This document summarizes key aspects of Indian copyright law, including its purpose to promote creativity, the nature of copyrightable works, ownership and rights, infringement, exceptions, and remedies. It also outlines several important copyright cases that help define the scope and application of the law, such as determining what constitutes a "substantial portion" of copying and whether ideas or only expressions are protected.

1. Copyright Law
By
Dr. Kalyan C. Kankanala
Brain League IP Services Now
BananaIP
© 2009 Brain League IP Services Pvt. Ltd Now BananaIP

2. Philosophy of Copyright Law
 To promote creativity by granting exclusive rights
for a limited period of time.
 Quid Pro Quo
 Gives a creative work and takes exclusive
rights

3. Generic Life Cycle
 Author
 Creative Work
 Copyright (Exclusive Rights)
 Term
 Public domain

4. Nature of Copyright
 Idea/Expression
 Original
 Originate from author
 Modicum of Creativity
 Registration

5. R.G. Anand vs. Delux Films and Ors.
 Play - Hum Hindustani
 Movie - New Delhi
 Hum Hindustani very popular - 1953, 54, 55 and 56
 Director came to meet Anand - Anand read out the
play -
 Told that he would be informed
 Subject- Provincialism

6. R.G. Anand vs. Delux Films and Ors.
 Play
 Two families - Punjabi and Madrasi family - neighbours - Closely
associated - Amni and Chander punjabi and madrasi families fall in love
- Parents come to know - families relation strained - Girl and Boy
decide to commit suicide - They write a letter - Parents on seeing letter
realize the mistake - Marry them - Everyone happy.

7. R.G. Anand vs. Delux Films and Ors.
 Movie
 Anand young graduate from punjab comes to delhi - Fights with the girl
'Janaki'- Tries to find a place for rent but people refuse to give to any
one except south indians - Disguises as a south indian and gets a place
to stay - Meets the girl Janaki again – falls in love - Boy's parents come
to Delhi - Girl's parents get to know the identity of Anand - Relations
strained - Janaki decides to commit suicide leaving a letter - - Parents
realize and get youngsters married.
 Differences - Provincialism - Marriage - Rent - Casteism - Held no
copyright violation

8. R.G. Anand vs. Delux Films and Ors.
 Ideas not protected - Only Expression protected.
 It is infringement only if the expression of thought is copied.
 To prove copying it need not be an exact copy, It is enough if the
substantial portion has been copied - Substantial similarity in incidents,
scenes and treatment.
 Two works showing the same emotion would not be copies unless the
expression has been copied.
 Colourable imitation amounts to violation.

9. R.G. Anand vs. Delux Films and Ors.
 Test - affect produced on the mind of a person - If the reader,
spectator, person feels that a subsequent work is a copy of the
original.
 There can be no copyright in an idea, subject matter, themes,
plots or historical or legendary facts and violation of the
copyright in such cases is confined to the form, manner and
arrangement and expression of the idea by the author of the
copyrighted work.

10. Copyrightable Subject Matter
 Literary
 Dramatic
 Artistic
 Musical
 Cinematograph Films
 Sound Recordings

11. V. Govindan vs. E. M. Gopalakrishna
Kone and another
 Compilation of a English - English - Tamil Dictionary
 The Appellants copied the dictionary slavishly
 Errors, arrangement and words.
 For a different purpose but retained words not necessary -
School Dictionary
 Dictionary is protectable under copyright - creative
 Held - liable

12. N. T. Raghunathan v. All India Reporter
Ltd
 AIR came up with head notes to case, which included
important excerpts from the case.
 Raghunathan copied those head notes.
 Held that head notes are protectable under copyright
law - Copying them is violation of copyright

13. Literary work
 Print or Writing Books
 Poems
 Computer programs
 Tables
 Compilations

14. Dramatic Work
 Drama
 Piece for recitation
 Choreographic work
 Entertainment in a dumb show Scenic
arrangements or acting form - fixed in writing or
otherwise

15. Musical Work
 Music
 Graphical notation Does not include - words or
action - sung, spoken or performed with music

16. Artistic Work
 Painting
 Sculpture
 Drawing
 Engraving
 Diagram
 Map
 Chart
 Plan
 Photograph
 Architecture

17. Cinematographic work
 Visual recording
 Any medium
 Produced through a process
 Moving image
 Including Sound recording

18. Sound Recording
 Recording
 Any medium
 Produce sounds

19. Term
 Literary, Dramatic, Artistic or Musical works
 Life plus sixty years
 Sixty years from publication
 Government - Sixty years
 Cinematographic work - 60 years

