General Principles of IPR

Intellectual property is classified into two, namely: -

 Industrial Property, which includes the inventions (patents), trademarks, industrial
designs and models and geographic indications of source.
 Copyright, which includes literary and artistic works, namely novels, poems, plays,
films, musicals, cartoons, paintings, photographs, statues, and architectural designs.
Legal protection to IPR is of great significance as it encourages investments in the new
innovations in all areas of intellectual property rights. These new innovations contribute
to economic and social development, thus are driving the human progress and
development. Intellectual property includes: -

 Trademark- A trade mark is a sign which distinguishes the products or services of a

given company and distinguishes them from competitors. A legally protected trademark
must be distinctive and not misleading, illegal or immoral.

 Geographical Indication- A geographical indication is essentially a sign or symbol

that indicates the origination of a product from a particular geographical area.
 Industrial Design- An industrial design constitutes the ornamental aspect of an article.
It may consist of three-dimensional features, such as creating the shape of a product, or
two-dimensional features, such as graphics, patterns, and colours.
 Patent- A patent is an exclusive right granted by law to an inventor, which prevents
others from enjoying commercial advantages in the patented invention for a limited
period without authorization, in exchange for complete disclosure of the patented
invention.
 Trade Name- A trade name is a name that uniquely distinguishes a business from
others.
 Trade Secret- A trade secret is any information of commercial value that is not.
Commonly known in connection with production or sales operations. The owner of a
trade secret must take sensible measures to preserve the secrecy.
 Integrated Circuit- A product, in its final or intermediate form, in which the elements,
or at least one of which is an active element, in which the connections are integrally
formed in a material or on it and which is intended for an electronic function.
 Copyright- Copyright is a form of intellectual property rights that deals with the
protection of works of the human intellect. Areas of copyright include literary and
artistic works, writings, musicals and works of fine art such as paintings and sculptures,
and technology-based works such as computer programs and electronic databases.
COPYRIGHT ACT
Introduction
• Copyright is a right given by the law to creators of literary, dramatic, musical and
artistic works and producers of cinematograph films and sound recordings. In fact, it is
a bundle of rights including, rights of reproduction, communication to the public,
adaptation and translation of the work. It means the sole right to produce or reproduce
the work or any substantial part thereof in any material form whatsoever.
• Nature of copyright protection
 Original work , may not be new
 Automatic Protection
 Exclusive right over the expression of the idea, not on the idea itself.
History of Copyright
• The Guttenberg Press changed the world forever, it was the first mass printing machine,
and with the invention of this machine, the modern journey of copyright law began.
• The republic of Venice was the first to grant privilege for a particular book, in 1486.
• The first copyright privilege in England was granted to Richard Pynson, in 1518. He
was the King’s printer and was given a monopoly for two years
• The statute of Anne is the first modern copyright statute of the world, formulated in
1709, it is still used as a basic document for most copyright concepts. The entire statute
was based on granting monopoly and privileges to book printers.
Indian copyright law
 In India the first legislation of its kind, the Indian Copyright Act, was passed in 1914
which was mainly based on the U.K. Copyright Act 1911.
• The Indian Copyright Act, 1957, came into effect from January 1958. The Act has
been amended five times since then, i.e., in 1983, 1984, 1992, 1994, 1999 and 2012.
• The amendment introduced in 1984 included computer program within the definition of
literary work and a new definition of computer program was inserted by the 1994
amendment.
• The Act is now amended in 2012 with the object of making certain changes for clarity,
to remove operational difficulties and also to address certain newer issues that have
emerged in the context of digital technologies and the Internet.
Subject matter of copyright

Section 13 of the Indian Copyright Act lists the works in which copyright subsists. It states as follows: Subject to
the provisions of this section and the other provisions of this Act, copyright shall subsist throughout India in the
following classes of works, that is to say-
 Literary and scientific works: novels, poems reference works, newspapers, plays, books, pamphlet,
magazine, journals, etc.
 Musical work: songs, instrument musical, choruses, solos, bands, orchestras, etc
 Artistic works: such as painting, drawings, sculpture, architecture, advertisements, etc.
 Photographic work: portraits, landscape, fashion or event photography, etc
 Motion pictures: it includes the cinematography works such as film, drama, documentary, newsreels,
theatrical exhibition, television broadcasting, cartoons, video tape, DVDs, etc
 Computer programmes: computer programmes, software’s and their related databases, Maps, and technical
drawings

Rights of Copyright owner

• There are two types of rights under copyright: Economic Rights and Moral Rights
• Economic rights: Section 14 of the Copyright Act 1957, states that the owner of
copyright in a work with regard to economic rights available to him in that work may
prohibit or authorize:
1. reproduction in various forms, such as printed publications or sound recordings;
2. performing in public, for example in a game or piece of music;
3. recording in the form of, for example, compact discs or DVDs;
4. broadcast by radio, cable or satellite;
5. translation into other languages; and
6. adaptation, such as turning a novel into a film script
Moral rights: Moral rights are expressed in section 57 of the Copyright Act 1957, which is
in line with Article 6bis of the Berne Convention. Widely recognized moral rights include
the right to claim copyright in a work i.e. Right to Paternity and to oppose changes to the
work that could damage the creator’s reputation i.e. Right to Integrity.

