Blog Details

What Is a Copyright?

This form of Legal right is given to the creator, who has the ownership in literary, musical or any other artistic work. This may be sound recordings, paintings, dramas, or any artistic work.

Copyright is not defined in the Copyright Act, 1957 and in general means the ‘right to copy’. Here, it means that the one who owns the copyright for a particular creation is the owner of that copy, and can therefore make multiple copies of the same.

What is the importance of Copyright?

A creation is a form of intellectual property for the creator.

Copyright -

• Gives legal rights to authors, and creators for their creativity.
• A society cannot sustain without respecting the dignity of every individual.
• Copyrights safeguard the ‘right to ownership’ and provide security to entrepreneurial work.

What does Copyright Provide Protection For?

Under section 13 of the Copyright Act, 1957, copyrights provide legal rights for –

• Literary work
• Musical work
• Artistic work
• Sound recordings
• Cinematography
• Dramatic work

What are the rights of a Copyright Owner?

The owner of an intellectual property, or a copyright holder has the following rights;

• Publishing work
• Production of a work
• Producing copies
• Broadcasting
• Making adaptation
• Preventing others from making unauthorized copies

What do we understand by Copyright Infringement?

Using copyrighted work without the consent or permission of the copyright holder is considered as a copyright infringement. The infringement of intellectual property occurs when an individual or group of individuals fabricate copywriters’ work intentionally or unintentionally without giving them credit.

For example -

• Selling pirated books
• Selling art work
• Performing a play in public
• Online piracy.

How can you claim Copyright Ownership?

Here are some pointers to help an individual take action against the violation of their intellectual property and claim copyright ownership;

• A proof of ownership.
• Similarities between original and infringed copies.
• Sending a legal notice of the copyright infringement to the guilty.
• In case of online copyright violation, a ‘take down notice’ is sent to the guilty.

Hire corporate lawyers for legal advice, help and process from Lawyered.

Under civil and criminal law, a copyright holder can take several actions against an infringer. These are given under Section 55 and 58 of the Copyright Act, 1957.

• The guilty is liable for punishment such as Imprisonment, that varies between 6 months to 3 years.
• Or a fine of at least INR 50,000 up to INR 2 lacs.

Tips To Avoid Copyright Infringement -

Here are some tips from the best intellectual property lawyers who can help you to avoid copyright infringement –

• If you’re using someone else’s work, or any creation, ensure that you take their permit before hand.
• Do not forget to give them credits.
• When getting your work copyrighted, ensure that you’re not infringing an already existing work piece. Consult your intellectual property lawyer for this.

Lawyered has a rich network of intellectual property lawyers in Delhi, Gurgaon and Mumbai. Get in touch with one today! Visit our website for further information.