S.

S JAIN SUBODH LAW COLLEGE

S.S JAIN SUBODH LAW COLLEGE

MANSAROVER JAIPUR

“HISTORY OF COPYRIGHT LAW”

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW

Submitted By:

Submission To: BHASKAR MITTAL

MS. LOVELY JAIN ROLL NO. 18

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR 9th Semester

S.S. Jain Subodh law college

S.S JAIN SUBODH LAW COLLEGE

TABLE OF CONTENT

 Declaration
 Certificate
 Acknowledgement
 Research Methodology
 Introduction
 ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF COPYRIGHT
 STATUTE OF ANNE
 HISTORY OF COPYRIGHT LAW IN INDIA
 Registration of Copyright
 Conclusion
 Bibliography
S.S JAIN SUBODH LAW COLLEGE

DECLARATION

I, BHASKAR MITTAL, do hereby declare that, this Research topic titled “HISTORY OF
COPYRIGHT LAW” is an outcome of the research conducted by me under the guidance of MS.
LOVELY JAIN (ASSISTANT PROFESSOR) at S.S. Jain Subodh Law College in fulfillment for
the award of the degree of B.A.LL.B. At the University of Rajasthan. I also declare that, this
work is original, except where assistance from other sources has been taken and necessary
acknowledgements for the same have been made at appropriate places. I further declare that, this
work has not been submitted either in whole or in part, for any degree or equivalent in any other
institution.

Date: 01/04/2021

Place: JAIPUR
S.S JAIN SUBODH LAW COLLEGE

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that, the Research topic titled “HISTORY OF COPYRIGHT LAW” submitted
by BHASKAR MITTAL in fulfillment for the award of the degree of B.A.LL.B. At S.S. Jain
Subodh Law College is the product of research carried out under my guidance and supervision.

MS. LOVELY JAIN

(ASSISTANT PROFESSOR)

S.S. Jain Subodh Law College

S.S JAIN SUBODH LAW COLLEGE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This project is incomplete without thanking a few people who have been my pillar of support
throughout this work. I owe my gratitude to all those people who have made this project
possible.

I would like to express my deep and sincere gratitude to my teacher MS. LOVELY JAIN for her
continuous support. She has always been there to listen, guide and help me and has been
constantly monitoring the progress of my work and showed me the different ways to approach a
research problem and also the need to become persistent to accomplish any mission.

I am also obliged to acknowledge the college administration for providing a wonderful library
which is a storehouse of knowledge and also for providing all the electronic resources without
which no such research could have been possible.

Finally, I would like to thank everybody who played a significant role in the successful
completion of my dissertate

Place: - Jaipur Bhaskar Mittal

S.S JAIN SUBODH LAW COLLEGE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Aims and Objectives:

The aim of the project is to present a detailed study of the topic “HISTORY OF COPYRIGHT
LAW” forming a concrete informative capsule of the same with an insight into its relevance in
the IPR.

Research Plan:
The researches have followed Doctrinal method.

Scope and Limitations:

In this project the researcher has tried to include different aspects pertaining to the concept of
HISTORY OF COPYRIGHT LAW.

Sources of Data:
The following secondary sources of data have been used in the project-

*Case Study

*Websites/ Articles

*Books

Method of writing:
The method of writing followed in the course of this research project is primarily analytical.
 S.S JAIN SUBODH LAW COLLEGE

INTRODUCTION

Copyright is a right given by the law to creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and
producers of cinematograph films and sound recordings. It can be termed as “The exclusive right given
by law for a certain term of years to an author, composer etc. (or his assignee) to print, publish and sell
copies of his original work”.
Indian copyright law is at parity with the international standards as contained in TRIPS. The (Indian)
Copyright Act, 1957, pursuant to the amendments in the year 1999, fully reflects the Berne Convention
for Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, 1886 and the Universal Copyrights Convention, to which
India is a party. India is also a party to the Geneva Convention for the Protection of Rights of
Producers of Phonograms and is an active member of the World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ("UNESCO").
ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF COPYRIGHT

