COPYRIGHTS ACT 1957

● 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.

MEANING

● 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it, by Copyright Act 1911, this law was repealed, replaced and applied to all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

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).

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.
 Copyright protection for Fee charged by the copyright office

Artistic, musical, drama and literary Rs. 500 per work

works

Artistic and literary works used for Rs. 2000 per work
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.

Case: Zee Telefilms v. Sundial Communications

Facts: A had prepared concept notes for the purpose of television film which

consists of characters, plots, notes and sketches etc.

Issues: Whether A is entitled to the copyright of those concept notes?

Held: Yes, since A invests labour and skill in preparing the concept paper. Such a

person is entitled to copyright.

Case: Macmillan & Co. v. K.J Cooper

Facts: Plaintiff’s book consisted of selected passages from Plutarch’s life of

Alexander the Great, joined together by a few words to give a different appearance.

The book also contained an introduction and notes useful for education. A similar

book was published by the defendants with notes. The original work contained

40,000 words while the defendants had copied 20,000 words and 7000 words in

notes.

Issue: Whether the defendants work infringed the copyright in the plaintiff’s

works?

Held: Defendants work infringed the copyright

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.

Case: Academy of General Education Manipal v. Malini Mallya

The court shows a clear difference between literary and dramatic work. The

difference between the two rests on the fact that literary work allows itself to be

read while a dramatic work “forms the text upon which the performance of the

plays rests.” A dance performance will not be covered under copyright work but

under dramatic work.

Case: Creation Records v. New Group Newspaper

Held: It was held that a photograph that involves no movement or action cannot be

treated as dramatic work. Copyright of Dramatic work can in form of:

Adaption of Dramatic work:- Adaptation work means the modification of that

work in some other form.

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.

Case: Associated publishers vs Bashyam

Facts: A portrait of Mahatma Gandhi was made based on two photographs.

Held: A portrait based on photographs will be entitled to copyright if it produced a

result from the photograph and the portrait itself is original.

Example: A photographer took a photograph of a painting of MF Hussain, then

paints the same himself and sells such copies painted by him.

Held: A copyright in a painting is infringed when a person copies from the original

painting or a picture of painting

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.
Case: R.G. Anand vs Delux Films

Facts: Plaintiff was a producer and play writer of play ‘Hum Hindustani’. The

plaintiff tried to consider the possibility of filming and narrated the play to the

defendant. The defendant, without informing the plaintiff, made the picture ‘New

Delhi’ which was alleged to be based on the said play.

Issue: Whether the film ‘New Delhi’ was an infringement of the plaintiff’s

copyright in play ‘Hum Hindustani’?

Held: No, because the stories were different, only the theme “love story” was

same.

Case: Balwinder Singh vs Delhi Administration

Held: The concept of cinematograph is not only limited to movies being played in

theater it also covers videos and television, they both fall under the preview of

cinematograph film.

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.

Case: Gramophone Co. India v. Super Cassette Industries

Facts: ‘G.co’, Plaintiff, produced audio records titled ‘Hum Aapke Hain Kaun’ by

Rajashree production ltd, who were the owners of cinematographic work. They had

already sold 55 lakhs audio cassettes and 40,000 compact discs titled ‘Hum Aapke

Hain Kaun’. The defendants too launched an audio cassette by adopting the same

title with its design, color scheme, get up and layout deceptively similar.

Permanent Injunction was sought.

Held: Injunction varied by stipulating not to use the same title, design colour

scheme etc with bold letters the record is a version of different artists.

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.