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CHAPTER I PRELIMINARY
1. Short title, extent and commencement 1
2. Interpretation 1
3. Meaning of publication 6
4. When work not deemed to be published or performed in public 6
5. When work deemed to be rst published in India 6
6. Certain disputes to be decided by Commercial Court 7
7. Nationality of author where the making of unpublished work is extended over considerable period 7
8. Domicile of corporations 7
CHAPTER II COPYRIGHT OFFICE
9. Copyright Of ce 7
10. Registrar and Deputy Registrars of Copyrights 7
11. [Omitted by the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021, w.r.e.f. 4-4-2021] 8
12. [Omitted by the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021, w.r.e.f. 4-4-2021] 8
CHAPTER III COPYRIGHT
13. Works in which copyright subsists 9
14. Meaning of copyright 9
15. Special provision regarding copyright in designs registered or capable of being registered under the Designs Act, 2000 11
16. No copyright except as provided in this Act 11
CHAPTER IV
OWNERSHIP OF COPYRIGHT AND THE RIGHTS OF THE OWNER
17. First owner of copyright 12
18. Assignment of copyright 13
19. Mode of assignment 14
19A. Disputes with respect to assignment of copyright 14
20. Transmission of copyright in manuscript by testamentary disposition 15
21. Rights of author to relinquish copyright 15
CHAPTER V TERM OF COPYRIGHT
22. Term of copyright in published literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works 16
23. Term of copyright in anonymous and pseudonymous works 16
24. Term of copyright in posthumous work 17
25. [Omitted by the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012, w.e.f. 21-6-2012] 17
26. Term of copyright in cinematograph lms 17
27. Term of copyright in sound recordings 18
28. Term of copyright in Government works 18
28A. Term of copyright in works of public undertakings 18
29. Term of copyright in works of international organisations 18
CHAPTER VI
LICENCES
30. Licences by owners of copyright 18
30A. Application of section 19 18
31. Compulsory licence in works withheld from public 19
31A. Compulsory licence in unpublished or published works 20
31B. Compulsory licence for bene t of disabled 21
31C. Statutory licence for cover versions 21
CONTENTS
31D. Statutory licence for broadcasting of literary and musical works and sound recording 23
32. Licence to produce and publish translations 23
32A. Licence to reproduce and publish works for certain purposes 27
32B. Termination of licences issued under this Chapter 28
CHAPTER VII
COPYRIGHT SOCIETIES
33. Registration of copyright society 29
33A. Tariff Scheme by copyright societies 31
34. Administration of rights of owner by copyright society 31
34A. [Omitted by the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012, w.e.f. 21-6-2012] 32
35. Control over the copyright society by the author and other owners of right
36. Submission of returns and reports 32
36A. Rights and liabilities of copyright society 33
CHAPTER VIII
RIGHTS OF BROADCASTING ORGANISATION AND OF PERFORMERS
37. Broadcast reproduction right
38. Performer’s right
38A. Exclusive right of performers
38B. Moral rights of the performer
39. Acts not infringing broadcast reproduction right or performer’s right
39A. Certain provisions to apply in case of broadcast reproduction right and performer’s rights
CHAPTER IX INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT
40. Power to extend copyright to foreign works
40A. Power of Central Government to apply Chapter VIII to broadcasting organisations and performers in certain other countries
41. Provisions as to works of certain international organisations
42. Power to restrict rights in works of foreign authors rst published in India
42A. Power to restrict rights of foreign broadcasting organisations and performers
43. Orders under this Chapter to be laid before Parliament
CHAPTER
44.
47.
48. Register of Copyrights to be prima facie
49.
50.
CHAPTER
52A.
52B. [Omitted by the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012, w.e.f. 21-6-2012
53.