The idea of copyright protection emerged with the invention of printing, which made the literary works
to be duplicated by mechanical process. Prior, to that hand copying was the sole mean of reproduction.
After, the invention of Guttenberg’s printing press in Germany in 1436, a need to protect the printers
and booksellers was recognised and thus certain privileges to printers, publishers and also authors were
granted. The art of printing spread quickly in Europe. After 1483, England emerged as a major centre
of printing trade in Europe. The spread of this technological innovation led to creation of a class of
intermediaries, who made initial investment in bringing out the book, i.e., the printers, who doubled as
booksellers as well. They were called the “stationer’s” in England. In 1557, Queen Mary I, granted the
privilege of regulating the book trade to the Stationer’s company of London. In 1662, the Licensing
Act was passed in England, which prohibited the printing of any book which was not licensed and
registered with the Stationers’ Company. This was the first clear law which was aimed at protecting
literary copyright and checking piracy. The licence era was short lived. It was only with the passing of
the Queen Anne’s Statute of 1709, that, the rights of the authors over their work came to be legally
recognised, and the concept of ‘public domain’ was established, though not explicitly.

STATUTE OF ANNE
The first codified law came in existence with the passing of the statute of Anne, which came into force
on 10th April 1710. It was the first legal articulation of real copyright. Queen Anne’s statute conferred
upon the authors for the first time, the statutory right to benefit from their literary works by conferring
upon them the sole right to print their works, for a limited period of twenty-one years for works
published before the date of enactment i.e. from 10th April 1710, those works which had not been
transferred to the Stationer’s Guild. Those works which were published subsequent to the enactment of
the statute of Anne enjoyed a protection of fourteen years. Prior to the Statute of Anne, the common
law of England recognised a perpetual right of property in the author’s “copy” in the manuscript.
Statute of Anne ‘was designed to destroy the bookseller’s monopoly of the book trade and to prevent
its recurrence and sought to divorce the evil of privileged censorship from free expression, thus
facilitating an equilibrium between the rights of the authors and the rights of the public to have access
to print material. It has been described that
“The statute of Anne marked the end of autocracy in English Copyright and established a set of
democratic principles: recognition of the author as the ultimate beneficiary and the fountainhead of
protection and a guarantee of legal protection against unauthorised use for limited times, without any
elements of prior restraint of censorship by government or its agents’ because prior to the enactment of
the statute, common law provided that the sole right of printing and publishing shall continue ad-
infinitum.
The Statute of Anne, was a small statute comprising of just 11 parts.
 One, to promote learning.
 Second, to prevent any other person save the author to print or reprint the book/literary work for a
limited duration of 21 years in its retroactive operation.

