Copyright and right of the owner: Copyright Act, 1957

Section 17 in the Copyright Act, 1957 defines the first owner of the copyright:- Subject to the provisions of this Act, the author of a work shall be the first owner of the copyright therein: Provided that—

(a) in the case of a literary, dramatic or artistic work made by the author in the course of his employment by the proprietor of a newspaper, magazine or similar periodical under a contract of service or apprenticeship, for the purpose of publication in a newspaper, magazine or similar periodical, the said proprietor shall, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, be the first owner of the copyright in the work in so far as the copyright relates to the publication of the work in any newspaper, magazine or similar periodical, or to the reproduction of the work for the purpose of its being so published, but in all other respects the author shall be the first owner of the copyright in the work;

(b) subject to the provisions of clause (a), in the case of a photograph taken, or a painting or portrait drawn, or an engraving or a cinematograph film made, for valuable consideration at the instance of any person, such person shall, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, be the first owner of the copyright therein;

(c) in the case of a work made in the course of the author's employment under a contract of service or apprenticeship, to which clause (a) or clause (b) does not apply, the employer shall, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, be the first owner of the copyright therein;

4 [(cc) in the case of any address or speech delivered in public, the person who has delivered such address or speech or if such person has delivered such address or speech on behalf of any other person, such other person shall be the first owner of the copyright therein notwithstanding that the person who delivers such address or speech, or, as the case may be, the person on whose behalf such address or speech is delivered, is employed by any other person who arranges such address or speech or on whose behalf or premises such address or speech is delivered;]

(d) in the case of a Government work, Government shall, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, be the first owner of the copyright therein;

4 [(dd) in the case of a work made or first published by or under the direction or control of any public undertaking, such public undertaking shall, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, be the first owner of the copyright therein.

In Gee Pee Films Pvt. Ltd. vs. Pratik Chowdhury and Ors. It was stated that It is apparent from the aforesaid provisions contained in the Act that so far lyrics and musical works are concerned, lyricist and composer respectively are the authors thereof and in view of Section 17 of the Act, the first owner of the copyright of lyrics and musical works shall be the authors unless it is shown that such work was made in course of author's employment under a contract of service or apprenticeship with his employer and there is no agreement to the contrary as regards retention of copyright.

Section 18 in the Copyright Act, 1957 defines the assignment of copyright defines

1) The owner of the copyright in an existing work or the prospective owner of the copyright in a future work may assign to any person the copyright either wholly or partially and either generally or subject to limitations and either for the whole of the copyright or any part thereof: Provided that in the case of the assignment of copyright in any future work, the assignment shall take effect only when the work comes into existence.

(2) Where the assignee of copyright becomes entitled to any right comprised in the copyright, the assignee as respects the rights so assigned, and the assignor as respects the rights not assigned, shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as the owner of the copyright and the provisions of this Act shall have effect accordingly.

(3) In this section, the expression “assignee” as respects the assignment of the copyright in any future work includes the legal representatives of the assignee, if the assignee dies before the work comes into existence.

In Jagdish Prasad Gupta vs. Parmeshwar Prasad Singh and Ors. It was stated that in case the Board did not make any regulation, Section 18 of the Bihar Act VII of 1952 provides that the regulations made under the Patna University Act, 1917, appertaining to the conduct of the Matriculation Examination which were in force immediately before the said Act ceased to be in force, shall continue to be in force so far as they were not inconsistent with the provisions of Bihar Act VII of 1952, subject to such modifications and adaptations if any, as might be made therein by the Board and approved by the State Government and those regulations would be deemed to be the regulations made under the corresponding provisions of Act VII of 1952.

Section 19 in the Copyright Act of 1957 defines the mode of assignment.

(1) ] No assignment of the copyright in any work shall be valid unless it is in writing signed by the assignor or by his duly authorised agent.—1[(1)] No assignment of the copyright in any work shall be valid unless it is in writing signed by the assignor or by his duly authorised agent." 2[3[(2) The assignment of copyright in any work shall identify such work and shall specify the rights assigned and the duration and territorial extent of such assignment.

(3) The assignment of copyright in any work shall also specify the amount of royalty payable, if any, to the author or his legal heirs during the currency of the assignment and the assignment shall be subject to revision, extension or termination on terms mutually agreed upon by the parties.

(4) Where the assignee does not exercise the right assigned to him under any of the other sub-sections of this section within a period of one year from the date of assignment, the assignment in respect of such rights shall be deemed to have lapsed after the expiry of the said period unless otherwise specified in the assignment.

(5) If the period of assignment is not stated, it shall be deemed to be five years from the date of assignment.

(6) If the territorial extent of the assignment of the rights is not specified, it shall be presumed to extend within India.

(7) Nothing in sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) or sub-section (4) or sub-section (5) or sub-section (6) shall be applicable to assignments made before the coming into force of the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1994.

Section 20 in the Copyright Act, 1957 defines transmission of copyright in manuscript by testamentary disposition.—Where under a bequest a person is entitled to the manuscript of a literary, dramatic or musical work, or to an artistic work, and the work was not published before the death of the testator, the bequest shall unless the contrary intention is indicated in the testator’s will or any codicil thereto, be construed as including the copyright in the work in so far as the testator was the owner of the copyright immediately before his death.

Section 21 in the Copyright Act, 1957 defines the right of the author to relinquish copyright.—(1) The author of a work may relinquish all or any of the rights comprised in the copyright in the work by giving notice in the prescribed form to 3 the Registrar of Copyrights or by way of public notice] and thereupon such rights shall, subject to the provisions of sub-section (3), cease to exist from the date of the notice.

(2) On receipt of a notice under subsection (1), the Registrar of Copyrights shall cause it to be published in the Official Gazette and in such other manner as he may deem fit.

(2A) The Registrar of Copyright shall, within fourteen days from the publication of the notice in the Official Gazette, post the notice on the official website of the Copyright Office so as to remain in the public domain for a period of not less than three years.]

(3) The relinquishment of all or any of the rights comprised in the copyright in a work shall not affect any rights subsisting in favour of any person on the date of the notice referred to in subsection (1).