58. Rights of owner against persons possessing or dealing with Infringing copies
59. Restriction on remedies in the case of works of architecture
60. Remedy in the case of groundless threat of legal proceedings
CONTENTS
61. Owner of copyright to be party to the proceeding 54
62. Jurisdiction of court over matters arising under this Chapter 54
CHAPTER XIII
OFFENCES
63. Offence of infringement of copyright or other rights conferred by this Act 54
63A. Enhanced penalty on second and subsequent convictions 55
63B. Knowing use of infringing copy of computer programme to be an offence 55
64. Power of police to seize infringing copies 56
65. Possession of plates for purpose of making infringing copies 56
65A. Protection of technological measures 56
65B. Protection of Rights Management Information 57
66. Disposal of infringing copies or plates for purpose of making infringing copies 57
67. Penalty for making false entries in register, etc., for producing or tendering false entries 57
68. [Omitted by the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, w.e.f. 1-8-2024] 58
68A. Penalty for contravention of section 52A 58
69. Offences by companies 58
70. Cognizance of offences 59
CHAPTER XIV
APPEALS
71. Appeals against certain orders of Magistrate 59
72. Appeals against orders of Registrar of Copyrights 59
73. Procedure for appeals 59
CHAPTER XV
MISCELLANEOUS
74. Registrar of Copyrights and Appellate Board to possess certain powers of civil courts 60
75. Orders for payment of money passed by Registrar of Copyrights and Appellate Board to be executable as a decree 60
76. Protection of action taken in good faith 60
77. Certain persons to be public servants 60
78. Power to make rules 61
79. Repeals, savings and transitional provisions 63
Copyright Act, 1957
[14 OF 1957]1
An Act to amend and consolidate the law relating to copyright.
BE it enacted by Parliament in the eighth year of the Republic of India as follows:—
CHAPTER I PRELIMINARY
Short title, extent and commencement.
1. (1) This Act may be called the Copyright Act, 1957.
(2) It extends to the whole of India.
(3) It shall come into force on such date2 as the Central Government may, by notication in the Of cial Gazette, appoint. Interpretation.
2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— (a) “adaptation” means,—
(i) in relation to a dramatic work, the conversion of the work into a non-dramatic work;
(ii) in relation to a literary work or an artistic work, the conversion of the work into a dramatic work by way of performance in public or otherwise;
(iii) in relation to a literary or dramatic work, any abridgement of the work or any version of the work in which the story or action is conveyed wholly or mainly by means of pictures in a form suitable for reproduction in a book, or in a newspaper, magazine or similar periodical; 3[***]
(iv) in relation to a musical work, any arrangement or transcription of the work; 4[and]
4[(v) in relation to any work, any use of such work involving its rearrangement, or alteration;]
(aa) 5[***]
1. Dated 4-6-1957.
2. With effect from 21-1-1958.
3. Word “and” omitted by the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1994, w.r.e.f. 10-5-1995.
4. Inserted, ibid
5. Omitted by the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021, w.e.f. 4-4-2021. Prior to its omission, clause (aa) as inserted by the Finance Act, 2017, w.e.f. 26-5-2017, read as under: ‘(aa) “Appellate Board” means the Appellate Board referred to in section 11;’
(
b) 6[“work of architecture”] means any building or structure having an artistic character or design, or any model for such building or structure;
(
c) “artistic work” means—
(i) a painting, a sculpture, a drawing (including a diagram, map, chart or plan), an engraving or a photograph, whether or not any such work possesses artistic quality;
(ii) a 6[work of architecture]; and
(iii) any other work of artistic craftsmanship;
(
d) “author” means,—
(i) in relation to a literary or dramatic work, the author of the work;
(ii) in relation to a musical work, the composer;
(iii) in relation to an artistic work other than a photograph, the artist;
(iv) in relation to a photograph, the person taking the photograph;
7[(v) in relation to a cinematograph lm or sound recording, the producer; and
(vi) in relation to any literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work which is computer-generated, the person who causes the work to be created;]
8[(dd) “broadcast” means communication to the public—
(i) by any means of wireless diffusion, whether in any one or more of the forms of signs, sounds or visual images; or (ii) by wire, and includes a re-broadcast;]
(e) “calendar year” means the year commencing on the 1st day of January;
9[(f) “cinematograph lm” means any work of visual recording 10[***] and includes a sound recording accompanying such visual recording and “cinematograph” shall be construed as including any work produced by any process analogous to cinematography including video lms;]
6. Substituted for “architectural work of art” by the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1994, w.e.f. 10-5-1995.
7. Substituted, ibid. Prior to its substitution, sub-clauses (v) and (vi) read as under: “(v) in relation to a cinematography lm, the owner of the lm at the time of its completion; and (vi) in relation to a record, the owner of the original plate from which the record is made, at the time of the making of the plate;”
8. Inserted by the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1983, w.e.f. 9-8-1984.
9. Substituted by the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1994, w.e.f. 10-5-1995. Prior to its substitution, sub-clause (v) as amended by the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1984, w.e.f. 8-10-1984 read as under :
“(f) “cinematograph lm” includes the sound track, if any, and “cinematograph” shall be construed as including any work produced by any process analogous to cinematography;”
10. Words “on any medium produced through a process from which a moving image may be produced by any means” omitted by the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012, w.e.f. 21-6-2012.
