Copyright Registration in India
Copyright is the legal right granted to creators of literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, as well as producers of films and recordings, under the law. When a proprietor registers for a Copyright, he obtains the exclusive right to reproduce, duplicate, and distribute the work. He can also delegate authority to another entity for the same purpose. Registering for copyright allows you to communicate with the public, reproduce rights, and adapt and translate works.
Process of Copyright registration in India
The following steps are involved in the registration of copyright:
Step 1:
The copyright registration application must be filed with the Copyright Registrar in the appropriate forms, mentioning the particulars of the work.
Separate copyright applications may be required depending on the type of work.
Our representatives will request basic information about your copyright work. You will also be required to send us three copies of your work as well as a few signed documents, including an authorization letter, which we will send to you via email. If the work has not yet been published, two copies of the manuscript can be sent, one of which will be returned to the applicant with a seal and the other will be kept confidential with the Copyright Office. Applicants may also choose to send only excerpts from the manuscript rather than the entire unpublished copy.
Step 2:
The applicant must sign the forms, and the application must be submitted by the Advocate in whose name the Power of Attorney has been executed.
Our experts will then prepare the copyright registration application and electronically file it with the Registrar of Copyrights.
Step 3:
After submitting your application online, you will be issued the Diary Number.
Step 4:
After a 30-day waiting period, the Copyright Examiner reviews the application for potential discrepancies and/or objections.
Step 5:
If a discrepancy and/or objections are discovered, a discrepancy notice will be issued, and the notice must be complied with within 30 days of its issuance.
Step 6:
Once the discrepancy has been resolved, or if there are no discrepancies or objections to the application, the copyright will be registered, and the Copyright Office will issue the Extracts of Register of Copyrights (ROC), which is nothing more than the Registration Certificate.
After completing the copyright application, you will be assigned a diary number. From this day, registration will take 12 months. During this time, we may be asked for clarifications and/or for some defects in the application, and responding to and complying with the defects will cost an additional Rs. 1500. Throughout the process, our representatives at Incorpz will keep you updated on the status of your application.
Documents Required for Copyright Registration
Personal Details
- Name, Address & Nationality of the Applicant
- Name, address and nationality of the author of the work
- The nature of the applicant’s interest in the copyright – whether the applicant is the author of the work or the author’s representative
- Copies of the original work
- ID proof of the owner and Incorporation certificate if it is for business
Nature Of The Work
- Class & Description of the Work
- Title of the Work
- Language of the Work
- Date of Publication – Internal magazines, such as a company magazine, or a research paper submitted to a professor, do not count as publication.
Register Your Copyright Today
Scope of copyright protection
The Copyright Act of 1957 forbids the unauthorized use of any original literary, musical, dramatic, sound recording, cinematograph, or other artistic work. Both published and unpublished works can be copyrighted, and the original work’s copyright is reserved for the creator. Copyright can also be registered for works that were published prior to the 21st of January 1958, when the Copyright Act was enacted.
Original literary, musical, dramatic, and artistic works are protected by copyright for the author’s entire lifetime. Furthermore, it is valid for another 60 years, beginning with the year following the author’s death. In the case of sound recordings, cinematograph films, photographs, posthumous publications (published after the author’s death), anonymous and pseudonymous publications, government works, and international organizations’ works.
Rights of the copyright owner
The Indian Copyright Act 1957 governs copyright issues in India. It safeguards the copyright holder’s economic, legal, and social interests. The Act grants the owner exclusive rights in the following areas:
Right of Reproduction
The Copyright Act states that no one may make copies or reproduce a protected work, in whole or in part, without the permission of the copyright owner. As a result, copying a song, any sound, or any type of video recording in a recording device is prohibited.
Right of Adaptation
The Copyright Act grants the creator exclusive rights to use his work in any way he sees fit. He has the ability to create any derivatives of his original work. He can also create a new work in a different format based on his previous work. The following actions are defined as “adaptation” under the Copyright Act:
- Converting movies, plays, dramatic works, or choreographic performances into literary or non-dramatic works such as novels, poems, or books
- Adapting artistic and literary works, such as photography, sculpture, drawings, and paintings, into dramatic forms
- A visual description of the original work
- Changing or modifying non-dramatic and dramatic work
- Transcription of a musical composition/work
Right of Communication To The Public
The Act grants copyright holders exclusive rights to broadcast their original work to the public. They can accomplish this through wireless diffusion of visual images or signs in any form.
Right of Public Performance
The Act grants the owners of artistic and musical works the exclusive right to perform their works in public. Any of an actor’s plays can be performed in public. A musician can perform his original music in front of a large audience. Similarly, artists can broadcast their public performances on any platform they choose.
Right of Paternity And Integrity
The Copyright Act grants the creators of original work the moral rights of integrity and morality. The right of attribution or paternity implies that the owner/creator has the exclusive right to claim authorship over his work. In other words, he has the option of having it attributed to him. Anyone who wishes to adapt or reproduce the original work must give the author proper credit. Otherwise, the author will be free to file a legal suit against the ‘unauthorized’ creator. For example, before making a film based on a book, the director must acknowledge or credit the author.
The right of integrity protects the copyright holder in a different way. If someone mutilates, modifies, or distorts the original work of the copyright holder, he can sue for damages. This is done under the guise that such an act has resulted in the creator’s and his original creation’s reputation being harmed.
