34. Administration of rights of owner by copyright society.—
(1) Subject to such conditions as
may be prescribed,—
(a) a copyright society may accept from an 1[author and other owners of right] exclusive
authorisation to administer any right in any work by issue of licences or collection of licence fees or
both; and
(b) an 1[author and other owners of right] shall have the right to withdraw such authorisation
without prejudice to the rights of the copyright society under any contract.
(2) It shall be competent for a copyright society to enter into agreement with any foreign society or
organisation administering rights corresponding to rights under this Act, to entrust to such foreign society
or organisation the administration in any foreign country of rights administered by the said copyright
society in India, or for administering in India the rights administered in a foreign country by such foreign
society or organisation:
Provided that no such society or organisation shall permit any discrimination in regard to the terms of
licence or the distribution of fees collected between rights in Indian and other works.
(3) Subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, a copyright society may—
(i) issue licences under section 30 in respect of any rights under this Act;
(ii) collect fees in pursuance of such licences;
(iii) distribute such fees among 1[author and other owners of right] after making deductions for
its own expenses;
(iv) perform any other functions consistent with the provisions of section 35.
34A. [Payment of remunerations by copyright society.] Omitted by the Copyright (Amendment) Act,
2012 (27 of 2012), s. 22 (w.e.f. 21-6-2012).
35. Control over the copyright society by the 2[author and other owners of right].—
(1) Every
copyright society shall be subject to the collective control of the owners of rights under this Act whose
rights it administers (not being 2[author and other owners of right] under this Act administered by a
foreign society or organisation referred to in sub-section
(2) of section 34) and shall, in such manner as
may be prescribed,—
(a) obtain the approval of such owners of rights for its procedures of collection and distribution of
fees;
(b) obtain their approval for the utilisation of any amounts collected as fees for any purpose other
than distribution to the owner of rights; and
(c) provide to such owners regular, full and detailed information concerning all its activities, in
relation to the administration of their rights.
(2) All fees distributed among the 2[author and other owners of right] shall, as far as may be, be
distributed in proportion to the actual use of their works.
3
[
(3) Every copyright society shall have a governing body with such number of persons elected from
among the members of the society consisting of equal number of authors and owners of work for the
purpose of the administration of the society as may be specified.
(4) All members of copyright society shall enjoy equal membership rights and there shall be no
discrimination between authors and owners of rights in the distribution of royalties.]
36. Submission of returns and reports.—
(1) Every copyright shall submit to the Registrar of
Copyrights such returns as may be prescribed.
1. Subs. by Act 27 of 2012, s. 21, for “owner of rights” (w.e.f. 21-6-2012).
2. Subs. by s. 23, ibid., for “owner of rights” (w.e.f. 21-6-2012).
3. Ins. by s. 23, ibid. (w.e.f. 21-6-2012).
26
(2) Any officer duly authorised by the Central Government in this behalf may call for any report and
also call for any records of any copyright society for the purpose of satisfying himself that the fees
collected by the society in respect of rights administered by it are being utilised or distributed in
accordance with the provisions of this Act.
36A. Rights and liabilities of performing rights societies.—Nothing in this Chapter shall affect any
rights or liabilities in any work in connection with a 1[copyright society] which had accrued or were
incurred on or before the day prior to the commencement of 2[the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012], or
any legal proceedings in respect of any such rights or liabilities pending on that day.]
CHAPTER VIII
3
[RIGHTS OF BROADCASTING ORGANISATION AND OF PERFORMERS]
4
[37. Broadcast reproduction right.—
(1) Every broadcasting organisation shall have a special right
to be known as “broadcast reproduction right” in respect of its broadcasts.
(2) The broadcast reproduction right shall subsist until twenty-five years from the beginning of the
calendar year next following the year in which the broadcast is made.
(3) During the continuance of a broadcast reproduction right in relation to any broadcast, any person
who, without the licence of the owner of the right does any of the following acts of the broadcast or any
substantial part thereof,—
(a) re-broadcast the broadcast; or
(b) causes the broadcast to be heard or seen by the public on payment of any charges; or
(c) makes any sound recording or visual recording of the broadcast; or
(d) makes any reproduction of such sound recording or visual recording where such initial
recording was done without licence or, where it was licensed, for any purpose not envisaged by such
licence; or
5
[
(e) sells or given on commercial rental or offer for sale or for such rental, may such sound
recording or visual recording referred to in clause
(c) or clause
(d)].]
6
[38. Performer’s right.—
(1) Where any performer appears or engages in any performance, he shall
have a special right to be known as the “performer’s right” in relation to such performance.