The Act was a respite to ameliorate the conditions of authors by securing them their just dues. The Act
aimed at encouragement of learning and spread of knowledge and preservation of culture which can be
inferred from the fact that the Book’s title had to be registered with the Stationer’s register and nine
copies of the same was to be deposited in libraries of the listed universities with an express prohibition
that such Universities shall nothave a right to print such books which have been deposited and the book
were meant only for accessibility and advancement of knowledge. The statute had another positive
angle as regards the economics of publishing involved in that it titled the same in favour of the citizen
and any person could now bring a complaint against the bookseller or the printer if they charged a
price which such a person conceived to be too high and unreasonable. In order for such a complaint to
be effectuated and redressed some of the highest ranks of the nobility, clergy, Vice-chancellors of
University and the Judiciary were authorised and empowered to limit and settle the price of every such
printed book according to the best of their judgments or judgment as the case may be, in their
respective jurisdiction, with costs to the complainant to be borne by such defaulting bookseller or
printer. Furthermore such defaulting party was to give a public notice in the Gazette of the settled price
and enhanced punishment was prescribed for repeating this offence after the price was settled and the
defaulting party was brought to book.
This Act did not confer a monopolistic status to the authors but only secured them the right to be
entitled to their legitimate dues. However the increase in the term of protection to the lifetime of the
author was still due and took place subsequently. The Copyright Acts of 1814, and 1842 increased the
duration of protection from fourteen, to twenty-eight, to forty-two years respectively. Thus, the phase
after 1710 where books over which copyright had been secured were beginning to lapse, witnessed the
real tensions in codified copyright law, as to whether there existed a common law copyright,
independent of the statute. The booksellers tried their best to claim their copyright after expiration of
21 years in the pre1710 works. For more than half a century, in what became known as the “Battle of
the Booksellers,” the lower courts sustained them in this view by granting injunctions after expiration
of the statutory term. Based on Lockean theory that ‘every man has a natural right of property to the
fruits of his labour’, the Stationers, claimed their perpetual right to publish and sell acquired copies
which were acquired from the authors who sold their manuscripts. The case of Millar v. Taylor,
brought triumph to the Stationer as their perpetual protection of common right was upheld. However,
this decision could not stand the test of time and five years later, the House of Lords overruled Millar’s
decision that no perpetual copyright existed in copyright law. This principle of balancing the exclusive
right of the author or publisher in the work came with the historic judgment of the House of Lords in
the case of Donaldson v. Beckett.1 Queen Anne’s Statutewas the first statute, which opened the gates
for the law of copyright in its true sense and afforded protection to the authors for their creative works,
as its prime objective, rather than protecting the monopoly of publishers, who indulged in unjust
enrichment of their pockets under the sanction of law at the expense of such ‘men of letters’. The
statute was indeed a turning point in the history of copyright laws.

HISTORY OF COPYRIGHT LAW IN INDIA

Modern copyright law developed in India gradually, in a span of 150 years. The first brush of India
with copyright law happened in 1847 through an enactment during the East India Company’s regime.
The Act passed by Governor-General of India affirmed the applicability of English copyright law to
India. According to the 1847 enactment, the term of copyright was for the lifetime of the author plus
seven years post-mortem and could not exceed forty two years on the whole. Though the author
refused publication after his death, the Government had the authority to give license for its publication.
The act of infringement was inclusive of unauthorized printing of a copyright work for “sale, hire or
export”, or “for selling, publishing or exposing to sale or hire”. The suit for infringement under this act
could be instituted in the “highest local court exercising original civil jurisdiction”. The Act also
specifically provided that under a contract of service copyright in “any encyclopaedia, review,
magazine, periodical work or work published in a series of books or parts” shall vest in the “proprietor,
projector, publisher or conductor”. It was deemed that the copies of the infringed work were the
property of the proprietor of the copyrighted work for all purposes. Most importantly, the copyright in
a work was not automatic unlike today. Registration of the work with Home Office was mandatory for
the protection of rights under this enactment. However, the Act specifically reserved the subsistence of
copyright in the author, and his right to sue for its infringement to the extent available in any other law
except 1847 Act. At the time of its introduction in India, copyright law had already been in the

1
98 Eng Rep 201 (KB 1769)
developing stage in Britain for over a century and the provisions of the 1847 enactment were reflected
in the later enactments. The Copyright Act 1911, while repealing earlier statues on the subject, was
also made applicable to all the British colonies including India. In 1914, the Indian Copyright Act was
enacted which modified some of the provisions of Copyright Act 1911 and added some new provisions
to it to make it applicable in India. The Indian Copyright Act 1914 remained applicable in India until it
was replaced by the Copyright Act 1957.

