Copyright Registration

Overview

Copyright is the right to safeguard intellectual property. It is an exclusive privilege provided to the owner that guards against the misuse, exploitation, or duplication of his creative work. Only the registered owner of the work has the right to use it, and only they may profit from the sale of the work to others.

Although copyright usually develops spontaneously following the creation of an original piece of authorship, a business can and should register its copyrights to improve the benefits of the copyright itself and raise the value of the firm or the business’s work.

A copyright registration under the Copyright Act of 1957 ensures that a third party cannot imitate the author’s creative work without the owner’s consent. In this case, the creator is free to charge others to use or change his work as they see fit. Copyright registration is crucial because it grants the creator a legal right in the public sphere, preventing others from appropriating their work. 

What can be protected from copyright registration?

The following works are subject to copyright:

• Artistic and creative works like photography, painting, etc.
• Dramatic works, such as movie and television scripts
• Published editions
• Musical compositions and melodies
• Literary creations, including printed books, websites, and computer programs.
• Television and Radio Broadcasts 
• Films, movies, and telefilms
• Recorded sounds

Benefits of copyright registration

• Goodwill or Branding: Your business can build goodwill with its customers using copyright. When people discover copyright is tied to your intellectual property, the value of your brand naturally increases.
• Legal Security: Intellectual property is legally protected by copyright registration. Any unlawful violation of the same by another person or organization is subject to legal repercussions.
• Following the Creators’ passing: If there is a copyright registration, the ownership stays intact even after the creator’s death.
• Owner publicity: When it comes to artistic creations or other types of intellectual property, the creator can host exhibitions to display and market their work after they have a copyright. It aids the proprietor in gaining recognition for their creativity.
• Global Security:  Worldwide recognition and protection of the work are provided by copyright.
• Prima Facie Evidence:  The primary documentation proving your ownership of a piece of property bearing your name is provided by copyright.
• Prohibits Illegal Reproduction: Any unauthorized reprinting of a copyrighted work is strictly prohibited and illegal. In that way, it protects the property’s ownership.
• Public Record: As a result of copyright registration, the owner of the work is identified in public records. It facilitates tracing the author of a copyrighted work.
• Asset Creation: Your property becomes an asset once the copyright is registered. A copyright registration increases the value of an investment.
• Market credibility: The use of copyright contributes to a work’s marketability. It takes relatively little time for consumers to develop trust due to this credibility.

Eligibility for copyright registration

All works relating to literature, theatre, music, art, film, or sound recordings are eligible for copyright registration. Under the Copyright Act, copyrights are generally granted to three groups of works, each of which has a unique privilege.

• Original literary, dramatic, musical, and creative works are protected by copyright for things like paintings, sculptures, music, and more.
• Another category of copyright that includes any form of visual recording on any medium is cinematography films.
• Regardless of the medium on which they are formed or the process used to create the sound, recordings of sounds fall within the specific category of “sound recordings” under the Copyright Act.

Documents required for copyright registration

Although there are specific unique criteria for various types of copyright, the following are generally the crucial requirements:

• If the work is published, three copies should be required (can be in any form JPEG, JPG, or GIF)
• Two copies of the manuscript are required if the work is unpublished.
• A specific power of attorney signed by the lawyer and the party is required if a lawyer applies.
• Work authorization in cases where the applicant did not do the work
• Specifics about the work’s title and language
• Details about the applicant’s name, residence, and country of citizenship
• The applicant needs to give his email and mobile numbers.
• A document detailing the author’s name, residence, and nationality, as well as their date of death if the applicant is not the author
• The trademark office must provide a no-objection certificate if the work is utilized on a product.
• A no-objection statement from the author is necessary if the applicant is someone else. An author’s permission is also needed in this situation.
• A no-objection certificate from the individual whose image appears in work is necessary.
• A publisher’s no-objection certificate is necessary if the publisher is not the applicant.
• The year and location of the first publication must also be included if the work has been published.
• Details on the country and year of upcoming publishing
• The source and object codes must also be provided if a piece of software has a copyright.

Procedure for copyright registration

• Step 1- Submit a completed application containing all the details and a declaration of the primary goals to the registrar. Also, make the necessary payments as mentioned in schedule 2 of the Act).
• Step 2- Each application must be signed by both the applicant and the attorney for whom a Power of Attorney has been granted
• Step 3– A Dairy No. The registrar issues it, and following that, a waiting period of 30 days is necessary for any concerns to be resolved.
• Step 4- If no objections are received within 30 days, the scrutinizer will review the application for any inconsistencies, the enrollment will be completed, and attention will be sent to the recorder for the relevant area in the copyright register.
• Step 5- The examiner will inform both parties of any objections received in writing and schedule a hearing for them if any are raised.
• Step 6- If the protests are resolved following the conference, the scrutinizer will examine the application and decide whether to approve it or reject it after considering everything.
• Step 7- The copyright is registered if all errors are corrected and all paperwork is in order. The applicant receives a Certificate of Registration after the Registrar of Copyrights inserts the copyright’s specifics into the Register of Copyrights. The procedure takes two to three months to complete.

Different statuses of the copyright registration process

The following list includes the different copyright registration statuses:

• Waiting: There is a required period for copyright registration applications, as denoted by the word “Waiting” in the sentence.
• Abandoned: “Abandoned” refers to lacking supporting materials after applying.
• Formality Check Failed: A formality Check is deemed to have failed if the Documents are not received upon payment.
• Scrutiny: The term “Scrutiny” denotes that the application for copyright registration is still being examined.
• Re-Scrutiny: A copyright registration request marked “Re-Scrutiny” is currently the subject of another review.
• Hearing: A “hearing” is used to describe the discussion of the objection.

Validity of copyright registration

Copyright generally has a 60-year expiration date. This time frame counts:

1. a) From the death of the author

• Literary
• Musical
• Artistic work
• Dramatic

1. b) From the date of publication

• Photographs 
• Cinematograph films
• Posthumous publication
• Sound recordings
• Publications from governments and international organizations

Rights of copyright owners

The right to reproduce

After copyright protection, this privilege is the most notable for being gained. The owner of this copyright is allowed to reproduce the protected work in any way they see fit.

Public Performance Right

The copyright holder is entitled to perform his works in public. Additionally, the owner also has the right to display his creations publicly.

Distribution Rights

The right of distribution stems from the right of reproduction. Copyright owners are free to share their works however they see suitable.

Individual Copies

It is a rare instance where the owner’s reproduction rights do not apply. This privilege permits anybody to create copies of a copyrighted work as long as they can demonstrate that they are doing so for educational purposes and not for any other reason, such as profit.

Right to Follow

Only writers and artists typically have access to this right. It is known as Droit de Suite or Right to Follow and enables the author to get a portion of any later sales of his work. Also available to artists is the ability to sell their creations at a profit.

Permission to create derivative works

The copyright holder is permitted to exploit his creation in a variety of contexts, including through adaptation and translation.

The paternity right

The copyright owner can claim authorship of a work thanks to the Right of Paternity or Attribution. A copyright holder can request proper credit for his works under the Paternity Clause.

Sui Generis Rights

It was created to address the issue of databases needing to be resolved. This database right is valid for fifteen years.