Copyrights In India Copyrights- Benefits of copyright registration

This write up elucidates a vital topic for business, brands, services, and products – copyright. It
begins by explaining the nitty-gritty of copyright. Then it moves on to talk about, in full detail,
the many paybacks a firm gets with copyright such as giving exclusive rights to production.

Copyright is an exclusive right of authorisation and provides protection for the original work
done. This copyright is applicable for a wide range of innovative ideas, intellectual properties,
scholarly work or artistic forms. The main purpose of copyright is to reward the author. The
copyright will be protected once if the work is recognised. Notice of protection and copyright
registration are not mandatory for copyright protection. In India, the registration is not
mandatory as the registration is just a factual record. The copyright owner can use the symbol
‘© to show their registration. Once the copyright is registered the work is protected till the
author’s lifetime plus 70 years.

BENEFITS OF REGISTRATION:

Section 45 in the Copyrights Act, 1957 states that any interested party can register their
copyrights. If the copyright is registered, the certificate can be used as evidence in court, if any
dispute arises on creation. The copyright registration protects the original one from the duplicate
or replicated version of the same.

1. Public record- The copyright registration creates a public record showing that a content
creator has claimed ownership on his content and got the authorisation. This informs the
public that the work is protected and if others want to use the work, they need to seek
permission; otherwise, it will lead to copyright infringement. If the unpublished work is
registered or registered within 5 years of publication, the certificate is used as proof for the
original work protection.

2. Legal Purpose- The copyright registration certificate will avoid the legal cost of the owner
if any dispute arises in the work. This can be provided as a proof of ownership thereby
reducing the legal burden. Also, the registration certificate lessens the work of the judge as
the owner attains the statutory authority. Also, the Copyright Act provides a special
jurisdiction to file an infringement suit at the registered office of the owner. It helps the
owner in enforcement.

3. Damages- In the case of copyright infringement, how big or small, the creator and the
content are guarded against actual damage if the content is copyrighted. It will reduce court
For claiming damages, the work should be registered within 3 months of the publication or
before anyone infringes.
4. If any dispute arises, the copyright registration plays a significant role in determining who
the first creator of the work is because the registration application shows the date of filing.

5. Copyright is a one-time registration process. The registration doesn’t require renewal unless
if there is a change in the owner particulars, thereby reducing the maintenance cost.

6. The registered copyright is mandatory for carrying on trade.

7. The copyright registration motivates the individual with a sense of accomplishment and
encourages them to create the original work thereby realizing the true potential.

8. The benefits derive from the registration provides energy to the individual and they may
contribute more for the overall development of their potential.

9.
9. If the work is registered, the owner can produce or distribute the copies or even
broadcast or give permission to use his work through which he can earn from his
work.
 Flow Chart of Copyrights Registration:

 Form XIV application should be filed.

  The application should be filed separately for each work along with 6 hard copies and 3 soft
copies of the work.
 The application should be filed and signed by the owner and countersigned by his advocate.
 Fees are paid to the registrar of copyrights as prescribed.
 After receiving the diary number, the applicant has to wait for 30 days to know whether
there is an objection to his work. If an objection is received, the officer will call for the
parties and hear them. The decision of the scrutinizer is final; he can either approve or
reject the application.
 If no objection is received, the application file will be scrutinized and registered.

To put in essence, while the advantages of copyrighting work are immense, they are only
applicable, if the copyright is registered. To that end, complete the process of registration using
the simple steps described in the article to safeguard your work!

Further Understand Copy Right In India:

What is Copyright?
A copyright is essentially a right not to copy someone’s work. A copyright gives the owner of the subject an
exclusive right over his work. If a work is protected by copyright, no one can imitate, copy or reproduce the
original work in any other way. A term of copyright in India is 60 years. Copyright can be taken for the following
works:

1. Music
2. Books
3. Manuscripts
4. Films
5. Fashion Designs
6. Training Manuals
7. Software
8. Literary Work
9. Performance
10. Paintings etc

The register of the Registrar of Copyrights is divided into 6 categories:

PART – 1: Literary works other than computer Programs
PART – 2: Musical Works
PART – 3: Artistic Works
PART – 4: Cinematography Films
PART – 5: Sound Recording
PART – 6: Computer Programs, tables & Compilations
Copyrights are protected by “THE COPYRIGHT ACT, 1957” though there have several amendments to the act.
Why should one get their work registered under the
copyright law?
It is not mandatory to get copyright protection but always advisable to do so because it will give the owner a
certain set of minimum rights over his work and the protection that no one will be able to copy his work for a
minimum period of time. This satisfaction will always motivate the owner to do more work and create more
items.

What is the procedure to obtain a copyright

registration?
To obtain the copyright registration the following process has to be followed:

 An application (including all the particulars and the statement of the particulars) in the format of FORM
IV has to have to be sent to the registrar along with the requisite fees (mentioned in the Schedule 2 of
the act.). A separate application has to be made for separate works

Fees for different works have been given by the government in this
link: http://copyright.gov.in/frmFeeDetailsShow.aspx

 Every application has to be signed by the applicant as well as an Advocate in whose favor a

Vakalatnama or a POA has been executed

 The registrar will issue a Dairy No. and then there is a mandatory waiting time for a period of 30 days

for any objections to be received

 If there are no objections received within 30 days, the scrutinizer will check the application for any

discrepancy and if no discrepancy is there, the registration will be done and an extract will be sent to

the registrar for the entry in the Register of Copyright.

 If any objection is received, the examiner will send a letter to both the parties about the objections and

will give them both a hearing.

 After the hearing, if the objections are resolved the scrutineer will scrutinize the application and approve

or reject the application as the case may be.