic merit’ is involved in the work the work will be treated
as artistic craftsmanship and copyrightable. The primary purpose of conferring copyright
on such work is to protect the man who puts articles in the market and earn from such
craft and such craft may not be copied by others.

(5) CINEMATOGRAPHIC FILMS

A copyright subsists in a cinematographic film by virtue of section 13(1)(b). a cinematographic

film means any work of visual recording on any medium produced through a process from
which a moving image may be produced by any means and includes a sound record
accompanying such visual recording and cinematograph including video films. It has been held
that video and television are both cinematographic films. For the purpose of copyright, the
producer is considered to be the author of cinematographic film.

Artists working in a cinematographic film- The artists working in a cinematographic film are
not protected by copyrights. The permission to film their performances is through independent
contracts with the performers. The Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1994 recognized certain special
rights of performers called ‘performer’s Rights’ under the provisions of Section 38 of the Act.
The word ‘performer’ includes an acrobat, musician, singer, actor, juggler, snake charmer, a
person delivering lecture or any other person who makes a performance as per section 2 (qq).
The performer’s rights will subsist for twenty five years from the year of performance.

There is no copyright in ‘live events’ but where the live events include the performance of any
performers the broadcasting of and sound recording of such live events cannot be done without
permission of such performers.

(6) SOUND RECORDINGS

Sound recordings are defined by the Copyright Act as "works that result from the fixation of a
series of musical, spoken, or other sounds, but not including the sounds accompanying a motion

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 picture or other audiovisual work.” Probably the best way to understand the sound recording
category is to compare it to the “musical works” category.

Sound recordings are completely distinct and independent from “musical works.” A musical
work consists of the music’s notation—the melody and harmony as well as any accompanying
lyrics as composed by the composer.

By contrast, an actual recording of the song onto a physical medium (the CD, tape, mp3 file, etc.)
is considered a sound recording. The protectable parts of the sound recording could include the
way the song is sung by the vocalist, played by the instrumentalists, arranged by the producer,
and mixed by the recording engineer.

If you need an example, think about it this way: one musical work can be made in multiple sound
recordings. Every artist who decides to record a cover of Bob Dylan’s song “Like a Rolling
Stone” makes their own sound recording of that single musical work.

If you make a sound recording of a musical work, this is an example of a derivative work.
Finally, it may be worth learning one of the often-used buzzwords associated with sound
recordings: the “phonorecord.” A phonorecord is the physical object in which sound recordings
are embodied. Common examples of phonorecords include cassette tapes, CDs, vinyl LPs, and
DVDs.21

In addition to the list of works protected by copyright shown above, there are also certain
compilations and derivative works protected under the law.

 Compilations. A compilation is a work formed by the collection and assembling of preexisting

materials or of data that are selected, coordinated, or arranged in such a way that the resulting
work as a whole meets the requirements for copyright protection. Compilations includes
collective works, like periodicals, anthologies, encyclopedias and other works in which a number
of independently copyrightable works are assembled, as well as, other works, like directories and
databases, that incorporate and assemble pre-existing materials, data or other information that is
not independently copyrightable.
 Derivative Works. A derivative work is a work that is based on one or more preexisting works
that has been transformed or modified in some way. For example, an abridged, annotated or
revised edition of a book, translations and musical arrangements.

Copyright protection in a compilation or derivative work extends only to the new material
contributed by the author of the work and does not extend to either preexisting material included

21
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in the compilation or derivative work or any portion of a work that unlawfully incorporates
copyrighted preexisting material.22

What is not included in the type of works

protected by Copyright in India?
The different things which are not included in the type of works protected by copyright are
as follows:

Ideas, Methods, or Systems

Under Copyright Act, 1957, for Copyright protection ideas, methods, and systems are not
covered. The ideas, methods, and systems include building or making things, technical or
scientific methods, technical or scientific discoveries, mathematical principles, business
procedures or operations, algorithms, formulas, or any other process, concept, or method of
operation.

Commonly Known Information

The category of commonly known information contains substances or items that are considered
to be with no known authorship or are common property. Examples of such commonly known
information includes height and weight charts, standard calendars, tape measures and rulers,
telephone directories, and tables or lists taken from any of the public documents. Such as a
phrase, The sky is blue, also comes under the above category as there is no known authorship or
ownership associated with such a phrase.

Names, Titles, Short Phrases, or Expressions

The names, titles, short phrases, or expressions such as any catchy slogan someone came up with
for his/her business, product descriptions, title of works, pseudonyms, and business names. The
names mentioned above, titles, short phrases, or expressions are not protected under Copyright
Act, 1957, if the above things relate to someone’s business, for example, goods and services,
such things can be protected with a trademark under the Trademark Act, 1999.

Choreographic Works
Any choreographic work, whether original or not, is not subject to the protection of copyright
unless it has been notated or videotaped. The same applies to speeches that have not been
recorded before or after they are given, along with any other types of performances.

