Copyright:Registration Definitions & Procedure
Copyright Registration is designed as the right of an original piece of work owned by an individual. It is fixed in a medium of expression letting the copyright holder exclusively reproduce, perform, distribute and display the work. The original creator and the person who obtained rights to the work can register a copyright on the same.
Taking a cue from the English Copyright Act of 1911, the first ever Copyright Act was enacted in 1914. Once the country achieved independence, Copyright Act, 1957 was enacted and has seen amendments being made to it six times, the last being in 2012.
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What is a Copyright?
Defined as the property right of an original work owned by an individual, a copyright is fixed in a physical medium of expression, thus enabling the holder to exclusively reproduce, distribute, perform, and display the copyrighted work.
The said work may include anything under literature, music, art, photography, cinema/film or even a computer programme, etc. Unlike a trademark, copyright just has a single symbol i.e. ©. The symbol can be placed on the original piece of work that has been created.
Who Can Register a Copyright?
The creator of the work, and the person who has obtained rights to the original work can register for the copyright.
It’ll be called ‘work made for hire’, if the said piece was created during the time of the employment. In such a case, the employee is not considered as the author or creator of the work. That title goes to the employer.
If a work has been created by two people, then they get co-ownership of the copyright, unless the people concerned want it otherwise
There is no age bar on obtaining a copyright. A minor can register one too.
If we had to narrow it down to three basic sets of people who can apply for a copyright, they would be:
a. The creator of the work
b. Any person claiming to have obtained the ownership rights from the creator of the original work
c. An agent who has been authorized to act on behalf of the aforementioned people
What Does a Copyright Protect?
It is a form of intellectual property law, which protects original works under literature, music, art, photography, cinema/film or even a computer programme. The copyright protects most of the works that are available in tangible form, including lyrics to a song, tunes, pictures, graphics, sculpture, piece of architecture, sound recordings, drama, choreographed works, parodies, signatures. All these must be viewed in more depth to get intricate details.
What is not Protected by Copyright?
There are various categories of work that don’t fit the bill for a copyright:
Those pieces of work that cannot be fixed in a tangible expression, like unrecorded works, performances of the improvisational kind, or any other speech / performance that has not been written or recorded. Works including titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; symbols or designs that are familiar with others; basic typographic finery, lettering, use of colouring techniques, lists of ingredients or contents. Ideas, systems, methods processes as distinguished from the said description, explanation or an illustration. Finally, facts and figures that are generic property cannot be registered for a copyright. These may include, standard calendars, charts of height/weight, information from public documents, and the like.
What are the Rights of the Copyright Owner?
The copyright gives complete and exclusive rights to the owner of the work:
The owner can choose to reproduce the work and/or authorize someone else to do it
Any derivative work that comes from the original work is carried out by the owner of the copyright or the authorized person
The owner can also distribute copies of his/her work to the public in any form i.e. sale of transfer of ownership, rent the work, lease the work, etc.
Any of the copyrighted work can be performed and displayed readily in public. And the rights hold across all platforms, be it literature, music, drama, choreography, cinema, films, audio visual works.
Steps for Copyright Registration
Step 1: Filing the Application
Along with the requisite fee, an application needs to be submitted either in DD/IPO. Once this application is filed, a diary number is generated and issued to the applicant.
Step 2: Examination
There is a minimum wait of 30 days for recording and analysing any objections that may come up against the copyright application
a. In case of no Objection:
The application goes ahead for scrutinization by an examiner. This scrutiny gives rise to two options:
1. In case of discrepancy found during scrutiny:
A letter of discrepancy is sent to the applicant letter is generated and sent to the applicant.
Based on the reply from the applicant, the registrar conducts a hearing of the alleged discrepancy row
Once the discrepancies are sorted during the hearing, the extracts of the same are sent to the applicant for him/her to register the copyright
2. In case of zero discrepancy:
This would mean that the copyright application fulfils all criterion required for the copyright. The applicant is then given the nod to go ahead with the registration of the same.
(If the registration is not approved, then the applicant received a letter of rejection)
b. In case of an objection filed:
While we listed above the scenarios of ‘no objections’, in case one is faced with an objection, the following proceedings take place:
Authorities send out letters to the two concerned parties, trying to convince them to take back the objection
After requisite replies from the third party, the registrar conducts a hearing
Depending on whether the registrar accepts the reply, the procedure takes shape
1. If the application is accepted:
The application being accepted means that the objection has been rejected. The application goes ahead for scrutinization by an examiner. This scrutiny gives rise to two options:
2. In case of discrepancy found during scrutiny:
A letter of discrepancy is sent to the applicant letter is generated and sent to the applicant.
