Intellectual
Property Rights
COPYRIGHT ACT 1957
CHAPTER XII : CIVIL REMEDIES
54. Definition
For the purposes of this
Chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, the expression "owner
of copyright" shall include-
(a) an exclusive licensee;
(b) in the case of an
anonymous or pseudonymous literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work,
the publisher of the work, until the identity of the author or, in the
case of an anonymous work of joint authorship, or a work of joint authorship
published under names all of which are pseudonyms, the identity of any
of the authors, is disclosed publicly by the author and the publisher
or is otherwise established to the satisfaction of the Copyright Board
by that author or his legal representatives.
55. Civil remedies for infringement of copyright
(1) Where copyright in
any work has been infringed, the owner of the copyright shall, except
as otherwise provided by this Act, be entitled to all such remedies by
way of injunction, damages, accounts and otherwise as are or may be conferred
by law for the infringement of a right:
PROVIDED that if the defendant
proves that at the date of the infringement he was not aware and had no
reasonable ground for believing that copyright subsisted in the work,
the plaintiff shall not be entitled to any remedy other than an injunction
in respect of the infringement and a decree for the whole or part of the
profits made by the defendant by the sale of the infringing copies as
the court may in the circumstances deem reasonable.
(2) Where, in the case
of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, a name purporting to
be that of the author or the publisher, as the case may be, appears on
copies of the work as published, or, in the case of an artistic work,
appeared on the work when it was made, the person whose name so appears
or appeared shall, in any proceeding in respect of infringement of copyright
in such work, be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to be the author
or the publisher of the work, as the case may be.
(3) The costs of all parties
in any proceedings in respect of the infringement of copyright shall be
in the discretion of the court.
56. Protection of separate rights
Subject to the provisions
of this Act, where the several rights comprising the copyright in any
work are owned by different persons, the owner of any such right shall,
to the extent of that right, be entitled to the remedies provided by this
Act and may individually enforce such right by means of any suit, action
or other proceeding without making the owner of any other right a party
to such suit, action or proceeding.
57. Author's special rights
4[(1) Independently of
the author's copyright and even after the assignment either wholly or
partially of the said copyright, the author of a work shall have the right-
(a) to claim authorship
of the work; and
(b) to restrain or claim
damages in respect of any distortion, mutilation, modification or other
act in relation to the said work which is done before the expiration of
the term of copyright if such distortion, mutilation, modification or
other act would be prejudicial to his honour or reputation:
PROVIDED that the author
shall not have any right to restrain or claim damages in respect of any
adaptation of a computer programme to which clause (aa) of sub-section
(1) of section 52 applies.
Explanation : Failure
to display a work or to display it to the satisfaction of the author shall
not be deemed to be an infringement of the rights conferred by this section.]
(2) The right conferred
upon an author of a work by sub-section (1), other than the right to claim
authorship of the work, may be exercised by the legal representatives
of the author.
58. Rights of owner against persons possessing or dealing with
infringing copies
All infringing copies of
any work in which copyright subsists, and all plates used or intended
to be used for the production of such infringing copies, shall be deemed
to be the property of the owner of the copyright, who accordingly may
take proceedings for the recovery of possession thereof or in respect
of the conversion thereof :
PROVIDED that the owner
of the copyright shall not be entitled to any remedy in respect of the
conversion of any infringing copies, if the opponent proves-
(a) that he was not aware
and had no reasonable ground to believe that copyright subsisted in the
work of which such copies are alleged to be infringing copies; or
(b) that he had reasonable
grounds for believing that such copies or plates do not involve infringement
of the copyright in any work.
59. Restriction on remedies in the case of works of architecture
(1) Not with standing anything
contained in 25[the Specific Relief Act, 1963 (47 of 1963)], where the
construction of a building or other structure which infringes or which,
if completed, would infringe the copyright in some other work has been
commenced, the owner of the copyright shall not be entitled to obtain
an injunction to restrain the construction of such building or structure
or to order its demolition.
(2) Nothing in section
58 shall apply in respect of the construction of a building or other structure
which infringes or which, if completed, would infringe the copyright in
some other work.
60. Remedy in the case of groundless threat of legal proceedings
Where any person claiming
to be the owner of copyright in any work, by circulars, advertisements
or otherwise, threatens any other person with any legal proceedings or
liability in respect of an alleged infringement of the copyright, any
person aggrieved thereby may, notwithstanding anything contained 26[in
section 34 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 (47 of 1963)] institute a
declaratory suit that the alleged infringement to which the threats related
was not in fact an infringement of any legal rights of the person making
such threats and may in any such suit-
(a) obtain an injunction
against the continuance of such threats; and
(b) recover such damages,
if any, as he has sustained by reason of such threats:
PROVIDED that this section
shall not apply if the person making such threats, with due diligence,
commences and prosecutes an action for infringement of the copyright claimed
by him.
61. Owner of copyright to be party to the proceeding
(1) In every civil suit
or other proceeding regarding infringement of copyright instituted by
an exclusive licensee, the owner of the copyright shall, unless the court
otherwise directs, be made a defendant and where such owner is made a
defendant, he shall have the right to dispute the claim of the exclusive
licensee.
(2) Where any civil suit
or other proceeding regarding infringement of copyright instituted by
an exclusive licensee is successful, no fresh suit or other proceeding
in respect of the same cause of actions shall lie at the instance of the
owner of the copyright.
62. Jurisdiction of court over matters arising under this Chapter
(1) Every suit or other
civil proceeding arising under this Chapter in respect of the infringement
of copyright in any work or the infringement of any other right conferred
by this Act shall be instituted in the district court having jurisdiction.
(2) For the purpose of
sub-section (1), a "district court having jurisdiction" shall,
not with standing anything contained in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
(5 of 1908), or any other law for the time being in force, include a district
court within the local limits of whose jurisdiction, at the time of the
institution of the suit or other proceeding, the person instituting the
suit or other proceeding or, where there are more than one such persons,
any of them actually and voluntarily resides or carries on business or
personally works for gain.
|
