Copyright

Copyright

The general meaning of the term copyright is “right to copy” which is given only to the author or the creator of the work.

Term of Copyright

Rights of a Copyright Owner

Following rights are given to a copyright owner:

• Make a cinematograph film or a record of the work
• Make copies of the work and distribute them
• Prevent others from unauthorised usage of the copyrighted work
• Broadcast the work
• Produce the work in public
• Publish the work
• Perform the work in public
• Translate the work
• Make an adaptation of the work

Copyright Infringement

Any other person who duplicates or copy the original work of the author without permission would lead to copyright infringement. In today’s world of globalization, intellectual property has become a crucial pillar in the field of information technology. With the current age of globalization and advancement worldwide, it has become easy to access a large number of areas like communication, media, entertainment, advertisements and education. But given that these information are easily available to people, it gives access to the copyrighted content and the convenient access results in violation of copyright. Because of this there is more difficulty for owners of the copyright material to safeguard their rights.

For copyright infringement it should be noted that the work copied is the original creation of the author.

The original author can take legal action against a person infringing their copyrighted works. The copyright owner has a right to file a civil case in a court having jurisdiction and is entitled to damages, injunctions and accounts. A criminal suit can also be filed in a court of a First Class Judicial Magistrate or Metropolitan Magistrate.

There are certain acts of copying that are not considered as copyright infringement like:

• Using material with consent of author
• Using material available in official gazette
• Judicial proceedings
• Educational purposes
• Research or private study
• After copyright has lapsed
• Preparing newspaper report, personal use, etc.
• Less than 3 copies are made
• Non-corporate matter
• Usage of the computer programme for which it was supplied
• Reproduction of work in a certified copy supplied or made as per law

Thus we can say that copyright registration is very important to protect a unique work. Getting copyright registration certificate helps to verify the originality of a creation. This also provides legal protection, exclusive right to owner and the validity term is for a very long period of time.

At Y&S Legal we have assisted clients from a wide variety of sectors with enforcing their copyright claims. We are highly regarded intellectual property solicitors who specialize in copyright protection and infringement. We help those in the creative industries to protect their work from copying, whether wholly or substantially.

We provide following services to our clients:

• Assistance on filing and prosecuting copyright applications
• Drafting of copyright agreement and other related agreements
• Advice on copyright protection and related issues
• Sale and purchase of copyright material
• Attending hearings at copyright office
• Clearances and regulatory compliances
• Dispute resolution and enforcement