Copyright law in India is governed by the Indian Copyright Act 1957 (the Act), as amended from time to time.
The most recent amendments to the Act came into effect on 4 April 2021 through the Tribunals Reforms (Rationalization and Conditions of Service) Ordinance 2021.
What can be protected?
The expression ‘work’ is defined under Section 2(y) of the Act to mean any of the following works:
- a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work;
- a cinematograph film; and
- sound recordings.
These works are described in more detail at section 2.3 below.
In addition, the Act protects the ‘broadcast reproduction right’ and ‘performers’ rights’ through an amendment introduced in 1994.
What are the criteria for protection?
Under Section 13 of the Act, copyright subsists only in the following classes of works:
- original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works;
- cinematograph films; and
- sound recordings.
To claim protection under the Act, the works (other than foreign works and/or works of international organisations) specified in Section 13 of the Act must meet the following conditions: