Copyright, one of the forms of intellectual property law, offers exclusive rights for protecting the authorship of original & creative work like dramatic, musical, and literary in nature.

“Copyright in India” is recognized virtually worldwide under the “Berne Convention” and the applicable law of its member nations.

The “certificate of copyright” is a future safeguard for creative minds to preserve their creativity. And also reap exclusive monetary benefits from it as well.

Copyright covers the following:

Literary works such as books, literature, technical drawings, computer programs, computer databases

Musical works or Audiovisual work

Artistic works, including logos, photographs, and pictures

Benefits of copyright protection in Brief:

Copyright encourages enterprise and creates a favorable climate to stimulate economic activity. Some of the benefits are:

-Any other business firm cannot copy your work;

-The copyright registration certificate is valid for the lifetime of the owner plus sixty years;

-Infringement of the Copyright is a cognizable offense, and a police complaint can be filed to stop it;

-Upon infringement, a civil suit can be filed at the place where the owner of the Copyright is situated;

-Your work can be reproduced in any material form, including the storing of it in any medium, including electronic means;

-To perform the work in public or communicate it to the public;

-To make any cinematograph film or sound recording in respect of the work. This concerns the adaptation of your work;

-To make any translation of the work;

-In the case of a computer programme, the rights also include selling or giving any copy of the computer program on hire.

Procedure for registration of Copyright:

Copyright comes into effect as soon as the work is done, and no formalities are required to be followed. But to obtain a “Certificate of copyright,” the copyright registration procedure needs to be followed as mentioned on the official website of the copyright office. After scrutiny of the application and payment of the appropriate fees, the copyright authority grants a certificate of Copyright.

Prescribed copyright registration fees in India:

Each application in Form IV should be accompanied by the requisite fee prescribed in the second schedule to the Rules. The fee ranges from 500 INR to 5,000 INR, depending on the form of work. The fee can be paid through E-payment. The copyright registration cost particulars can be understood as follows:

1. Copyright Fees for Literary, Dramatic, Musical, or Artistic Work:

The amount of INR 500 per work must be accompanied by the application form to register for Literary, Dramatic, musical, or artistic work.

Dramatic work includes any piece for recitation, choreographic work, or entertainment in a dumb show, the scenic arrangement or acting form of which is fixed in writing or otherwise but does not include a cinematograph film; (Reference Section 2(h) of Indian Copyright Act, 1957)

Literary work includes computer programmes, tables, and compilations, including computer 35A “literary databases;(Reference Section 2(o) of Indian Copyright Act, 1957)

Musical work means a work consisting of music and includes any graphical notation of such work but does not include any words or any action intended to be sung, spoken, or performed with the music; (Reference Section 2(p) of Indian Copyright Act, 1957)

Artistic work means-

a painting, a sculpture, a drawing (including a diagram, map, chart, or plan), an engraving, or a photograph, whether or not any such work possesses artistic quality;

work of architecture;7 and

any other work of artistic craftsmanship; (Reference Section 2(c) of Indian Copyright Act, 1957)

2. Copyright Fees for Literary or Artistic work with goods:

In respect of a Literary or Artistic work that is used or is capable of being used with any goods (Section 45), the Copyright Application fee is INR 2000 per work.

In respect of an artistic work that is used or is capable of being used with any goods, the application shall include a statement to that effect. A certificate shall accompany it from the Registrar of Trade Marks. Notably, to the effect that no trademark identical with or deceptively similar to such artistic work has been registered under that Act in the name of, or that no application has been made under that Act for such registration by, any person other than the applicant; (Reference Section 45 of Indian Copyright Act, 1957)

3. Copyright Fees for Cinematograph Film:

For an application for registration of Copyright in a Cinematograph Film (Section 45), the requisite application fee, along with the application form, is INR 5,000 per work.

Cinematograph film means any work of visual recording on any medium produced through a process from which a moving image may be made by any means and includes a sound recording accompanying such graphic recording, and “cinematograph” shall be construed as having any work created by any process analogous to cinematography including video films; (Reference Section 2(f) of Indian Copyright Act, 1957)

4. Copyright Fees for Sound Recording:

For an application for registration of Copyright for a Sound recording (Section 45), the fee to be submitted along with the form and supporting documents is INR 2000 per work.

Sound recording means a recording of sounds from which such sounds may be produced regardless of the medium on which such recording is made or the method by which the sounds are produced;(Reference Section 2(xx) of Indian Copyright Act, 1957)

5. Copyright Fees for Change in particulars:

For an application for change in particulars of Copyright entered in the Register of Copyrights in respect of a:

The fee to be submitted along with the supporting documents is INR 200 per work for literary, Dramatic, Musical, or Artistic work as defined above.

Otherwise, the fee to be submitted along with the supporting documents (Section 45) is INR 1,000 per work for literary or artistic work that can be used with any goods.

Cinematograph film particulars can be changed by submitting appropriate documents with a fee of INR 2,000 per work.

Sound recording particulars can be changed in the copyrights register, with INR 1,000 per work fee.

6. Copyright Fees for obtaining a certified copy of an extract from the register of Copyright:

For obtaining a certified copy of an extract from the Register of Copyrights of the indexes (Section 47), the prescribed cost is INR 500 per Copy. The Register of Copyrights and indexes thereof kept under this Act shall at all reasonable times be open to inspection, and any person shall be entitled to take copies of, or make extracts from, such register or indexes on payment of such fee and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed. (Reference Section 47 of Indian Copyright Act, 1957)

7. Copyright Fees for obtaining a certified copy of any other public document:

For applying for a certified copy of any other public document in the custody of the Register of Copyright or Secretary of the Copyright Board, the prescribed fee is 500 per Copy.

Thus, it is clear that with the help of appropriate work categorization, supporting documentation, and the prescribed fees, one can easily apply for copyright registration. In fact, after paying the prescribed fees, one can also obtain a certified copy of an extract from the Register of Copyright or a certified copy of any other public document from the Copyright Office, India. The process is simple but extensive and requires perfect documentation and appropriate work categorization, as mentioned in the Indian Copyright Act 1957. Here comes Intepat for the rescue.

At Intepat, we adhere to the guidelines of the Indian Copyright Act 1957. And also, we carefully work on all the documentation for each client. We at Intepat believe in securing well-fortified, cost-optimized IPRs for our clients and strive ceaselessly toward that end. We treat every client with the individuality they deserve on a solid scaffold of business ethics and meticulously crafted operational procedures.

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