Based on the reply from the applicant, the registrar conducts a hearing of the alleged discrepancy row
Once the discrepancies are sorted during the hearing, the extracts of the same are sent to the applicant for him/her to register the copyright.
c. In case of zero discrepancy:
This would mean that the copyright application fulfils all criterion required for the copyright. The applicant is then given the nod to go ahead with the registration of the same. (If the registration is not approved, then the applicant received a letter of rejection)
d. If application is rejected:
In case this happens, then the applicant receives a rejection letter that marks the end of the copyright procedure
Step 3: Registration
As can be seen from the aforementioned steps, the registration solely depends on the registrar. Once everything is cleared from the registrar’s end, the applicant received the copyright and can legally exercise all rights that come with the owner of that copyright.
Copyright is a form of the intellectual property law. It is registered to protect original pieces of work such as music, art, literature, cinema/film, photography or a computer program. There are in-depth categories that can be registered for copyright by the creators. It will give exclusive and complete rights to the creator of the work.
Basic Requirements for Copyright Registration
Registration under Copyright Act will protect any form of artistic creations or Intellectual property. It gives both the Economic & Ethical Rights to the original creator.
Basic Details of Creator
To register before the Copyright Act, some basic details of the creator like Name, Address & Nationality are mandatory.
Power of Attorney
The candidate must sign the power of attorney rightfully if you are registering copyright through any advocate or legal firm.
Submission of the work sample
A candidate registering for copyright should put forward his/her work in a soft copy format in JPEG, JPG, or GIF format. Copyright registration for computer programs, database requires 4 CDs or DVDs of that particular computer programs.
Trademark Certificate for Artistic Work
For submitting copyright registration on any sort of artistic work, the applicant must get a clear copyright search certificate from the trademark office on a prior basis.
Documents Required for Copyright Registration
- Name, Address & Nationality of the Candidate – ID proof
- NOC from the publisher if work published and publisher is different from the applicant.
- Search Certificate from Trade Mark Office (TM -60) if any
- NOC from a person whose photograph appears on the work.
- Power of Attorney
- 2 Copies of work
- KYC of author
- DD/IPO of Rs. per work ((as applicable)
- NOC from the author if the candidate is different from the author.
Basis | Copyright | Trademark | Patent |
---|---|---|---|
Meaning | It is a helpful legal security aid for the creator/producer on any of their original artwork such as literature, music composition, sound recording, cinematography, or computer programs. Copyright ensures the entire Economic & Ethical authority of the creator on his/her intellectual properties. | Trademark legally preserves any particular word, symbol, or designs that make a business entity distinctive among its competitors. | It is a form of intellectual property that guards the invention of any inventor for a limited period of time. Through a patent, the inventor/owner can legally exclude others from reproducing, using or selling a particular invention. |
Protection is given for | Original artistic works like written text, composed music, recorded sounds, paintings, choreography, motion pictures, cinematography, computer programming & databases etc. | Any word, logo, color, font, design that differentiate products, the identity of any particular party from others. | Features of shape, configuration, pattern, and ornament, the form of lines, colour or blend thereof applied to each article. |
Significance | Expression of Ideas | Identification of brand | Invention |
Govern by | Indian Copyright Act, 1957 | Trade Marks Act, 1999 | Indian Patent Act, 1970 |
Requirements of Registration | The work must be original, creative and must be able of fixing in the tangible form. | The marks needs to be unique. | The design needs to be original and must be referred to the article by any industrial process. |
Exclusions | Others are not permitted copy the work without the permission of the creator. | Stop others from using the same logo/symbol. | Stop others from using the invention without the permission |
Validity Term | The validity time in copyright is 60 years. | The validity time in trademark is 10 years. | The validity time in patent is 20 years. |
Rights Provided | The right to be the owner of the original artworks and excludes others from illegal copying, distributing and reproducing of the copyrighted intellectual properties. | Rights to apply the mark, design, color, font and stop every illegal usage of the same by any third person. | Right to stop others from producing, selling using or importing the patented invention.
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Documents Required for Copyright Registration
Name, Address & Nationality of the Candidate – ID proof
NOC from the publisher if work published and publisher is different from the applicant.
Search Certificate from Trade Mark Office (TM -60) if any
NOC from a person whose photograph appears on the work.
Power of Attorney
2 Copies of work
KYC of author
DD/IPO of Rs. per work ((as applicable)
NOC from the author if the candidate is different from the author.
Procedure for Copyright Registration
An application (including all the particulars and the statement of the particulars) in the format of FORM IV has to have to be sent to the registrar along with the requisite fees (mentioned in the Schedule 2 of the act.). A separate application has to be made for separate works
Every application has to be signed by the applicant as well as an Advocate in whose favour a Vakalatnama or a POA has been executed
The registrar will issue a Dairy No. and then there is a mandatory waiting time for a period of 30 days for any objections to be received
If there are no objections received within 30 days, the scrutinizer will check the application for any discrepancy and if no discrepancy is there, the registration will be done and an extract will be sent to the registrar for the entry in the Register of Copyright.
If any objection is received, the examiner will send a letter to both the parties about the objections and will give them both a hearing.
After the hearing, if the objections are resolved the scrutinizer will scrutinize the application and approve or reject the application as the case may be