IP Basics

Copyright is a unique kind of intellectual property. The right which a person acquires in a work, which is a result of his intellectual labour, is called as the copyright. The function of the copyright law is to protect the fruits of a man’s work, labour, skill or test from being taken away by the other person.

The work copies according to the black’s law of dictionary is a transcript, imitation and reproduction of the original writing, painting, instrument or something like that.

Copyright is a literary property which is been recognized by the positive law. An incorporeal right is been granted to the author or originator of certain literary or artistic production whereby he is been invested for the specific time with the sole privilege of multiplying copies of the same and publishing and selling them.

Copyright is some form which is been recognized in ancient times. The Roman law adjudged that if one man wrote anything on the paper or parchment of another, the writing should belong to the owner of the blank material.

The statutory definition of copyright is the exclusive rights to do or authorize others to do certain acts in relation to: -

1.     Musical work

2.     Dramatic work

3.     Literary work

4.     Writing work

5.     Artist work

6.     Cinematographic film

7.     Sound recording

Section 14 of the Copyright Act, 1957 defines the copyright as the above

Following are the characteristics of the copyright

1.     Creation of the Statute

2.     Some form of intellectual property

3.     Monopoly right

4.     Negative Right

5.     Multiple Right

6.     Copyright only in the form not in the idea

7.     Neighbouring rights

Creation of the statute

Copyright creation of the specific statute under the present law. There is no such anything as common-law copyright. No copyright can exist in any work except as provided as in the section 16

Some form of the intellectual right

A copyright is a form of intellectual property since the product over which right is granted ex. Literary work is the result of an investment of intellectual.

Monopoly Right

Copyright is a monopoly right restraining the others from exercising the right which has been given to the owner of the copyright

Negative right

It gives the right to prevent others from copying or reproducing the work

Object of copyright

The main object of the copyright is to encourage authors, composers and the artist people to create the original work by rewarding them with the exclusive right for the specific period to reproduce the works for publishing and selling the work to the public and others

The foundation of the Indian Copyright Law is based on the Eighth Commandment. The basic objective of the Indian Copyright is to protect the man’s skill, labour and artistic work.

Multiple Rights

Copyright is not a single right. It consists of a bunch of different rights in the same work. For the example in the case of the literary work, copyright consists of the right of reproduction in the hardback and paperback editions, the right of serial publication in the newspaper and the magazines, the right of dramatic and cinematographic versions, the right of the translations and adaptations.

Neighbouring Rights

Copyright consists not only the mere rights of reproduction. It also consists of the right to works derived from the original works. Ex. Right of public performance, recording rights and broadcasting rights.

(To be continued…)

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Kaushik