COPYRIGHT LAW IN INDIA

In India, the Copyright Act, 1957 (as amended in 1999), the Rules made there under and the
International Copyright Order, 1999 govern Copyright and neighbouring rights. This Act has been
amended five times i.e. 1983,1984,1992,1999 and most recently in 2012.The Act is divided into 15
chapters with 79 sections. Moreover, the Central Government, by virtue of section 78 is empowered to
make rules by notification in the Official Gazette, for carrying out the purposes of this Act. Under the
Act, a copyright office was established under the control of a registrar of copyright who was to act
under the superintendence and direction of central government. The principal function of this office
was to maintain a register of copyright containing the names or titles of work, the names and addresses
of authors, etc. The registrar had certain powers like entertaining and disposing of applications for
compulsory licenses and to inquire into complaints of importation of infringing copies. A Copyright
Board had been set up under the Act and the proceedings before it are deemed to be judicial
proceedings. The definition of copyright included the exclusive right to communicate works by radio
diffusion; the cinematograph was given a separate copyright; the term of copyright protection was
extended from 23 to 50 years which was again extended to 60 years in 1992; term of copyright for
different categories of work was also specified. The right to produce a translation of a work was made
coextensive with other rights arising out of copyright. Provisions relating to assignment of ownership
and licensing of copyright including compulsory licensing in certain circumstances, rights of
broadcasting organisations , international copyright, definition of infringement of copyright;
exceptions to the exclusive rights conferred upon the author or acts which do not constitute
infringement , special rights of authors, civil and criminal remedies against infringement and remedies
against groundless threats or legal proceedings were also introduced.
Berne Convention and Universal Copyright Convention
India is a member of the above conventions. The Government of India has passed the International
Copyright Order, 1958. According to this Order, any work first published in any country - which is a
member of any of the above conventions - is granted the same treatment as if it was first published in
India.

Subject Matter of Protection Now a day the subject matter of protection of Copyright is same
throughout the globe because copyright is become of international nature and due to advancement of
technology any one can violate the rights of others from any part of the world. As per different sub-
sections of section 2 of Copyright Act,1957 and judicial interpretations from time to time many matters
are eligible to get the protection. Analysing all the classifications and categorizations of the works as
provided under different sub-Sections of Section 2 of the Copyright Act, 1957 and taking reference
from the judicial views of different High Courts and the Supreme Court of India, the following heads
of copyrighted and related works will enjoy the copyright protection under the current up-to-date
amended legislation:
 Literacy works;
 Dramatic works;
 Musical works;
 Artistic work including sculpture, painting, engraving, architect and all works where artistic
craftsmanship is involved;
 Cinematograph film;
 Sound recording;
 Literary, dramatic works or musical works in the form of computer programming or computer
generated programme including computer software;
 Adaptation, Translation and Reproduction of work;
 Creating unpublished works;
 Foreign works including the works of international Organization;
 Literary works such as poems, articles, works of fiction, factual works such as encyclopaedias as
dictionaries etc.;
 Thus, question papers set for the examination;
 Research theses and dissertations prepared by students;
 Compilation of a book on household and accounts and domestic arithmetic;
 Schools textbooks;
 Guide books.
 Dictionary;
 A book of scientific questions and answers;
 Questionnaire for collecting statistical information;
 Head notes of a judgment; and
 Lecture notes have all come under the class of literary works entitles for copyright protection.
 Musical work such as songs operas, instrumental music etc.;
 Works of art and architecture;
 Photographs, technical drawings, motion picture (Cinematograph film), computer program etc.;
 Live performance of a drama fixed in a storage devise such as a compact disk etc.

In Blackwood v. Parasuraman,2 Madras High Court held that: "translation of literary work is itself a
literary work and is entitled to copyright protection; reproduction of publication of translation without
consent or license of the owner of copyright in the original would amount to infringement"

Registration of Copyright
Under Indian law, registration is not a prerequisite for acquiring a copyright in a work. A copyright in
a work is created when the work is created and given a material form, provided it is original. 3 The
Copyright Act provides for a copyright registration procedure. However, unlike the U.S. law, the
Indian law registration does not confer any special rights or privileges with respect to the registered
copyrighted work. The Register of Copyright acts as prima facie evidence of the particulars entered
therein. The documents purporting to be copies of the entries and extracts from the Register certified
by the Registrar of Copyright are admissible in evidence in all courts without further proof of original.
Thus, registration only raises a presumption that the person in the Register is the actual author, owner
or right holder. The presumption is not conclusive. But where contrary evidence is not forthcoming, it
is not necessary to render further proof to show that the copyright vests in the person mentioned in the
Register. In infringement suits and criminal proceedings, when time is of essence to obtain urgent
orders, registration is of tremendous help. Copyright notice is not necessary under the Indian law to

