An Overview of Copyright

Dec 2022

WIPO defines copyright as the right of creators to ownership of their creations and to make use for commercial or other purposes. Copyright today covers literary creations, printed material, computer programs, data, audiovisual media, dance, paintings and drawings, photographs, sculpture, architecture, ad material, technical drawings and others that are the outcome of intellectual effort.

From covering only literary and artistic works, copyright today encompasses works of music, cinematography, audio, theatre and visuals. Technological innovations have broadened the scope of copyright necessitating amendments to cover technologies such as TV and internet.

In essence, copyright confers on the creator exclusive rights for a limited period to enjoy benefits of his intellectual and physical efforts. The creator has right to claim credit for his work and to grant rights to others to make use of his creation in its original or modified form in return for consideration. Copyright applies to any idea expressed in a substantive and identifiable form and not just the concept.

In earlier times governments applied copyright laws only to print media to give authors protection and right to enjoy fruits of their labour. Such laws are restricted to countries unless there is an international agreement in place. However, with the march of time, most copyright laws have become international in nature and are internationally standardized.

The nominal duration of copyright ranges from 50 to 100 years from the author’s demise when such author is known or for a shorter period when the author is unknown or when the creator is a business organization. Some countries require registration but most countries automatically confer copyright for any completed work. Civil legislation covers copyright with criminal laws applicable in some instances.

In today’s environment copyright laws balance rights of owner with interests of the public.

The scope of copyright laws:

Literature of all kinds whether published or unpublished including oral works and musical notations and lyrics.

  • Artistic works in the form of painting, drawing, etching, lithographs, 3 dimensional creations, computer generated art work, maps, technical drawings, photographs, motion picture or cinematography of all types.
  • Computer software ad programs.
  • Creative arts such as jewellery, wallpaper, furniture, handicrafts

Copyright applies usually to creations aimed at masses communicated through any type of media in any way. Vast in scope, it covers anything and everything produced by intellectual effort.

An incongruity is that copyright protects the outcome of the creative idea but not the idea itself that can be used by others to develop their own creations with their own copyright benefits.

The Universal Declaration of Human rights, article 27 states:

“Everyone has right to freely participate in the cultural life of the community to enjoy the arts and share in scientific advancements and its benefits.” And

“Everyone has the right to protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.”

Trending Blogs
Breaking News: Toyota Loses Trademark Battle over Prius at Indian Supreme Court
The plaintiff, in this case, is Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha and they seek to prevent the defendant, a spare parts supplier by the name M/S Prius Auto Industries Limited, from the usage of the trademarks- “Toyota”, “Innova”, and “Prius”. According to the finding of the court, two of the three trademarks mentioned, namely Toyota and […]
Read More
Intellectual Property Rights in the Era of Counterfeit Goods
The industry of counterfeited products has taken shape due to the desire of customers to get hands-on high quality item at reasonable rates. They have great satisfaction in this and this is where the counterfeited goods are made available in the market. Different world markets are full of counterfeited products ranging from cosmetics, electronics, footwear, […]
Read More
The Common Law Protection Of Trade Secrets And The Need For A Statue
Introduction: A trade secret is anything you use in your business that gives you an advantage over your competitors. A trade secret can be a recipe, process, formula, strategy, technique or device that your competitors do not know, do not have, and cannot use. With development in technology, as well as the ease of sharing, […]
Read More
Well Known Trademark And Indian Law
What is well-known trademark? As per new Trade Mark Rules 2017, a new procedure has been created that allows the Registrar to proclaim a particular trademark as “well known”. Section 2(1)(zg) Of The Trademark Act, 1999 states that well- known trademark is a mark which has become well known to the section of the public […]
Read More
Copyrights of Music in India
Music is an art more specifically an intangible form of art. Copyrighting a song or a melody protects the basic right of the creator. The copyright also assist the creator financially. In order to ask for copyright the creator needs to file a registration. Once the creator gains the copyright, any infringement to the copyrighted […]
Read More
Alibaba IPR Report Shows Ideal Brand Protection Program
As per sources, e-commerce giant, Alibaba group has successfully gained success using intellectual property rights-protection. The giant has been able to offer quality service due to well integration of the latest technological improvements coupled with partnerships with top-rated brands. Also, external stakeholders assisted the giant in offering quality service to proactively monitor, go through rights-holders […]
Read More
India dropped to 40th position in International Intellectual Property Index
India has fallen to 40th position in the International Intellectual Property Index. This index helps know about the IP climate in the 53 global economies of the present year. This is as per the report US Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center. As per last year’s report, India has been ranked in the 36th […]
Read More
Protection of Acronyms under Trademark Law
It is known that acronyms are the first letters of a long phrase of words combined together. On the other hand, trademark is about a mark that shall help distinguish the product or service of goods or service from the rest of the items. Therefore, it can be said that an acronym can be registered […]
Read More
The Clash Of Jurisdiction Of CCI And TRAI
Overlapping Jurisdiction The Competition Act, 2002 read with section 18 of the legislation delegates to the Competition Commission of India (the “CCI”) the duty of “promoting and sustaining competition” in the Indian economy. This implies that the CCI will have principal jurisdiction to regulate conditions of competition in the relevant market of India. Whereas, Section […]
Read More
Blockchain Technology: Is it Building a Brighter Future
What is Blockchain Technology? The Blockchain is an incorruptible digital ledger of transactions that can be programmed to record virtually everything of value. So a blockchain is a continuously growing list of records called blocks, which are linked and secured. It protects the identities of the users. Although transactions on the blockchain are not completely […]
Read More
X
Download Firm Profile