1. Exception under copyright Law.

Contents hide
1. When Copyright is infringed
2. The Doctrine of Fair Dealing
3. Explanation of Fair Dealing
4. Section 52: Certain acts not to be infringement of copyright
5. Fair Dealing was used in this particular Benchmark Case Judgement
6. Recent Developments
7. More Case Laws
8. Importation of Infringing Copies
9. Section 53-A states: Resale share right in original copies –
10. Copyright violation remedies

When Copyright is infringed

Section 51(b) (iv) states: “Copyright in a work shall be deemed to be infringed when:
1. any person, without a license granted by the owner of the Copyright or the Registrar of
Copyrights under this Act, or in violation of the conditions of a license so granted or of
any conditions imposed by a competent authority under this Act-
2. Does anything, the exclusive right to which is conferred on the owner of the Copyright
by this Act.
 When any person-
 Make for hire for sale, sells or lets for hire, or trade displays or offers for sale or hire
 Distributes either for commercial purposes or in such a way as to harm the owner of the
copyright.
 By way of public trade shows.
 Imports into India of any infringing copies of the work (omitted by Act 65 of 1984, S.3
(effective 8-10-1984))

The Doctrine of Fair Dealing

Section 52(1) provides that a fair dealing with any work for the following purposes does
not constitute infringement:

(i) private or personal use, including research,

(ii) criticism or review, whether of that work or of any other work,

(iii) reporting of current events and current affairs including the reporting of a lecture
delivered in public.
 Explanation of Fair Dealing
Fair trade is a considerable constraint of the copyright owner’s exclusive right. The
fairness of the deal depends on the four factors that follow:
 The purpose of the application
 The work’s nature
 The quantity of work used
 The impact of the work on the original
The exception to Section 52 of the Copyright Act of 1957 which is read as, “Certain acts
not infringed on copyright.” However, since Section 52 is very extensive, let’s discuss
about it.
Section 52(1) the following act shall not constitute an infringement of copyright,
namely, —
A fair dealing with any work, not being a computer programme, for the purposes of—
 Private or personal use, including research;
 Criticism or review, whether of that work or of any other work;
 The reporting of current events and current affairs, including the reporting of a lecture
delivered in public.
Explanations—The storage of any work in any electronic media, including by-laws of any
computer program which does not itself constitute a breach of copy for the purpose set
forth in this clause, shall not constitute a breach of copyright.
Section 52: Certain acts not to be infringement of
copyright
a) when any person without a license from the owner of the copyright, or the Registrar
of Copyright, or in contravention of the conditions of a licence granted or any conditions
imposed by a competent authority under the Act:

 (i) does anything, the exclusive right to do which is conferred upon the owner of the
copyright, or
 (ii) permits for profit any piece to be used for the communication of the work to the
public where such communication constitutes an infringement of the copyright in the
work, unless he was not aware and had. no reasonable ground for believing that such
communication to the public would be an infringement of copyright, or

(b) when any Person,

 (i) makes for sale or hire, or sells or lets for hire or by way of trade displays or offers for
sale or hire any infringing copies of the work, or
 (ii) distributes, either for the purpose of trade or to such an extent as to affect
prejudicially the owner of the copyright, any infringing copies of the work, or
 (iii) exhibits in public by way of trade any infringing copies of the work, or
 (iv) imports into India any infringing copies of the work except one copy of any work,
for the private and domestic use of the importer. The reproduction of a literary dramatic,
musical or artistic work in the form of a cinematograph film will be deemed to be an
infringing copy.

Essential ingredients of infringement

Depending upon the kind of copyright work, infringement involves one or more of the
following acts:

1. reproduction of the work in a material form,

2. publication of the work,
3. communication of the work to the public,
4. performance of the work in public,
5. making of adaptations and translations of the work and doing any of the above acts in
relation to a substantial part of the work.

Exceptions to infringement of Copyright

Section 52
Section 52 gives a long list of acts which do not constitute infringement of copyright.
They are briefly stated as follows:

1. A fair dealing with any work, not being a computer programme, for the purposes of
private or personal use including research, criticism or review, making copies of
computer programme for certain purposes, reporting of current events and current
affairs, including the reporting of a lecture delivered in public. The storing of any work
in any electronic medium for the purposes mentioned in this clause, including the
incidental storage of any computer programme which is not itself an infringing copy for
the said purposes, shall not constitute infringement of copyright.
2. Reproduction for judicial proceedings and reports thereof, reproduction exclusively for
the use of members of legislature, reproduction (artistic work excluded) in a certified
copy made or supplied in accordance with law.
3. Reading or recitation in public of extracts (literary or dramatic work).
4. Publication in a collection for the use of educational institutions in certain
circumstances.
5. Reproduction by teacher or pupil in the course of instructions or in question papers.
6. Performance in the course of the activities of educational institutions in certain
circumstances.
7. The making of sound recording under certain circumstances subject to certain
conditions.
8. The causing of a sound recording to be heard in public by utilising it in an enclosed
room or in clubs in certain circumstances.
9. Performance in an amateur club given to a non-paying audience or for religious
institutions.
10. Reproduction in newspaper and magazine of an article on current economic, political,
social or religious topics in certain circumstances.
11. Publication in newspapers or magazines a report of a lecture delivered in public.
12. Making a maximum of 3 copies for the use of a public library.
13. Reproduction of unpublished work kept in a museum or library for the purpose of study
or research.
14. Reproduction or publication of any matter published in official Gazette or reports of
Government commission or other bodies appointed by Government.
15. Reproduction of any judgment or order of court, tribunal or other judicial authority not
prohibited from publication.
16. Production or publication of a translation of Acts of Legislature or rules.
17. Making or publishing of a painting, drawing or photographs of a work of architecture.
18. Making or publishing of a painting, drawings or photographs or engraving of sculpture
or other artistic work permanently situate in a public place.
19. Inclusion in a cinematograph film of any artistic work permanently situate in a public
place and other artistic work by way of background or incidental to the principal matter
represented in the film.