Right of Distribution
The Copyright Act grants the copyright holder the exclusive right to distribute his work in any form he desires (through selling, reproducing, leasing, lending or renting). He can also transfer certain rights to another person to use the copyright in part or whole, subject to subject-specific limitations, if he desires so.
Advantages of Copyright Registration
Legal Protection
Original work creators are always legally protected when their work is reproduced without permission. However, copyright registration makes it much easier to protect this original work from infringement.
Market Presence
By registering a copyright, you create a public record of your work and establish proof of ownership for your creative work. It can also be used in marketing and to establish trust in the minds of customers.
Rights Of The Owner
The owner of a copyright has the right to reproduce, distribute, adapt, and translate the work. You will have some variations in the composition of the rights depending on the work.
Copyright Registration Process
3 Business Days
Our representatives will request basic information about the work you wish to copyright. You must also send us three copies of your unique content on a CD, as well as a signed authorization letter (we will mail this to you).
2 Business Days
The application will then be prepared by our experts. We will electronically file the necessary forms with the Registrar of Copyrights at the office in Delhi.
12 Months
After completing the copyright application, you will be assigned a diary number. From this day, the registration will take 12 months. We may be asked for clarification on the subject during this time (if this is on account of an error of yours, it will cost a further Rs. 1500). Throughout the process, our representatives will keep you updated on the status of your application. If you receive an objection to your application from interested parties or the examiner, you must respond within 45 days.
FAQs on Copyright Registration
☑ Is copyright applicable to titles or names?
Titles, names, short word combinations, slogans, short phrases, methods, plots, or factual information are not normally protected by copyright, nor are ideas or concepts. Only original literary work is granted copyright.
☑ Is a trademark or copyright required? What is the difference?
A trademark is a symbol used to protect a company’s name, logo, or slogan. Copyright, on the other hand, is a type of protection given to unique content such as a book, music, videos, songs, and artistic content.
☑ Is there any protection if someone else copies my content after I apply for a copyright?
Without a doubt. You must immediately send a legal notice, and if the problem is not resolved, you may even file a case against the other party in a court of law.
☑ Is there a way to find out if someone else has previously copyrighted my content?
No, there are no such provisions to determine whether or not the work has been copied by a third party. You can, however, conduct a thorough Internet search to see if there is anything similar to yours.
☑ What if someone claims that I infringed on their work?
In such a case, the third party will send you a legal notice claiming that you copied or reproduced their registered work. Incorpz can assist you in responding to the legal notice as well as in the subsequent litigation process.
☑ How long does a copyright registration last?
The copyright is valid for 60 years. If it is a literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic work, the 60-year period is counted from the year onwards following expiry of the author. For cinematograph films, sound recordings, photographs, posthumous publications, anonymous and pseudonymous publications, government and international organization works, the 60 year period is then counted from the date of publication.
☑ Is copyright only valid in India, or does it apply globally?
Because India is a signatory to the Berne Convention, copyright registered in India will be granted foreign work status, and protection will be extended to countries that are also signatories to the Berne Convention.
☑ Is it possible to sell or transfer a copyright registration?
With the permission of the work’s owner, a copyright registration can be sold, transferred, gifted, or franchised.
☑ What are the rights of a copyright holder?
A copyright holder has the right to translate, reproduce, and adapt the creative work; the right to be credited for it; and the right to decide who may adapt the work to other forms and who will receive monetary benefits from it.
☑ In India, what cannot be protected by copyright?
Copyright protection does not apply to ideas and methods, such as business operations, technological discoveries, mathematical principles, and other such concepts; commonly available information, such as telephone directories, general databases derived from free public records, and so on; choreographic works and speeches, unless they are notated or videotaped. Furthermore, business names, product descriptions, taglines, and other similar expressions are not protected by copyright.
☑ How to copyright my website?
A website cannot be copyrighted in a single application; rather, you must copyright the entire website because it is made up of various elements, such as the content, which is considered literary work, the source code and object code of the website, which is also considered literary work, the pictures, and artistic works, which are considered separate works, and thus, individual copyright applications must be filed.
☑ How long does it take to register a copyright?
Given the various factors, including objections, the entire process could take up to 6-8 months.
☑ Is copyright applicable in the case of mobile applications?
A mobile application cannot be copyrighted in and of itself; however, similar to a website, the coding can be copyrighted as literary work, and other elements can be filed as separate copyright applications.
☑ Should I publish my work in order to register for copyright?
It is possible to register both published and unpublished works. If a work has already been published, the Publishing details must be included with the application.
☑ Is it possible to register a copyright anywhere in India?
Because the entire copyright filing process is done online, it can be done from anywhere in the country. The headquarters of Copyright are in Delhi.
☑ Is it possible that my copyright work will be rejected?
Yes, the application will be abandoned if the discrepancy is not resolved within the specified time frame.
Why Incorpz?
At Incorpz, our Copyright professionals and lawyers will provide legal advice and end-to-end support, from filing the application to collecting the details and registering your work. Because the entire process is completed online, there is no need for you to go outside and follow up with government officials. We will also take care of all of the necessary requirements.
Recent Updates
The DPIIT Proposes Amendments To The Indian Copyright Rules.
November 18, 2020
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) proposed a set of amendments to the Indian Copyright Rules in order to improve transparency and clarity for copyright holders. Furthermore, the DPIIT’s Copyright Office has solicited comments and suggestions for changes to the Copyright Act before November 30, 2020.