(2) The performer’s right shall subsist until 7[fifty years] from the beginning of the calendar year next
following the year in which the performance is made.
8
* * * * *]
9
[38A. Exclusive right of performers.—
(1) Without prejudice to the rights conferred on authors, the
performer’s right which is an exclusive right subject to the provisions of this Act to do or authorise for
doing any of the following acts in respect of the performance or any substantial part thereof, namely:—
(a) to make a sound recording or a visual recording of the performance, including—
(i) reproduction of it in any material form including the storing of it in any medium by
electronic or any other means;
(ii) issuance of copies of it in any material form including the storing of it in any medium by
electronic or any other means;
1. Subs. by Act 27 of 2012, s. 24, for “performing rights society” (w.e.f. 21-6-2012).
2. Subs. by s. 24, ibid., for “the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1994 (38 of 1994)” (w.e.f. 21-6-2012).
3. Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 12, for “RIGHTS OF BROADCASTING AUTHORITIES” (w.e.f. 10-5-1995).
4. Subs. by s. 13, ibid., for section 37 (w.e.f. 10-5-1995).
3. Subs. by Act 27 of 2012, s. 25, for clause
(e) (w.e.f. 21-6-2012).
6. Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 14, for section 38 (w.e.f. 10-5-1995).
7. Subs. by 49 of 1999, s. 4, for “twenty-five years” (w.e.f. 15-1-2000).
8. Omitted by Act 27 of 2012, s. 26 (w.e.f. 21-6-2012).
9. Ins. by s. 27, ibid. (w.e.f. 21-6-2012).
27
(iii) communication of it to the public;
(iv) selling or giving it on commercial rental or offer for sale or for commercial rental any
copy or the recording;
(b) to broadcast or communicate the performance to the public except where the performance is
already broadcast.
(2) Once a performer has, by written agreement, consented to the incorporation of his performance in
a cinematograph film he shall not, in the absence of any contract to the contrary, object to the enjoyment
by the producer of the film of the performer’s right in the same film:
Provided that , notwithstanding anything contained in this sub-section, the performer shall be entitled
for royalties in case of making of the performances for commercial use.
38B. Moral rights of the performer.—The performer of a performance shall, independently of his
right after assignment, either wholly or partially of his right, have the right,—
(a) to claim to be identified as the performer of his performance except where omission is
dictated by the manner of the use of the performance; and
(b) to restrain or claim damage in respect of any distortion, mutilation or other modification of his
performance that would be prejudicial to his reputation.
Explanation.—For the purpose of this clause, it is already clarified that mere removal of any portion
of a performance for the purpose of editing, or to fit the recording within a limited duration, or any other
modification required for purely technical reasons shall not be deemed to be prejudicial to the
performer’s reputation.]
1
[39. Acts not infringing broadcast reproduction right or performer’s right.—No broadcast
reproduction right or performer's right shall be deemed to be infringed by—
(a) the making of any sound recording or visual recording for the private use of the person
making such recording, or solely for purposes of bona fide teaching or research; or
(b) the use, consistent with fair dealing, of excerpts of a performance or of a broadcast in the
reporting of current events or for bona fide review, teaching or research; or
(c) such other acts, with any necessary adaptations and modifications, which do not constitute
infringement of copyright under section 52.
[39A. Certain provisions to apply in case of broadcast reproduction right and performer’s
2
rights.—Sections 18, 19, 30, 30A, 33, 33A, 34, 35, 36, 53, 55, 58, 63, 64, 65, 65A, 65B and 66 shall,
with necessary adaptations and modifications, apply in relation to the broadcast reproduction right in any
broadcast and the performer's right in any performance as they apply in relation to copyright in a work:
Provided that where copyright to performer’s right subsists in respect of any work or performance
that has been broadcast, no licence to reproduce such broadcast, shall be given without the consent of the
owner of rights or performer, as the case may be, or both of them:
Provided further that the broadcast reproduction right or performer’s right shall not subsist in any
broadcast or performance if that broadcast or performance is an infringement of the copyright in any
work.
(2) The broadcast reproduction right or the performer’s right shall not affect the separate copyright in
any work in respect of which, the broadcast or the performance, as the case may be, is made.]
CHAPTER IX
INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT
40. Power to extend copyright to foreign works.—The Central Government may, by order
published in the Official Gazette, direct that all or any provisions of this Act shall apply—
1. Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 15, for section 39 (w.e.f. 10-5-1995).
