Intellectual
Property Rights
COPYRIGHT ACT 1957
CHAPTER IV : OWNERSHIP OF COPYRIGHT AND THE RIGHTS OF THE OWNER
17. First owner of copyright
Subject to the provisions
of this Act, the author of a work shall be the first owner of the copyright
therein:
PROVIDED that-
(a) in the case of a literary,
dramatic or artistic work made by the author in the course of his employment
by the proprietor of a newspaper, magazine or similar periodical under
a contract of service or apprenticeship, for the purpose of publication
in a newspaper, magazine or similar periodical, the said proprietor shall,
in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, be the first owner of
the copyright in the work insofar as the copyright relates to the publication
of the work in any newspaper, magazine or similar periodical, or to the
reproduction of the work for the purpose of its being so published, but
in all other respects the author shall be the first owner of the copyright
in the work;
(b) subject to the provisions
of clause (a), in the case of a photograph taken, or a painting or portrait
drawn, or an engraving or a cinematograph film made, for valuable consideration
at the instance of any person, such person shall, in the absence of any
agreement to the contrary, be the first owner of the copyright therein;
(c) in the case of a work
made in the course of the author's employment under a contract of service
or apprenticeship, to which clause (a) or clause (b) does not apply, the
employer shall, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, be the
first owner of the copyright therein;
5[(cc) in the case of
any address or speech delivered in public, the person who has delivered,
such address or speech or if such person has delivered such address or
speech on behalf of any other person, such other person shall be the first
owner of the copyright therein notwithstanding that the person who delivers
such address or speech, or, as the case may be, the person on whose behalf
such address or speech is delivered, is employed by any other person who
arranges such address or speech or on whose behalf or premises such address
or speech is delivered;]
(d) in the case of a government
work, government shall, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary,
be the first owner of the copyright therein;
5[(dd) in the case of
a work made or first published by or under the direction or control of
any public undertaking, such public undertaking shall, in the absence
of any agreement to the contrary, be the first owner of the copyright
therein.
Explanation: For the purposes
of this clause and section 28A, "public undertaking" means-
(i) an undertaking owned
or controlled by government; or
(ii) a government company
as defined in section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956); or
(iii) a body corporate
established by or under any Central, Provincial or State Act;]
(e) in the case of a work
to which the provisions of section 41 apply, the international organisation
concerned shall be the first owner of the copyright therein.
18. Assignment of copyright
(1) The owner of the copyright
in an existing work or the prospective owner of the copyright in a future
work may assign to any person the copyright either wholly or partially
and either generally or subject to limitations and either for the whole
term of the copyright or any part thereof :
PROVIDED that in the case
of the assignment of copyright in any future work, the assignment shall
take effect only when the work comes into existence.
(2) Where the assignee
of a copyright become entitled to any right comprised in the copyright,
the assignee as respects the rights so assigned, and the assignor as respects
the rights not assigned, shall be treated for the purposes of this Act
as the owner of copyright and the provisions of this Act shall have effect
accordingly.
(3) In this section, the
expression "assignee" as respects the assignment of the copyright
in any future work includes the legal representatives of the assignee,
if the assignee dies before the work comes into existence.
19. Mode of assignment
16[(1)] No assignment of
the copyright in any work shall be valid unless it is in writing signed
by the assignor or by his duly authorised agent.
4[(2) The assignment of
copyright in any work shall identify such work, and shall specify the
rights assigned and the duration and territorial extent of such assignment.
(3) The assignment of
copyright in any work shall also specify the amount of royalty payable,
if any, to the author or his legal heirs during the currency of the assignment
and the assignment shall be subject to revision, extension or termination
on terms mutually agreed upon by the parties.
(4) Where the assignee
does not exercise the rights assigned to him under any of the other sub-sections
of this section within a period of one year from the date of assignment,
the assignment in respect of such rights shall be deemed to have lapsed
after the expiry of the said period unless otherwise specified in the
assignment.
(5) If the period of assignment
is not stated, it shall be deemed to be five years from the date of assignment.
(6) If the territorial
extent of assignment of the rights is not specified, it shall be presumed
to extend within India.
(7) Nothing in sub-section
(2) or sub-section (3) or sub-section (4) or sub-section (5) or sub-section
(6) shall be applicable to assignments made before the coming into force
of the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1994.]
4[19A. Disputes with respect to assignment of copyright
(1) If an assignee fails
to make sufficient exercise of the rights assigned to him, and such failure
is not attributable to any act or omission of the assignor, then, the
Copyright Board may, on receipt of a complaint from the assignor and after
holding such inquiry as it may deem necessary, revoke such assignment.
(2) If any dispute arises
with respect to the assignment of any copyright, the Copyright Board may,
on receipt of a complaint from the aggrieved party and after holding such
inquiry as it considers necessary, pass such order as it may deem fit
including an order for the recovery of any royalty payable:
PROVIDED that the Copyright
Board shall not pass any order under this sub-section to revoke the assignment
unless it is satisfied that the terms of assignment are harsh to the assignor
in case the assignor is also the author:
PROVIDED FURTHER that
no order of revocation of assignment under this sub-section, shall be
made within a period of five years from the date of such assignment.]
20. Transmission of copyright in manuscript by testamentary disposition
Where under a bequest a
person is entitled to the manuscript of a literary, dramatic or musical
work, or to an artistic work, and the work was not published before the
death Of the testator, the bequest shall, unless the contrary intention
is indicated in the testator's will or any codicil thereto, be construed
as including the copyright in the work insofar as the testator was the
owner of the copyright immediately before his death.
Explanation : In this section,
the expression "manuscript" means the original document embodying
the work, whether written by hand or not.
21. Right of author to relinquish copyright
(1) The author of a work
may relinquish all or any of the rights comprised in the copyright in
the work by giving notice in the prescribed form to the Registrar of Copyrights
and thereupon such rights shall, subject to the provisions of sub-section
(3), cease to exist from the date of the notice.
(2) On receipt of a notice
under sub-section (1), the Registrar of Copyrights shall cause it to be
published in the Official Gazette and in such other manner as he may deem
fit.
(3) The relinquishment
of all or any of the rights comprised in the copyright in a work shall
not affect any rights subsisting in favour of any person on the date of
the notice referred to in sub-section (1).
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