Copyright - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition copyright

Definition :

Copyright, an incorporeal right, being the exclusive privilege of printing, reprinting, selling, and publishing is own original work which the statute law first gave to an author in 1709, by 8 Anne, c. 19, for the term of fourteen years. Whether the right exited at Common Law is a long-vexed and still undetermined question. See Jeffries v. Boosey, (1854) 4 HLC 815. There is no copyright in an illegal or immoral publication, Southey v. Sherwood, (1817) 2 Mer 435; Stockdale v. Onwhyn, (1826) 5 B&C 173.

The law of copyright now depends mainly on the (English) Copyright Act,1911 (1 & 2 Geo. 5, c. 46) (July 1, 1912), and 'no person shall be entitled to copyright or any similar right in any literary dramatic, musical, or artistic work, whether published or unpublished, otherwise than under and in accordance with the provisions of this Act, or of any other statutory enactment for the time being in force' (s. 31).

By sub-s. 2 of s. 1 of this Act 'copyright' is thus defined:--

For the purposes of the Act ' copyright ' means the sole right to produce or reproduce the work or any substantial part thereof in any material form whatsoever, to perform, or in the case of a lecture to deliver, the work or any substantial part thereof in public; if the work is unpublished, to publish the work or any substantial part thereof, and shall include the sole right--

'(a) to produce, reproduce, perform or publish any translation of the work (see Byrne v. Statist Co., (1914) 1 KB 622);

'(b) in the case of a dramatic work, to convert it into a novel or other non-dramatic work;

'(c) in the case of a novel or other non-dramatic work, or of an artistic work, to convert it into a dramatic work, by way of performance in public or otherwise;

'(d) in the case of a literary, dramatic, or musical work, to make any record, perforated roll, cinematograph film, or other contrivance by means of which the work may be mechanically performed or delivered,
and to authorize any such acts as aforesaid.'

Save as otherwise expressly provided by the Act, the term for which copyright subsists is the life of the author and fifty years after his death (ss. 3, 31, 24). The owner may assign his right wholly or partially, and may grant any interest in it by license, but any grant any interest in it by license, but any such assignment or grant must be in writing and signed by him or his agent [s. 5 (2)]; and there is a provision for the granting of compulsory licenses, after the death of the author, in certain cases (s. 4). The author of a work is prima facie the first owner of the copyright; but see s. 5. As to what acts amount to an infringements, see s. 2; and as to the civil remedies for infringement, see ss. 6-10; in certain cases a summary remedy is provided (ss. 11-13). Special provisions apply in the case of joint-authors (s. 16), posthumous works (s. 17), Government publications (s. 18), mechanical contrivances for reproducing sounds (s. 19); and see Chappell & Co. v. Columbia Gramophone Co., (1914) 1 KB 395, political speeches (s. 20); and see Walter v. Lane, 1900 AC 539; photographs (s. 21), designs registr-able under the (English) Patents and Designs Act, 1907 (s. 22), works of foreign authors (s. 23), and existing works (s. 24). As to the application of the Act to British Possessions, see ss. 25-28; and as to the position with respect to copyright of a trustee in bankruptcy, see (English) Bankruptcy Act, 1914, s. 60. The Act of 1911 repeals a great number of statutes relating to copyright, but the Musical (Summary Proceedings) (English) Copyright Act, 1902 (2 Edw. 7, c. 15), and the (English) Musical Copyright Act, 1906 (6 Edw. 7, c. 36), authorizing the seizure and destruction of pirated copies, are left unrepealed; and so are s. 7 and (with slight alteration) s. 8 of the (English) Fine Arts Copyright Act, 1862 (25 & 26 Vict. c. 68), under which penalties maybe recovered for infringement of copyright. See also Performing Right Society, Ltd. v. Hammond's Bradford Brewery Co.Ltd.,1934 Ch 121 (reproduction by receiving set and loudspeaker); Hawkes & Son (London) Ltd. v. Paramount Film Services Co., 1934 Ch 593 (sound film reproducing musical work); and the (English) Dramatic and Musical Performers Protection Act, 1925 (15 & 16 Geo. 5, c. 46); which penalizes making records without performers' permission, see Musical Performers' Protection Assoc. v. British International Pictures Ltd., (1930) 46 TLR 485.

As to International Copyright, see Part II of the (English) Copyright Act, 1911. International copyright has in modern times been very generally recognized, but until 1891 the United States of America refused to recognize it. In that year, however, an Act was passed granting it, but with the very serious restriction, in the case of books, that the books must have been printed from type set within the limits of the United States. See the Treaty of Berne, and Sarpy v. Holland, (1908) 2 Ch 198.

Consult Macgillivray's Copyright Act, 1911; and Copinger on Copyright; and see PUBLISHER.

It means the exclusive right to apply a design to any article in any class in which the design is registered. [Designs Act, 2000 (16 of 2000), s. 2 (c)]

Copyright, itself not only permits assignment of copyright in the works in present time but in future work also. Agreement not violative at public policy, Prentice Hall India Pvt. Ltd. v. Prentice Hall Inc & Ors., 2002 (25) PTC 511 (Del).