CHAPTER I Preliminary

 CHAPTER I 

Preliminary

[4th June, 1957] An Act to amend and consolidate the law relating to copyright. 

Be it enacted by Parliament in the Eighth Year of the Republic of India as follows:

1. Short title, extent and commencement. -(1) This Act may be called the Copyright Act, 1957. 

(2) It extends to the whole of India. 

(3) It shall come into force on such date

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 as the Central Government may, by notification in the

Official Gazette, appoint. 

2. Interpretation. -In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,- 

(a) "adaptation" means,- 

(i) in relation to a dramatic work, the conversion of the work into a non-dramatic work; 

(ii) in relation to a literary work or an artistic work, the conversion of the work into a dramatic work by

way of performance in public or otherwise; 

(iii) in relation to a literary or dramatic work, any abridgement of the work or any version of the work in

which the story or action is conveyed wholly or mainly by means of pictures in a form suitable for

reproduction in a book, or in a newspaper, magazine or similar periodical;

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(iv) in relation to a musical work, any arrangement or transcription of the work;

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 and 

(v)

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in relation to any work, any use of such work involving its re-arrangement or alteration; 

(b) "work of architecture" means any building or structure having an artistic character or design, or

any model for such building or structure;

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(c) "artistic work" means- 

(i) 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; 

(ii) work of architecture;

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and 

(iii) any other work of artistic craftsmanship; 

(d) "author' means,- 

(i) in relation to a literary or dramatic work, the author of the work; 

(ii) in relation to a musical work, the composer; 

(iii) in relation to an artistic work other than a photograph, the artist; 

(iv) in relation to a photograph, the person taking the photograph; 

(v) in relation to a cinematograph

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or sound recording the producer; and 

(vi) in relation to

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[any literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work which is computer-generated, the

person who causes the work to be created;]  [(dd)

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 "broadcast" means communication to the public- 

(i) by any means of wireless diffusion, whether in any one or more of the forms of signs, sounds or

visual images; or 

(ii) by wire, and includes a re-broadcast;]

(e) "calendar year' means the year commencing on the 1st day of January; 

(f)

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 "cinematograph film" means any work of visual recording on any medium produced through a

process from which a moving image may be produced by any means and includes a sound recording

accompanying such visual recording and "cinematograph" shall be construed as including any work

produced by any process analogous to cinematography including video films; 

(ff)

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"communication to the public" means making any work available for being seen or heard or

otherwise enjoyed by the public directly or by any means of display or diffusion other than by issuing

copies of such work regardless of whether any member of the public actually sees, hears or

otherwise enjoys the work so made available. 

Explanation.- For the purposes of this clause, communication through satellite or cable or any other

means of simultaneous communication to more than one household or place of residence including

residential rooms of any hotel or hostel shall be deemed to be communication to the public; 

(ffa)

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 "composer', in relation to a musical work, means the person who composes the music

regardless of whether he records it in any form of graphical notation; 

(ffb)

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 "computer" includes any electronic or similar device having information processing

capabilities; 

(ffc)

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"computer programme" means a set of instructions expressed in words, codes, schemes or in

any other form, including a machine readable medium, capable of causing a computer to perform a

particular task or achieve a particular result; 

(ffd)

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"copyright society" means a society registered under sub-section (3) of section 33

(g) "delivery", in relation to a lecture, includes delivery by means of any mechanical instrument or

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[broadcast] by; 

(h) "dramatic work" includes any piece for recitation, choreographic work or entertainment in dumb

show, the scenic arrangement or acting form of which is fixed in writing or otherwise but does not

include a cinematograph film; 

[(hh)

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 "duplicating equipment" means any mechanical contrivance or device used or intended to be

used for making copies of any work;] 

(i) "engravings" include etchings, lithographs, wood-cuts, prints and other similar works, not being

photographs; 

(j) "exclusive licence" means a licence which confers on the licensee or on the licensee and persons

authorised by him, to the exclusion of all other persons (including the owner of the copyright), any

right comprised in the copyright in a work, and "exclusive licensee" shall be construed accordingly; 

(k) "Government work" means a work which is made or published by or under the direction or control

of- 

(i) the Government or any department of the Government;  (ii) any Legislature in India; 

(iii) any court, tribunal or other judicial authority in India; 

[(l)

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"Indian work" means a literary, dramatic or musical work,- 

(i) the author of which is a citizen of India; or 

(ii) which is first published in India; or 

(iii) the author of which, in the case of an unpublished work, is, at the time of the making of the work,

a citizen of India;] 

(m)

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"infringing copy" means,- 

(i) in relation to a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, a reproduction thereof otherwise than in

the form of a cinematographic film;

(ii) in relation to a cinematographic film, a copy of the film made on any medium by any means; 

(iii) in relation to a sound recording, any other recording embodying the same sound recording, made

by any means; 

(iv) in relation to a programme or performance in which such a broadcast reproduction right or a

performer's right subsists under the provisions of this Act, the sound recording or a cinematographic

film of such programme or performance, if such reproduction, copy or sound recording is made or

imported in contravention of the provisions of this Act; 

(n) "lecture" includes address, speech and sermon; 

(o)

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 "literary work" includes computer programmes, tables and  compilations  including   computer