20. Ownership
 First Owner – Author
 Sound recording and Cinematograph film –
Producer
 Employment – Employer
 Contract of service
 Commissioned work
 Valuable consideration

21. Exclusive rights
 Bundle of rights
 Reproduction
 Issue copies
 Distribute
 Public performance or communication
 Translation
 Adaptation
 Sell or Hire

22. Moral Rights
 Publication
 Paternity
 Integrity
 Section 57

23. Smt. Mannu Bhandari vs. Kala Vikas
Pictures Pvt. Ltd. and another
 Director. Kala Vikas has produced motion picture Samay Ki Dhara’ under
assignment of filming rights of her novel ‘Aap Ka Bunty’.
 Author alleges mutilation and distortion of the novel
 Movie different from Novel
 Consequences of divorce - impact on children
 Mother and Father divorce and remarry leaving the child
 One character who was adivisional manager in the novel has been shown as a
builder who gets contracts by supplying woman.
 The novel shows that the child becomes an orphan but the movie kills him.
 Held - No violation of moral rights.

24. Publication
 First Publication in India
 Published outside India
 Author citizen of India
 Not Published
 Citizen or Domiciled in India - Creation

25. Publication
 Issue copies
 Communication to public

26. Performer's rights
 Actor, Musician, Juggler, Snake charmer, Acrobat,
Lecturer, etc
 Term - 50 years
 Rights
 Make sound recording or visual recording
 Reproduce sound or visual recording of performance
 Communicate to public
 Broadcast or otherwise

27. Fortune v. Devanand
 Movie - Darling Darling
 Contract that copyrights in performance
belong to Devanand until the agreed 7 Lakhs
is paid completely
 Fortune does not pay - Court issues
injunction in seven territories

28. Transfer of Copyright
 Assignment or License
 Valid only if it is in writing and signed by
assignor or agent
 Doctrine of first sale
 Reversion of License - 1 year

29. Compulsory License
 Copyright Board
 Conditions
 Published or Performed in public
 Author refuse to republish or perform
 Not reasonable terms
 Withheld from public

30. Procedure
 Complaint
 Enquiry
 Order publication or performance
 Reasonable compensation

31. Infringement
 Section 51
 Any person
 Without license
 Owner
 Registrar
 Does anything that is exclusive right of copyright
owner

32. Infringement
 Existence of copyright
 Owner of copyright
 Copying
 Access
 Substantial similarity
 Look and feel test
 Abstraction-filtration and comparison test

33. Bradford v. Sahara
 Romance novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford - A Woman of Substance
 Sahara TV - 260 PART Television series inIndia
 Karishma - Miracles of Destiny - 13 million dollars USD
 Servant to head of an international organization
 Street sweeper to head of an international corporation
 Woman looking back on her life narrates
 Idea not expression - Held not liable

34. Educational Book Depot. v. Rabindra
Nath Tagore
 Dr. Rabindranath Tagore - Author of 'Gitanjali', The 'Gardener',
and the 'Crescent Moon' - Published by Macmillan
 EBT - Intermediate poems for detailed study - 1poem out of first
book - 2 out of second book and - 1 out of the third book
 Held infringed and granted damages of Rupees 400

35. Cunniah v. Balraj
 Subramanyaswamy - Hindu Deity
 Balasubramanya - Younger version of the deity
 Appellant made a picture a - Balamurugan
 Respondent made a similar picture - Mayura priya

36. Cunniah v. Balraj
 Balamurugan
 Mayura Priya
 Different colour schemes
 Large picture and small picture
 Peacock faces left and right in the other
 Background - Fort and Temple
 Court Held colourable imitation of the picture
 Liable for copyright infringement

37. Exception to copyright infringement
 Private use
 Teaching and Education
 Research
 Criticism or Review
 News reporting
 Judicial proceeding
 Legislative proceedings
 Archival for library

38. Civil Remedies
 Injunction
 Interlocutory
 Permanent
 Damages
 Costs

39. Criminal Remedies
 Mens Rea
 Imprisonment
 6 months to 2 years
 Fine
 50,000 - 2 Lakhs

40. State of Andhra Pradesh v. Nagoti
Venkatramanan
 Video library - VIDEO CITY
 90 CASSETTES Seized
 Liable for infringement
 Have to identify the owner to make some one liable
 Fine - Rs. 10, 000