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Fashion
Fashion, that is to say, a dress, shirt, or any other article of clothing is not protected under
copyright law. In spite of the fact that Copyright Law protects such things as works of the visual
arts or architectural design work, fashion is all about accessories and clothing, which as per
Copyright Law, are considered as useful or valuable articles. However, it is possible to have
Copyright protection of a definite fabric pattern, but not the actual dress. And, it should be noted
that while designs can be a type of works protected by copyright in a particular format in India.

Works protected under International

Conventions
In India, the copyright related to foreign works is also protected. The copyright of residents of
countries that are members of the Universal Copyright Convention, Berne Convention for the
Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, and the TRIPS Agreement are protected in India. The
protection of copyright to these foreign nationals are given through the International Copyright
Order. By the application of the International Copyright Order on the works of these nationals,
the works are considered to be Indian works which are Copyrighted as provided by the Indian
Copyright Act, 1957. The validity of such works is only within the borders of the country. For
securing protection for Indian works in foreign countries, India has become a member of some
international conventions on copyright and other related rights. Some of the important
conventions are discussed below:

Berne Convention, 1886

The Berne Convention protects literary and artistic works. The relevant provisions of the
convention have been enumerated below:
Article 2: Works Protected under the Convention

1. Literary and artistic works

2. Countries may mandate that the work will be protected only if it is fixed in material
form.
3. Derivative works: Translations, adaptations, arrangement of music and alterations of
literary and artistic works.
4. Countries may make laws to protect official texts: legislative, administrative or legal
texts.
5. Collection of literary or artistic work: encyclopaedia, dictionaries

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 6. Work to be protected in all countries. Beneficiaries of protection are the authors and
their successors or people to whom the title is transferred.
7. Countries may determine the extent of protection of applied arts and industrial
designs. If work is protected as design and model in one country, the same shall be
protected in other countries in accordance with the protection that country offers for
designs and models. If there is no provision for the same in the other country, work is
protected as an artistic work.
8. No protections to daily news and mere facts stated by the press.

Article 2(bis): Limitation for protection of certain works

1. Countries may exclude protection to political speeches or speeches delivered in the

course of legal proceedings.
2. Countries may make laws for the reproduction of lectures/addresses given in public by
press/broadcast etc.
3. The author has the right to maintain a collection of his lectures/speeches etc.

Article 4: Cinematographic and artistic works

2. Protection of Cinematographic Works: if the maker of work has his headquarters or

habitual residence in the member country.
3. Protection of Works of Architecture and Certain Artistic Works: if the building or
artistic work incorporated in the building is in a member country.

Article 7: Term of Protection

1. Life of Author + 50 years after the death

2. Cinematographic works: 50 years from the date of publication/date of making
3. Anonymous/Pseudonymous works: 50 years from the date of publication. If identity is
revealed, then the general rule will apply. No protection if a reasonable conclusion can
be drawn that the author is dead for more than 50 years.
4. Photographic and applied art: 25 years from the date of making

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Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, 1995

The TRIPS Agreement was enacted for creating an international instrument solely dedicated to
the protection of Copyright. The relevant provisions of the convention are enumerated below:

Article 9: Relation to Berne Convention

Copyright protection is available on the expression of ideas and not the idea itself.

Article 10: Computer Programs and Compilations of Data

1. Source/Object Code: to be protected as literary work under Berne Convention.

2. Compilations of data or other material that possess intellectual character due to the
manner of selection or arrangement are protected.

Article 12: Term of Protection

The term of protection shall be 50 years, starting from one year after the date of publication or
making of the work.

WIPO Copyright Treaty, 1996

The WCT followed the principles prescribed under TRIPS and was enacted to ensure copyright
protection in the digital regime. The relevant provisions of the Convention have been enumerated
below.

Article 4: Computer programs-Computer programs are protected as literary works within the
meaning of Article 2 of the Berne Convention.

Article 5: Compilations of data (databases) - Compilations of data or other material that

possess intellectual character due to the manner of selection or arrangement are protected.

Article 9: Term of protection - The term of protection shall be at least 50 years from the date of
publication for any kind of work.23

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 Bibliography
BOOKS

 Dr. S.C. Roy “Lectures on Intellectual Property Law”, Chanakya National Law
University, Patna-1
 Dr. B.L. Wadehra “Law Relating to Intellectual Property”, Universal Law Publications,
4th edition

WEBSITES

 https://www.newmediarights.org/business_models/artist/what_types_things_are_protected_c
opyright
 https://copyrightalliance.org/education/copyright-law-explained/copyright-basics/work-
protected-by-copyright/
 https://blog.ipleaders.in/works-protected-under-indian-copyright-
law/#:~:text=Copyright%20protects%20literary%2C%20dramatic%
 https://www.legalserviceindia.com/article/l195-Copyright-Law-in-India.html
 https://copyright.uslegal.com/enumerated-categories-of-copyrightable-works/dramatic-
works/#:~:text=In%20case%20the%20author%20of%20the%20work%20h
 https://corpbiz.io/learning/type-of-works-protected-by-copyright-in-india/

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