Copyright subsists in all original pieces of work as soon as it is created. Copyright in India is recognized under the Berne Convention 1886. Copyright registration is beneficial because of the evidentiary value it holds in case the creator in involved in legal proceedings related to his/her work.
Copyright protection in India is governed under the Copyright Act 1957 and and is granted to authors of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and producers of cinematographic films and sound recordings. It is pertinent to note that here is no copyright protection for ideas, procedures, methods of operation or mathematical concepts as such. As per the Copyright Act, the author or creator of the work is the first owner of copyright. An exception to this rule is that, the employer becomes the owner of copyright in circumstances where the employee creates a work in the course of and scope of employment. Copyright also subsists in computer programmes as it falls under the ambit of “literary works” which is protected under the Copyright act.
In India copyright is protected for a period of sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the author dies. When it comes to original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works the 60 years is calculated from the year following the death of the author. In the case of cinematographic films, sound recordings, photographs, posthumous publications the 60 year period is counted from the date of publication.
The procedure for the registration of Copyright in India is as follows:
· Application for registration is to be made on Form IV.
· Separate applications should be made for registration of each work;
· Each application should be accompanied by the requisite fee
· The Power of Attorney signed by the party and accepted by the advocate should also be enclosed.