2
AIR 1959 MAD 410
3
Section 45, Copyright Act, 1957
claim protection.

However, registration of works is not a condition precedent to avail copyright protection. Registration
serves as a prima facie evidence of copyright ownership in the Court of Law. In the case of Asian
Paints (I) Ltd. Vs. Jaikishan Paints & Allied Products,4 the High Court of Bombay has observed:
"Registration under the Copyright Act is optional and not compulsory. Registration is not necessary to
claim a copyright.

Registration under the Copyright Act merely raises a prima facie presumption in respect of the
particulars entered in the Register of Copyright. The presumption is however not conclusive. The
Copyright subsists as soon as the work is created and given a material form even if it is not registered".

Duration/Term of Copyright
In the case of original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, the duration of copyright is the
lifetime of the author or artist, and 60 years counted from the year following the death of the author.5
In the case of cinematograph films, sound recordings, photographs, posthumous publications,
anonymous and pseudonymous publications, works of government and works of international
organizations are protected for a period of 60 years which is counted from the year following the date
of publication.

Infringement of a Copyright
A copyright is infringed if a person without an appropriate license does anything that the owner of the
copyright has an exclusive right to do. However, there are certain exceptions to the above rule (e.g.,
fair dealing). The Copyright Act provides for both civil and criminal remedies for copyright
infringement. When an infringement is proved, the copyright owner is entitled to remedies by way of
injunction, damages, and order for seizure and destruction of infringing articles. 6

4
2002 (6) Born CR 1: (2002) 4 Born LR 941: 2002(4) MAH LJ 536
5
Section 22, Copyright Act, 1957.
6
Section 51, Copyright Act, 1957
Enforcement of Copyright in India
The law of copyright in India not only provides for civil remedies in the form of permanent injunction,
damages or accounts of profits, delivery of the infringing material for destruction and cost of the legal
proceedings. etc. but also makes instances of infringement of copyright, a cognizable offence
punishable with for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to three years
with a fine which shall not be less than INR 50,000 but may extend to INR 2,00,000. For the second
and subsequent offences, there are provisions for enhanced fine and punishment under the Copyright
Act.7 The (Indian) Copyright Act, 1957 gives power to the police authorities to register the Complaint
(First Information Report, i.e., FIR) and act on its own to arrest the accused, search the premises of the
accused and seize the infringing material without any intervention of the court.

7
Section 63 A, Copyright Act, 1957
 Conclusion:

The Copyright Act, 1957 along with the Copyright Rules, 1958 and the amendments thereof intend to
protect the rights and interests of the creators and owners of the intellectual property as well as
protecting the interests of the world at large.

It is to be noted that the Act is a full comprehensive regulation which stands on the pillar that the
works of the owners shall not be stolen. This Act is drafted in consonance with the English and the
American Intellectual Property Laws. This Act is determined to provide safeguards to the owner as
well as the 'work'. In India, copyright is considered as an architectural work which will subsist only if
the work is located in the country of its origin that is India.
 Bibliography

Book Refer:-
1. P.Narayaran, Intellectual Property law, ed. 1997.

2. P.S. Sangal and K. Punnaswami, Intellectual property law ed. 1994.

3. S. R. Myneni, Law of Intellectual property ed. 2001.

4. W.R. Cornish ,intellectual property ed. 1999

5. Agreement established world trade organization (WTO)

6. Draft treaty on copyright of electronic record 1990.

Website Refer:-

https://cyber.harvard.edu

https://blog.ipleaders.in

http://www.legalserviceindia.com