What is Copyright?

Copyright is a type of intellectual property that protects original works of authorship as soon as an author fixes the work in a tangible form of expression. In copyright law, there are a lot of different types of works, including paintings, photographs, illustrations, musical compositions, sound recordings, computer programs, books, poems, blog posts, movies, architectural works, plays, and so much more!

Who is a copyright owner?

Everyone is a copyright owner. Once you create an original work and fix it, like taking a photograph, writing a poem or blog, or recording a new song, you are the author and the owner. Companies, organizations, and other people besides the work’s creator can also be copyright owners. Copyright law allows ownership through “works made for hire,” which establishes that works created by an employee within the scope of employment are owned by the employer. The work made for hire doctrine also applies to certain independent contractor relationships, for certain types of commissioned works. Copyright ownership can also come from contracts like assignments or from other types of transfers like wills and bequests.

Rights include 

• Right of adaptation 

In some countries, their legislation addresses adaptation as a separate right known as adaptation right. This right entitles the copyright owner to authorize or prohibit the creation and use of derivative works. The author of adaptation has her own copyright in derivative work it fulfils the conditions for protection.

• Right of reproduction 

The right of reproduction commonly means that no person shall make one or more copies of a work or of a substantial part of it in any material form including sound and film recording without the permission of the copyright owner. The most common kind of reproduction is printing an edition of a work.

• Right of publication

In India Section 3 of Copyright Act, 1957 says: For the purposes of this Act, "publication" means making a work available to the public by issue of copies or by communicating the work to the public.

• Right to make translations

A translation is basically a derivative work.  Only the copyright owner can authorize a translation that will be distributed.  This includes works that are translated into another language and distributed in parts of the world where that language is spoken.  Derivative works are infringing if they are not created with the permission of the copyright holder.  Thus, a work of fiction or a best-selling biography cannot be translated into another language and distributed without the original author’s or copyright holder’s permission.

• Communication to public

A copyright owner has the exclusive right to communicate their work to the public .The right to communicate a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, a film or a sound recording to the public is an exclusive right of the copyright owner. Interpreting whether something is or is not copyright infringement by communicating a work to the public is difficult in practice.

How long does copyright protection last?

The length of copyright protection depends on when a work was created. Under the current law, works created on or after January 1, 1978, have a copyright term of life of the author plus seventy years after the author’s death. If the work is a joint work, the term lasts for seventy years after the last surviving author’s death. For works made for hire and anonymous or pseudonymous works, copyright protection is 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter. Works created before 1978 have a different timeframe. Learn more about copyright duration in our Duration of Copyrights Circular.

When can you use works that are not yours?

Agreements, Exceptions, and Limitations

It is important to know that we are all also copyright users. When we read books, watch movies, listen to music, or use videogames or software, we are using copyright-protected works.

So, even if you are not the owner of a work, you still may be able to use it. In addition to buying or licensing works (or some other way of seeking permission to use the work), you can also use one of the Copyright Act’s exceptions and limitations, or rely on works in the public domain.

Works in the public domain are those that are never protected by copyright (like facts or discoveries) or works whose term of protection has ended either because it expired or the owner did not satisfy a previously required formality.

What is copyright registration?

Copyright exists automatically in an original work of authorship once it is fixed, but a copyright owner can take steps to enhance the protections. The most important step is registering the work. Registering a work is not mandatory, but for India works, registration (or refusal) is necessary to enforce the exclusive rights of copyright through litigation. 

Timely registration also allows copyright owners to seek certain types of monetary damages and attorney fees if there is a lawsuit, and also provide a presumption that information on the registration certificate is correct.

Copyright registration also provides value to the public overall. It facilitates the licensing marketplace by allowing people to find copyright ownership information, and it provides the public with notice that someone is claiming copyright protection. It also provides a record of this nation’s creativity.

What if there is change in ownership?

Document Recordation

The Copyright Office also records documents related to Copyright. This is known as Recordation, and means that the Office reviews and accepts documents, and keeps a record of, the documents people provide. Recordation relates to three different kinds of documents: transfers of copyright ownership, other documents relating to a copyright, and notices of termination, which authors or their heirs use when terminating certain transfers or licenses.