2. Subs. by Act 27 of 2012, s. 28, for section 39A (w.e.f. 21-6-2012).
28
(a) to work first published in any territory outside India to which the order relates in like manner
as if they were first published within India;
(b) to unpublished works, or any class thereof, the authors whereof were at the time of the making
of the work, subjects or citizens of a foreign country to which the order relates, in like manner as if
the authors were citizens of India;
(c) in respect of domicile in any territory outside India to which the order relates in like manner as
if such domicile were in India;
(d) to any work of which the author was at the date of the first publication thereof, or, in a case
where the author was dead at that date, was at the time of his death, a subject or citizen of a foreign
country to which the order relates in like manner as if the author was a citizen of India at that date or
time;
and thereupon, subject to the provisions of this Chapter and of the order, this Act shall apply accordingly:
Provided that—
(i) before making an order under this section in respect of any foreign country (other than a
country with which India has entered into a treaty or which is a party to a convention relating to
copyright to which India is also a party), the Central Government shall be satisfied that that foreign
country has made, or has undertaken to make, such provisions if any, as it appears to the Central
Government expedient to require for the protection in that country of works entitled to copyright
under the provisions of this Act;
(ii) the order may provide that the provisions of this Act shall apply either generally or in relation
to such classes of works or such classes of cases as may be specified in the order;
(iii) the order may provide that the term of copyright in India shall not exceed that conferred by
the law of the country to which the order relates 1[but such a term or copyright shall not exceed the
term of copyright provided under this Act];
(iv) the order may provide that the enjoyment of the rights conferred by this Act shall be subject
to the accomplishment of such conditions and formalities, if any, as may be prescribed by the order;
(v) in applying the provisions of this Act as to ownership of copyright, the order may make such
exception and modifications as appear necessary, having regard to the law of the foreign country;
(vi) the order may provide that this Act or any part thereof shall not apply to works made before
the commencement of the order or that this Act or any part thereof shall apply to works first
published before the commencement of the order.
2
[40A. Power of Central Government to apply Chapter VIII to broadcasting organisations and
performers in certain other countries.—
(1) If the Central Government is satisfied that a foreign
country (other than a country with which India has entered into a treaty or which is a party to a
convention relating to rights of broadcasting organisations and performers to which India is also a party)
has made or has undertaken to make such provisions, if any, as it appears to the Central Government
expedient to require, for the protection in that foreign country, of the rights of broadcasting organisations
and performers as is available under this Act, it may, by order published in the Official Gazette, direct
that the provisions of Chapter VIII shall apply—
(a) to broadcasting organisation whose headquarters is situated in a country to which the order
relates or, the broadcast was transmitted from a transmitted situated in a country to which the order
relates as if the headquarters of such organisation were situated in India or such broadcast were made
from India;
(b) to performances that took place outside India to which the order relates in like manner as if
they took place in India;
1. Ins. by Act 27 of 2012, s. 29 (w.e.f. 21-6-2012).
2. Ins. by Act 49 of 1999, s. 5 (w.e.f. 15-1-2000).
29
(c) to performance that are incorporated in a sound recording published in a country to which the
order relates as if it were published in India;
(d) to performances not fixed on a sound recording broadcast by a broadcasting organisation the
headquarters of which is located in a country to which the order relates or where the broadcast is
transmitted from a transmitted which is situated in a country to which the order relates as if the
headquarters of such organisation were situated in India or such broadcast were made from India.
(2) Every order made under sub-section
(1) may provide that—
(i) the provisions of Chapter VIII, shall apply either generally or in relation to such class or
classes of broadcasts or performances or such other class or classes of cases as may be specified in
the order;
(ii) the term of the rights of broadcasting organisations and performers in India shall not exceed
such term as is conferred by the law of the country to which the order relates;
(iii) the enjoyment of the rights conferred by Chapter VIII shall be subject to the accomplishment
of such conditions and formalities, if any, as may be specified in that order;
(iv) Chapter VIII of any part thereof shall not apply to broadcast and performances made before
the commencement of the order or that Chapter VIII or any part thereof shall not apply to broadcasts
and performances broadcast or performed before the commencement of the order;
(v) in case of ownership of rights of broadcasting organisations and performers, the provisions of
Chapter VIII shall apply with such exceptions and modifications as the Central Government may,
having regard to the law of the foreign country, consider necessary.]
