Indian Copyright law is presently at parity with the international standards as contained in TRIPS. The Copyright Act, 1957 after the amendments in the year 1999 fully reflects the Berne Convention on Copyrights and the Universal Copyrights Convention, to which India is a party. India is also party to the Geneva Convention for the Protection of Rights of Producers of Phonograms and is an active member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and UNESCO. The works of such foreign country are thus protected in India under Section 40 of the Copyright Act 1957, read in conjunction with the International Copyright Order 1999.

Under the (Indian) Copyright Act, 1957 works of foreign authors/owners are accorded the same protection in India to which the Indian citizens are entitled under the Act.

In order to keep pace with the global requirement of harmonization, the Copyrights Act, 1957, has ushered in farreaching changes and brought the copyright law in the country in line with the developments in the IT industry, whether it is in the field of satellite broadcasting or computer software or digital technology. The amended law has made provisions to protect performer's rights as envisaged in the Rome Convention.

The government is also taking initiative to combat piracy in the software industry, motion pictures and the music industry along with players in the industry through their associations and organizations like NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Service Companies), NIAPC (National Initiative Against Piracy and Counterfeiting) etc.

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