10a[(fa) “Commercial Court”, for the purposes of any State, means a Commercial Court constituted under section 3, or the Commercial Division of a High Court constituted under section 4, of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 (4 of 2016);]
11[11a[(faa)] “commercial rental” does not include the rental, lease or lending of a lawfully acquired copy of a computer programme, sound recording, visual recording or cinematograph lm for non-pro t purposes by a non-pro t library or non-pro t educational institution.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this clause, a “non-pro t library or non-pro t educational institution” means a library or educational institution which receives grants from the Government or exempted from payment of tax under the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961);]
12[(ff) “communication to the public” means making any work or performance available for being seen or heard or otherwise enjoyed by the public directly or by any means of display or diffusion other than by issuing physical copies of it, whether simultaneously or at places and times chosen individually, regardless of whether any member of the public actually sees, hears or otherwise enjoys the work or performance so made available.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this clause, communication through satellite or cable or any other means of simultaneous communication to more than one household or place of residence including residential rooms of any hotel or hostel shall be deemed to be communication to the public;]
(ffa) “composer”, in relation to a musical work, means the person who composes the music regardless of whether he records it in any form of graphical notation;
(ffb) “computer” includes any electronic or similar device having information processing capabilities;
(ffc) “computer programme” means a set of instructions expressed in words, codes, schemes or in any other form, including a machine readable medium, capable of causing a computer to perform a particular task or achieve a particular result;
(ffd) “copyright society” means a society registered under sub-section (3) of section 33;]
10a. Inserted by the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021, w.r.e.f. 4-4-2021.
11. Inserted by the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012, w.e.f. 21-6-2012.
11a. Re-numbered for clause (fa) by the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021, w.e.f. 4-4-21.
12. Substituted by the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012, w.e.f. 21-6-2012. Prior to its substitution, clause (ff) as amended by the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1994, w.e.f. 10-5-1995 and Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1983, w.e.f. 9-8-1984 read as under : ‘(ff) “communication to the public” means making any work available for being seen or heard or otherwise enjoyed by the public directly or by any means of display or diffusion other than by issuing copies of such work regardless of whether any member of the public actually sees, hears or otherwise enjoys the work so made available.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this clause, communication through satellite or cable or any other means of simultaneous communication to more than one household or place of residence including residential rooms of any hotel or hostel shall be deemed to be communication to the public;’
(g) “delivery”, in relation to a lecture, includes delivery by means of any mechanical instrument or by 13[broadcast];
(h) “dramatic work” includes any piece for recitation, choreographic work or entertainment in dumb show, the scenic arrangement or acting form of which is xed in writing or otherwise but does not include a cinematograph lm;
14[(hh) “duplicating equipment” means any mechanical contrivance or device used or intended to be used for making copies of any work;]
(i) “engravings” include etchings, lithographs, wood-cuts, prints and other similar works, not being photographs;
(j) “exclusive licence” means a licence which confers on the licensee or on the licences and persons authorised by him, to the exclusion of all other persons (including the owner of the copyright), any right comprised in the copyright in a work, and “exclusive licensee” shall be construed accordingly;
(k) “Government work” means a work which is made or published by or under the direction or control of—
(i) the Government or any department of the Government;
(ii) any Legislature in India;
(iii) any court, tribunal or other judicial authority in India;
15[(l) “Indian work” means a literary, dramatic or musical work,—
(i) the author of which is a citizen of India; or
(ii) which is rst published in India; or
(iii) the author of which, in the case of an unpublished work, is, at the time of the making of the work, a citizen of India;]
16[(m) “infringing copy” means,—
(i) in relation to a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, a reproduction thereof otherwise than in the form of a cinematographic lm;
(ii) in relation to a cinematographic lm, a copy of the lm made on any medium by any means;
(iii) in relation to a sound recording, any other recording embodying the same sound recording, made by any means;
(iv) in relation to a programme or performance in which such a broadcast reproduction right or a performer’s right subsists under the provisions of this Act, the sound recording or a cinematographic lm of such programme or performance, if such reproduction, copy or sound recording is made or imported in contravention of the provisions of this Act;]
(n) “lecture” includes address, speech and sermon;
13. Substituted for “radio-diffusion” by the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1983, w.e.f. 9-8-1984.
14. Inserted by the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1984, w.e.f. 8-10-1984.
15. Substituted by the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1983, w.e.f. 9-8-1984.
16. Substituted by the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1994, w.e.f. 10-5-1995.