41. Provisions as to works of certain international organisations.—
(1) Where—
(a) any work is made or first published by or under the direction or control of any organisation to
which this section applies, and
(b) there would, apart from this section, be no copyright in the work in India at the time of the
making or, as the case may be, of the first publication thereof, and
(c) either—
(i) the work is published as aforesaid in pursuance of an agreement in that behalf with the
author, being an agreement which does not reserve to the author the copyright, if any, in the
work, or
(ii) under section 17 any copyright in the work would belong to the organisation;
there shall, by virtue of this section, be copyright in the work throughout India.
(2) Any organisation to which this section applies which at the material time had not the legal
capacity of a body corporate shall have and be deemed at all material times to have had the legal capacity
of a body corporate for the purpose of holding, dealing with, and enforcing copyright and in connection
with all legal proceedings relating to copyright.
(3) The organisations to which this section applies are such organisations as the Central Government
may, by order published in the Official Gazette, declare to be organisations of which one or more
sovereign powers or the Government or Governments thereof are members to which it is expedient that
this section shall apply.
42. Power to restrict rights in works of foreign authors first published in India.—If it appears to
the Central Government that a foreign country does not give or has not undertaken to give adequate
protection to the works of Indian authors, the Central Government may, by order published in the Official
Gazette, direct that such of the provisions of this Act as confer copyright on works first published in India
shall not apply to works, published after the date specified in the order, the authors whereof are subjects
or citizens of such foreign country and are not domiciled in India, and thereupon those provisions shall
not apply to such works.
30
1
[42A. Power to restrict rights of foreign broadcasting organisations and performers.—If it
appears to the Central Government that a foreign country does not give or has not undertaken to give
adequate protection to rights of broadcasting organisations or performers, the Central Government may,
by order published in the Official Gazette, direct that such of the provisions of this Act as confer right to
broadcasting organisations or performers, as the case may be, shall not apply to broadcasting
organisations or performers whereof are based or incorporated in such foreign country or are subjects or
citizens of such foreign country and are not incorporated or domiciled in India, and thereupon those
provisions shall not apply to such broadcasting organisations or performers:]
2
[
Provided that it does not exceed the period provided under this Act.]
43. Orders under this Chapter to be laid before Parliament.—Every order made by the Central
Government under this Chapter shall, as soon as may be after it is made, be laid before both Houses of
Parliament and shall be subject to such modifications as Parliament may make during the session in
which it is so laid or the session immediately following.
CHAPTER X
REGISTRATION OF COPYRIGHT
44. Register of Copyrights.—There shall be kept at the Copyright Office a register in the prescribed
form to be called the Register of Copyrights in which may be entered the names or titles of works and the
names and addresses of authors, publishers and owners of copyright and such other particulars as may be
prescribed.
45. Entries in register of Copyrights.—
(1) The author or publisher of, or the owner of or other
person interested in the copyright in, any work may make an application in the prescribed form
accompanied by the prescribed fee to the Registrar of Copyrights for entering particulars of the work in
the Register of Copyrights:
3
[
Provided that in respect of an artistic work which is used or is capable of being used in 4[relation to
any goods or services], the application shall include a statement to that effect and shall be accompanied
by a certificate from the Registrar of Trade Marks referred to in 5[section 3 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999
(47 of 1999)], to the effect that no trade mark 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.]
(2) On receipt of an application in respect of any work under sub-section
(1), the Registrar of
Copyrights may, after holding such inquiry as he may deem fit, enter the particulars of the work in the
Register of Copyrights.
46. Indexes.—There shall be also kept at the Copyright Office such indexes of the Register of
Copyrights as may be prescribed.
47. Form and inspection of register.—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.
48. Register of Copyrights to be prima facie evidence of particulars entered therein.—The
Register of Copyrights shall be prima facie evidence of the particulars entered therein and documents
purporting to be copies of any entries therein, or extracts therefrom, certified by the Registrar of
Copyrights and sealed with the seal of the Copyright Office shall be admissible in evidence in all courts
without further proof or production of the original.
1. Ins. by Act 49 of 1999, s. 6 (w.e.f. 15-1-2000).
2. Ins. by Act 27 of 2012, s. 30 (w.e.f. 21-6-2012).
3. The proviso added by Act 23 of 1983, s. 16 (w.e.f. 9-8-1984).
4. Subs. by Act 27 of 2012, s. 31, for “relation to any goods” (w.e.f. 21-6-2012).
5. Subs. by s. 31, ibid., for “section 4 of the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 (43 of 1958)” (w.e.f. 21-6-2012).
31
49. Correction of entries in the Register of Copyrights.—The Registrar of Copyrights may, in the
prescribed cases and subject to the prescribed conditions, amend or alter the Register of Copyrights by—
(a) correcting any error in any name, address or particulars; or
(b) correcting any other error which may have arisen therein by accidental slip or omission.