Idea versus Expression Dichotomy

• The central principle of copyright law is the bifurcation drawn between Idea and
expression, that an idea, however grand, is not protected, and expression however
feeble it might be, is protected. Though heavily criticized, as there is no definition of
idea or expression and therefore it is difficult to fix the boundary between “idea” and
“expression
• In India, the practical test for determining a work is copyrightable is ‘what is worth
copying is prima facie worth practicing’. Any work that is not copied from any other
work is considered original. The stress is that the expression should be original, so even
if two ideas are similar, or identical or nearly identical, they shall be independently
copyrightable.
Idea versus Expression Dichotomy
• The idea-expression dichotomy is a legal principle that distinguishes between the
underlying idea of a work and the particular expression or manifestation of that idea.
This principle is fundamental in copyright law and aims to strike a balance between
protecting creators' rights and fostering innovation and creativity. Copyright law
protects the expression of ideas rather than the ideas themselves. This means that while
 the specific way an idea is expressed is subject to copyright protection, the underlying
idea itself is not.
• For example, if someone writes a novel about a young wizard attending a school of
magic, the copyright will protect the specific text, characters, and plot elements of that
expression (e.g., "Harry Potter" by J.K. Rowling). However, other authors are free to
write their own stories about young wizards attending schools of magic, if they do not
directly copy the expression of the original work.
• This principle is crucial because it allows for the free flow of ideas and encourages
creativity and innovation without stifling competition or hindering the development of
new works. It also prevents monopolies on ideas, ensuring that creators cannot control
entire concepts or themes indefinitely.
• However, applying the idea-expression dichotomy can sometimes be complex,
particularly in cases where the line between idea and expression is blurred. Courts may
need to carefully analyze the specific elements of a work to determine whether
copyright protection applies.
• The main element is that an idea is the mental element, and thus cannot be protected.
There emerges a corollary from the Idea versus Expression dichotomy, which is that
when it is impossible to filter out the idea from the expression, then the work per se
becomes non copyrightable. This is known as the Merger doctrine.
• Doctrine of Merger
Doctrine of "merger” propounds that where the idea and expression are intrinsically
connected, and that the expression is indistinguishable from the idea, copyright protection
cannot be granted. Applying this doctrine courts have refused to protect the expression of
an idea that can be expressed only in one manner, or in a very restricted manner, because
doing so would confer monopoly on the idea itself.

Term of copyright
1. Sections 22 to 29 deal with term of copyright in respect of published literary, dramatic,
musical and artistic works; anonymous and pseudonymous; posthumous, photographs,
cinematograph films, sound recording, Government works, works of PSUs and works of
international organisations.
2. In the case of published original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, the
duration of the copyright is the lifetime of the author or artist and 60 years from the
year following the death of the author. However, in the case of a work of joint
authorship, be interpreted with respect to the author who dies last
3. Cinematography, sound recordings, photographs, posthumous publications, anonymous
and pseudonymous publications, works of governmental and international organizations
are protected for 60 years, counting from the year of publication.
Authorship and Ownership
Section 17 of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957, deals with the authorship and ownership of
copyrighted works.
Authorship: According to Section 17, the author of a work is generally the person who
creates it. This includes the author of a literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic work, as well as
the producer of a cinematographic film or sound recording. In the case of a photograph, the
photographer is considered the author.
Ownership: The general rule under Section 17 is that the author of a work is the first owner
of the copyright. However, there are exceptions to this rule:
• In the case of works created during the course of employment, where the work is made
in the course of the author's employment by another person under a contract of service or
apprenticeship, the employer is considered the first owner of the copyright, unless there is an
agreement to the contrary.
• In the case of works commissioned for certain specific purposes such as a photograph
for a private or domestic purpose, the person commissioning the work is considered the first
owner of the copyright.
• In the case of government works, where a work is made or published by or under the
direction or control of the government, the government is considered the first owner of the
copyright.

Rights of Copyright holder: - Economic and Moral rights,

1. Economic Rights

Section 14 of the Indian Copyright Act aims to protect the economic interests of copyright
holders by granting them exclusive rights over the reproduction, distribution, performance,
and communication of their works, thereby enabling them to derive economic benefits from
their creative endeavours. These rights are exclusive to the copyright owner and typically
include the following:
 Reproduction Right
 Adaptation Right
 Public Performance Right
 Public Display Right
 Broadcasting Right
 Communication to the Public Right

These economic rights empower copyright holders to control the use and exploitation of their works for financial
gain. Copyright owners can license or assign these rights to others, such as publishers, distributors, or media
companies, in exchange for royalties or other forms of compensation.

1. Moral Rights
Authors' Special Rights [S. 57] An author of a copyright work has the following special rights: -
  to claim authorship of the work,
 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.

However, this right is not available in respect of any adaptation of a computer programme to which certain acts do
not constitute infringement of the copyright in the work [S. 52(1) (aa)]. This section provides that making of copies
of adaptation of a computer programme for certain purposes or to make backup copies for protection against loss,
destruction or damage will not amount to infringement of copyright in the work. The author's special rights can be
exercised even after the assignment of the copyright.
They can be enforced by an action for breach of contract or confidence, a suit for defamation or passing off. In
respect of works of architecture where the construction of a building or other structure which would infringe the
copyright in some other work has been commenced the owner of the work will not be entitled to obtain an
injunction to restrain the construction of such building or structure or to order demolition. He cannot also claim
damages for conversion. In appropriate cases a declaratory order may be obtained as to whether what the defendant
is doing or proposes to do is an infringement of the copyright in a work

Copyright Societies
 Copyright societies are based on the concept of Collective administration where management and
protection of copyright in works are undertaken by a society of authors and other owners