Copyright – A copyright is an intellectual property protection measure. Owners of original works in India are entitled to it under Indian law. Be it a literary work, a musical work, an aesthetic effort, a theatrical production, a cinematographic work, or even sound recordings, copyright is taken into consideration. Computer programs, literature, and other literary works are all examples.

The proprietor of work can prevent it from being copied or recreated without permission under Section 13 of the Copyright Act 1957. Copyrights can only be exercised by the owners of the works. Adaptation, replication, publishing, translation, and other uses of the rights are permitted.

In order to register for a copyright, the work must be original and not a duplicate of someone else's work. The business owner has the choice to register their company. The author and their work are legally protected by copyrights. Similarly, copyright allows the owner to prevent their work from being used unlawfully by others. It also protects the work from infringements on a local or worldwide scale.

Why should copyright be Protected

Copyright protects and rewards innovation by ensuring some minimal safeguards for writers' rights over their creations. Given that creativity is the bedrock of development, no civilized society can afford to overlook the necessity of promoting it. Creativity is essential for a society's economic social and economic progress. Copyright protects the work of authors, artists, designers, dramatists, composers, architects, and makers of sound records, cinematograph films, and computer software, fostering a creative environment that encourages them to create more and drives others to create.

Infringement means in layman terms is "the action of breaking the terms of a law"

Copyright Infringement– The use or creation of copyright-protected work without the authorization of the copyright owners is known as copyright infringement and which is not a fair dealing of work and offence of infringement of copyright is given under Section 63 of The Copyright Act, 1957. Copyright infringement occurs when a third party infringes on the copyright holder's rights, such as the exclusive use of a work for a specified period of time. Music and movies are two of the most well-known forms of entertainment where copyright infringements are common. Contingent liabilities, or cash set aside in the case of a lawsuit, may come from infringement litigation.

– In the Section 52 the word used "fair dealing". The word "Fair Dealing" is not defined in the Copyright Act of 1957. It is a legal notion that enables a person to make limited use of a copyrighted work without the owner's consent.

Fair dealing with any work under The Copyright Act, 1957 –

Section 52 of the Copyright Act, 1957, enumerates specific activities or works that are not deemed infringements of copyright, including fair dealing with a literary, dramatic, musical, or aesthetic work that is not a computer programme for the purposes of these regulations of-

  • "Fair treatment of any work that is not a computer program for the purposes of –

(i) private or personal use, including study;

(ii) criticism or review, whether of that work or any other work;

(iii) the coverage of current events and current affairs, including the coverage of a public lecture.

  • solely in the technological process of electronic transmission or communication to the public, the temporary or accidental storage of a work or performance;
  • unless the person responsible is aware or has reasonable grounds to believe that such storage is of an infringing copy, transient or incidental storage of a work or performance for the purpose of providing electronic links, access, or integration, where the right holder has not expressly banned such linkages, access, or integration,
  • the reproduction of any work for the purpose of a judicial proceeding or a judicial procedure report."1

Along with the above-mentioned provision, the Court also relies on classic cases that have been dealt with in brief as to what and to what extent any work that is abridged as under the Act can be considered "Fair Use or Fair Dealing" of the copyrighted work, which is an extremely technical issue that is seen by the Court primarily looking into the facts of the case.

  • India TV Independent News Services Pvt. Ltd. vs Yashraj Films Pvt. Ltd 20132

According to the circumstances of this case, the defendants, India TV, broadcasted a show on its channel documenting the lives of singers in which the singers were seen performing their own songs, but while doing so, excerpts from a movie scene were shown to play in the background. Yashraj Films Private Limited, the plaintiff, alleged that such a movie scene in the backdrop was a violation of its Copyright. The defendants used Section 52 of The Copyright Act, 1957, fair dealing defence. The Delhi Court rejected the defendants' fair dealing defence and barred them from producing, distributing, transmitting, or otherwise exploiting any cinematograph film, sound recording, or part thereof that the Plaintiff owns. In an appeal against the foregoing ruling, the Hon'ble bench of the Delhi High Court likewise saw the need to ignore the usual method to dealing with Section 52 of the Copyright Act, the court set aside the single Judge's order and elevated the limits imposed. Nonetheless, the Appellants were prohibited from disseminating any cinematograph material without first getting permission. The Copyright (Amendment) Act of 2012 amended the definition of fair dealing to include musical recordings and cinematograph films.

By ignoring the inflexible and traditional approach and adopting the required modifications, the Indian legal system achieved progress in the realm of fair dealing under Copyright.

  • Civic Chandran v. Ammini Amma, 19963

Civic Chandran v. Ammini Amma is a landmark decision in Indian copyright law, determined by the Kerala High Court, in which the court declared that under the fair dealing exemption, even considerable copying of copyrighted material is acceptable if the copying is in the public interest.

  • Academy of General Education Manipal and Another vs B.Malini Mallya, 20084

In this decision, the Supreme Court concluded that Section 52 of the Copyright Act of 1957 specifies some conduct that do not constitute a copyright infringement. When a fair trade is made, for example, of a literary or theatrical work for the purpose of private use, research, criticism, or review, whether of that work or any other work, the right under the Act cannot be asserted. As a result, if a performance or dance falls inside the jurisdiction of Section 52, the injunction order will not be enforced. Similarly, because the appellant is an educational institution, the order of injunction will not apply if the dance is performed within the meaning of paragraph I of sub-section (1) of Section 52. Again, if the appellant institution performs such a performance in front of a non-playing public, and the institution falls under the umbrella of an amateur club or society, the order of injunction [2009 (39) PTC 393] is not violated.

Conclusion –

It might be claimed that the standard for establishing whether or not a work is a Fair Use of such work differs from case to case since evidence must take precedence over regulations. Section 52 of the Copyright Act, 1957 in India gives a valid footing for the public to rely on for the time being, since it has been able to establish a good foundation and it restraining people to abuse of process of law. Furthermore, the entire point of providing copyright exemptions is to foster inventiveness and growth that may be translated and represented in a number of different ways, allowing individuals to attain certain degrees of imagination while still paying close respect to the original work.

Footnotes

1. Section 52 (1)(a) of The Copyright Act, 1957.

2. India TV Independent News Services Pvt. Ltd. vs Yashraj Films Pvt. Ltd. 2013 (53) PTC 586 (Del)

3. Civic Chandran v. Ammini Amma, 1996 16 PTC 329

4. Academy of General Education Manipal and Another vs B.Malini Mallya, Civil Appeal No.389 of 2008, decided on January 23, 2009.

Exception To Infringement Of Copyright Section 52 Of The Copyright Act, 1957

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