This post was first published on 28th June, 2014.
The 2012 Copyright Amendment codified Statutory Licenses for radio broadcasting and has added television broadcasting to be within the scope of the license. Section 31D deals with statutory licenses for broadcasting. It reads as follows:
"31D. Statutory licence for broadcasting of literary and musical works and sound recording.
(1) Any broadcasting organisation desirous of communicating to the public by way of a broadcast or by way of performance of a literary or musical…
This post was first published on 24th June, 2014.
'Made for hire' works are of two types:
a. Works created under a contract of employment or apprenticeship (Contract of Service); and b. Specially commissioned works (Contract for Service).
Copyright Law, with respect to works made for hire is codified under Section 17 of the Indian Copyright Act. Clauses (b) and (c) of the section are specifically relevant to this article. They read as follows:
"17. First owner of copyright...
(b) subject to…
In our post last week, we looked at statutory licensing for broadcast organizations specified under Section 31D of the Indian Copyright Act. As mentioned earlier, the objective of non-voluntary licensing is to overcome the difficulty of locating the original owner of the copyrighted work in order to obtain a license and to avoid the creation of monopoly of copyright owners.
The Copyright Act similarly contains provisions for statutory licensing for cover versions under Section 31C. While Section 31D which talks…
The Copyright Amendment brought in a few important changes with respect to mode of assignment of works. Not exercising due care with these provisions might result in reversion of rights. Thankfully, some of these changes were all encompassing and not limited only to authors or owners of works for films.
Relevant provisions of Section 19 read as follows:
"19. Mode of assignment. ...
(4) Where the assignee does not exercise the rights assigned to him under any of the other…
One of the primary purposes of the Copyright Amendment in 2012 was to ensure that authors get their well deserved consideration. The focus was primarily on authors, who create works for feature films. Other authors, unfortunately, received little or no attention. After making sure that producers do not take away ownership rights by signing 'work for hire' engagements, the amendment made changes to provisions with respect to assignment in Section 18.
The first provision in Section 18, the subject of…