35A

 "literary data bases ;

(p)

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"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; 

(q)

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 "performance", in relation to performer's right, means any visual or acoustic presentation made

live by one or more performers; 

(qq)

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"performer' includes an actor, singer, musician, dancer, acrobat, juggler, conjurer, snake

charmer, a person delivering a lecture or any other person who makes a performance; 

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  *****

(s) "photograph" includes photo-lithograph and any work produced by any process analogous to

photography but does not include any part of a cinematograph film; 

(t) "plate" includes any stereotype or other plate, stone, block, mould, matrix, transfer, negative,

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[duplicating equipment] or other device used or intended to be used for printing or reproducing copies

of any work, and any matrix or other appliance by which

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 Sound recording for the acoustic

presentation of the work are or are intended to be made; 

(u) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; 

(uu)

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"producer', in relation to a cinematograph film or sound recording, means a person who takes

the initiative and responsibility for making the work;  29

  *****

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  *****<

(x)

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 "reprography" means the making of copies of a work, by photo-copying or similar means; 

(xx)

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"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; 

(y) "work" means any of the following works, namely:- 

(i) a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work; 

(ii) a cinematograph film; 

(iii) a

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[sound recording]; 

(z) "work of joint authorship" means a work produced by the collaboration of two or more authors in

which the contribution of one author is not distinct from the contribution of the other author or authors;

(za) "work of sculpture" includes casts and models. 

3. Meaning of publication.

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 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. 

4. When work not deemed to be published or performed in public. - Except in relation to

infringement of copyright, a work shall not be deemed to be published or performed in public, if

published, or performed in public, without the licence of the owner of the copyright. 

5. When work deemed to be first published in India. - For the purposes of this Act, a work

published in lndia shall be deemed to be first published in India, notwithstanding that it has been

published simultaneously in some other country, unless such other country provides a shorter term of

copyright for such work; and a work shall be deemed to be published simultaneously in India and in

another country if the time between the publication in India and the publication in such other country

does not exceed thirty days or such other period as the Central Government may, in relation to any

specified country, determine. 

6. Certain disputes to be decided by Copyright Board.

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 If any question arises,- 

(a) whether a work has been published or as to the date on which a work was published for the

purposes of Chapter V, or 

(b) whether the term of copyright for any work is shorter in any other country than that provided in

respect of that work under this Act, it shall be referred to the Copyright Board constituted under

section 11 whose decision thereon shall be final: 

Provided that if in the opinion of the Copyright Board, the issue of copies or communication to the

public referred to in section 3 was of an insignificant nature it shall not be deemed to be publication

for the purposes of that section. 

7. Nationality of author where the making of unpublished work is extended over considerable

period.  -Where, in the case of an unpublished work, the making of the work is extended over a

considerable period, the author of the work shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be a

citizen of, or domiciled in, that country of which he was a citizen or wherein he was domiciled during

any substantial part of that period. 

8. Domicile of corporations. - For the purposes of this Act, a body corporate shall be deemed to be domiciled in India if it is incorporated under any law in force in India.   

1. The Act has been extended to Goa, Daman and Diu by Reg. 12 of 1962, s. 3 and Sch.; to Dadra

and Nagar Haveli by Reg. 6 of 1963, s. 2 and Sch. 1; to Pondicherry by Reg. 7 of 1963, S. 3 and

Sch. 1; and brought into force in the State of Sikkim (w.e.f. 27-4-1979): vide Notification No. S.O.

226(E), dated 27-4-1979, Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3(ii), page 430

2. 21st January, 1968, vide Notification No. S.R.O. 269, dated 21-1-1958, Gazette of India,

Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, page 167

3. Certain words omitted by Act 38 of 1994, s. 2.

4. Ins. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 2.

5. Ins. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 2.

6. Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 2, for `architectural work of art'.

7. Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 2 for "architectural work of art',

8. Ins. by Act 38 of 1994. s. 2.

9. Ins. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 2. 

10. Subs. by Act 23 of 1983, s. 3 (w.e.f. 9-8-1984)

11. Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 2

12. Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 2.

13. Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 2. 

14. Ins. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 2. 

15. Ins. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 2. 

16. Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 2.

17. Subs. by Act 23 of 1983, s. 2, for "radio-diffusion" (w.9.f. 9-8-1984)

18. Subs. by Act 66 of 1984, s. 2 (w.e.f. 8-10-1984)

19. Subs. by s. 3, ibid for cl. (1) (w.e.f. 9.8.1984).

20. Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 2.

21. Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 2.

22. Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 2

23. Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 2

24. Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 2.

25. Clause (r) omitted by Act 38 of 1994, s. 2. 

26. Ins. by Act 68 of 1984, s. 2 (w.e.f. 8-10-1984).

27. Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 2 for "records'

28. Ins. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 2.

29. Clause (v) omitted by Act 23 of 1983, s. 3 (w.e.f. 9.8.1984)

30. Clause (w) omitted by Act 38 of 1994, s. 2.

31. Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 2.

32. Ins. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 2. 

33. Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 2. for "record".

34. Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 3.

35. Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 6 

[35A. . Subs. by Act 49 of 1999, Section 2, for databasis (wef 15.1.2000)] INDIAN COPYRIGHT ACT, 1957