50. Rectification of Register by 1[Appellate Board].—The 1[Appellate Board], on application of the
Registrar of Copyrights or of any person aggrieved, shall order the rectification of the Register of
Copyrights by—
(a) the making of any entry wrongly omitted to be made in the register, or
(b) the expunging of any entry wrongly made in, or remaining on, the register, or
(c) the correction of any error or defect in the register.
2
[50A. Entries in the Register of Copyrights, etc., to be published.—Every entry made in the
Register of Copyrights or the particulars of any work entered under section 45, the correction of every
entry made in such register under section 49, and every rectification ordered under section 50, shall be
published by the Registrar of Copyrights in the Official Gazette or in such other manner as he may deem
fit.]
CHAPTER XI
INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT
51. When copyright infringed.—Copyright in a work shall be deemed to be infringed—
(a) when any person, without a licence granted by the owner of the copyright or the Registrar of
Copyrights under this Act or in contravention of the conditions of a licence so granted or of any
condition imposed by a competent authority under this Act—
(i) does anything, the exclusive right to do which is by this Act conferred upon the owner of
the copyright, or
3
[(ii) permits for profit any place to be used for the communication of the work to the public
where such communication constitutes an infringement of the copyright in the work, unless he
was not aware and had no reasonable ground for believing that such communication to the public
would be an infringement of copyright; or]
(b) when any person—
(i) makes for sale or hire, or sells or lets for hire, or by way of trade displays or offers for
sale or hire, or
(ii) distributes either for the purpose of trade or to such an extent as to affect prejudicially
the owner of the copyright, or
(iii) by way of trade exhibits in public, or
(iv) imports 4*** into India,
any infringing copies of the work:
5
[Provided that nothing in sub-clause (iv) shall apply to the import of one copy of any work for the
private and domestic use of the importer.]
Explanation.—For the purposes of this section, the reproduction of a literary, dramatic, musical or
artistic work in the form of a cinematograph film shall be deemed to be an “infringing copy”.
52. Certain acts not to be infringement of copyright.—
(1) The following acts shall not constitute
an infringement of copyright, namely,—
1. Subs. by Act 7 of 2017, s.160, for “Copyright Board” (w.e.f. 26-5-2017).
2. Ins. by Act 23 of 1983, s. 17 (w.e.f. 9-8-1984).
3. Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 16, for sub-clause (ii) (w.e.f. 10-5-1995).
4. The brackets and words “(except for the private and domestic use of the importer)” omitted by Act 65 of 1984, s. 3
(w.e.f. 8-10-1985).
5. Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 16, for the proviso (w.e.f. 10-5-1995).
32
1
[
(a) a fair dealing with any work, not being a computer programme, for the purpose of—
(i) private or personal use, including research;
(ii) criticism or review, whether of that work or of any other work;
(iii) the reporting of current events and current affairs, including the reporting of a lecture
delivered in public;
Explanation.—The storing of any work in any electronic medium for the purposes mentioned
in this clause, including the incidental storage of any computer programme which is not itself in
infringing copy for the said purposes, shall not constitute infringement of copyright.]
2
[(aa) the making of copies or adaptation of a computer programme by the lawful possessor of a
copy of such computer programme, from such copy—
(i) in order to utilise the computer programme for the purpose for which it was supplied; or
(ii) to make back-up copies purely as a temporary protection against loss, destruction or
damage in order only to utilise the computer programme for the purpose for which it was
supplied;]
3
[(ab) the doing of any act necessary to obtain information essential for operating
inter-operability of an independently created computer programmes with other programmer by a
lawful possessor of a computer programme provided that such information is not otherwise readily
available;
(ac) the observation, study or test of functioning of the computer programme in order to
determine the ideas and principles which underline any elements of the programme while
performing such acts necessary for the functions for which the computer programme was supplied;
(ad) the making of copies or adaptation of the computer programme from a personally legally
obtained copy for non-commercial personal use;]
4
[
(b) the transient or incidental storage of a work or performance purely in the technical process
of electronic transmission or communication to the public;
(c) transient or incidental storage of a work or performance for the purpose of providing
electronic links, access or integration, where such links, access or integration has not been expressly
prohibited by the right holder, unless the person responsible is aware or has reasonable grounds for
believing that such storage is of an infringing copy:
Provided that if the person responsible for the storage of the copy has received a written
complaint from the owner of copyright in the work, complaining that such transient or incidental
storage is an infringement, such person responsible for the storage shall refrain from facilitating such
access for a period of twenty-one days o
