The terms "copyright", "copyleft", "copyright violation" etc. should be familiar to every Wikipedian. In this guide we'll focus on "Indian Copyright Act". India's copyright act is considered as one of the most updated copyright protection laws in the world. In this guide, we'll discuss the most important points and aspects of Indian copright acr, those we feel a Wikipedian should know.[1]
CIS-A2K (Centre for Internet and Society - Access to Knowledge) is a campaign to promote the fundamental principles of justice, freedom, and economic development. It deals with issues like copyrights, patents and trademarks, which are an important part of the digital landscape.
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Brief introduction
editWhen we say "Indian copyright act" or "Indian copyright law", it actually means "Copyright Act of 1957". Currently all copyright-related legal works in India are governed by this atc. However this was not something completely new or fundamental. This act was based on "Copyright Act of 1914"(of British India). The newly created Copyright Act of the United Kingdom of 1956 was also used as reference to frame the 1957 Indian copyright act.[1]
There were six amendments in the copyright legislation after that— 1983, 1984, 1992, 1994, 1999 and 2012.[2] The amendments made in 1994 and also in 1999 are called "substantial ones".[1]
Terms
edit- Q: What is a work?
- A: According to Indian copyright act, a "work" might be any of the following things— Literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, a cinematograph film, or a sound recording.
- Q: What is the definition of— artistic work, musical work, cinematograph film, government work and Indian work?
- A: Indian copyright act describes these terms as follows—
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| Artistic work | An artistic work is any of the following—
While describing an "artistic work", its artistic quality is not assessed. A creation may be artistic work and might be copyrighted even if it does not have any artistic value (however it is difficult to universally conclude) |
| Musical work | Musical work means any work consisting music (vocal or instrumental), in complete or incomplete state. It may include graphical notation as well. |
| Cinematograph work | A "Cinematograph work" is a visual recording using a camera or any similar equipment. The accompanying soundtrack or audio are considered as part of this work as well. |
| Government work | A government work is any work created by or published under—
|
| Indian work | A work will be called Indian if—
|
Important aspects
edit- Q: Who is the first owner of copyright?
- A: The author of a work is its first copyright owner.
- Q: Who is an author?
- A: Author means creator — one who created a content.
- If it is a musical work, the composer is the copyright owner
- If it is a poem or story or novel (any literary work), the writer is the copyright owner
- If it is a photography, the photographer is the copyright owner
- If it is a cinematography or sound recording, the producer is the copyright owner
- Q: What is copyright expiration?
- A: However a copyright is acquired automatically, but the period is not unlimited. After a certain time, in India it is basically 60 years, the right is waived and it becomes a public domain content. This is called copyright expiration.
Indian copyright act and Creative Commons
editIndian copyright act (1957) does not have any mention of "Creative Commons" anywhere in their document.
Frequently asked questions
editIn this section you'll find a list of "frequently asked questions" on Indian copyright act?
Public domain in India but not in the US
editQuestion: May I upload any content to Wikimedia Commons or any Wikipedia project that is in public domain in India but not in the US?
Answer: No, a content must be in public domain (or released under creative commons license) in both its home-land and in the US to be uploaded on Commons. For example, a book published in 1941 in India is in public domain there, but in the US it may not be in public domain. In this case you may see if it is under URAA
Published or released
editQuestion: Published or released, which is more important? Should I follow creation year or publication year?
Answer: Publication year is more important and we follow that on Wikimedia Commons (and more or less everywhere else). When we say a creation (eg.book) will be in public domain after 60 years, we mean publication year+60 years and not creation year+60 years. Let's try to explain this: a photograph may be kept private and may be released/published many years of its creation. Here we need to look for its publication year.
Does copyright need any registration
editNo, one does not need to make any registration or legal agreement to claim copyright. Any creation or work gets its copyright automatically.
However one may like to get a certificate of registration if they want. Such appeals should be made to the New Delhi Copyright office, B.2/W.3, C.R. Barracks, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi- 110 003, Phone number: +91 11 338 4387
Fun FAQs
edit- Music/MP3 sharing bluetooth: we often share latest movie songs and other music files and videos by bluetooth. We also store content in our mobiles or tablets. Some of these are surely copyright violation, specially if the license of the content reads something like— "the content cannot be stored, shared or sold to anyone else without copyright owner's permission."
See also
editReferences
edit- ↑ a b c Fernando. Business Environment:. pp. 503–. ISBN 978-93-325-0096-9.
- ↑ Scaria, Arul George (15 May 2014). Piracy in the Indian Film Industry: Copyright and Cultural Consonance. Cambridge University Press. pp. 63–. ISBN 978-1-107-06543-7.