What copyright is
Copyright protects the way an idea is expressed: the words of a book, the notes of a song, the code of a program, the frames of a film. It does not protect the idea itself.
Section 13 of the Copyright Act, 1957 says copyright subsists in original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, in cinematograph films and in sound recordings.[2] Literary works include computer programs and databases.[4] Copyright is the exclusive right to do, or to authorise others to do, the acts listed for each kind of work in section 14: for example to reproduce it, issue copies to the public, perform it in public, make films or recordings of it, translate it and adapt it.[2]
Automatic
Rights arise when an original work is created. The sources I read describe registration as a record of the work, not the source of the right.[3]
A bundle of rights
Copying, public performance, translation, adaptation and more, each of which can be licensed or sold separately.[2]
Originality, not novelty
A work needs a modicum of creativity, not the novelty a patent needs. See the Eastern Book Company case below.[6]
Who owns it, and for how long
The author is the first owner of copyright, with exceptions. For a work made in the course of employment under a contract of service, the employer is the first owner unless there is an agreement to the contrary (s.17).[2] An owner may assign copyright wholly or partly (s.18). An assignment must be in writing and signed, identify the work, the rights, the duration and the territory, and state the royalty or other consideration (s.19).[2]
| Kind of work | Section | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Published literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works | s.22 | Sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year after the author dies. |
| Anonymous and pseudonymous works | s.23 | Sixty years from the year after first publication, or from the year after the author’s death if the identity is disclosed within that period. |
| Posthumous works | s.24 | Sixty years from the year after first publication. |
| Photographs | s.22 (after 2012) | The 2012 amendment removed the separate photograph rule, so they follow the general term. |
| Cinematograph films | s.26 | Sixty years from the year after publication. |
| Sound recordings | s.27 | Sixty years from the year after publication. |
| Government works | s.28 | Sixty years from the year after first publication, where the Government is first owner. |
Terms from the text of the Act as hosted by India Code, which states it is current as on 15 June 2026.[2]
Moral rights and fair dealing
Author’s special rights (s.57)
Independently of the economic rights, and even after the copyright is assigned, the author may claim authorship (paternity) and may restrain or claim damages for distortion, mutilation or modification that would harm their honour or reputation (integrity). Heirs can claim the right of paternity after the author dies under s.57(2).[5]
Fair dealing (s.52)
Section 52 lists acts that are not infringement. Summaries describe them as including private use and research, criticism or review, reporting current events, use in education, and reproduction for judicial proceedings.[4]
What infringement is (s.51)
Doing an act within the owner’s exclusive rights without licence, permitting a place to be used for infringing communication for profit, selling, hiring, displaying or distributing infringing copies, or importing them into India.[3]
The Court rejected the "sweat of the brow" idea that effort alone earns copyright and adopted a standard of a modicum of creativity. Raw Supreme Court judgments are government works and not copyrightable, but the publisher’s own editorial additions such as headnotes and summaries could be protected. One summary I read contradicts itself on paragraph numbering, so I have left that point out.[6]
Registration and enforcement
Copyright arises without registration, but the Copyright Office keeps a Register of Copyrights, and registered particulars are useful evidence in a dispute. Registration is an application to the Registrar of Copyrights, and I did not check the current form or fee here.
- Create and recordKeep dated drafts, source files and contracts. Employment and commissioning terms decide who the first owner is.[2]Ownership is a contract question
- Register (optional)File with the Copyright Office to enter the work in the Register of Copyrights.Not a condition of protection
- License or assignPut assignments in writing with the work, rights, term, territory and payment stated.[2]s.19
- EnforceCivil remedies include injunctions, damages and an account of profits (s.55). Knowing infringement is also an offence under s.63, carrying a minimum of six months’ imprisonment and a minimum fine of fifty thousand rupees, higher on repeat conviction (s.63A).[3]Penalty figures from a secondary source
The numbers
The Copyright Office’s figures for 2024-25 are in the Indian IP Office annual report.[1]
Copyright applications, 2024-25
Number of applications. Source: IP India Annual Report 2024-25, chapter I.
What is changing
Fewer register offences
The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026 omitted section 67 (false entries in the Register of Copyrights, formerly up to one year’s imprisonment), with effect from 15 June 2026, according to one law-firm summary. That summary is inconsistent about section 68, so I have not described it.[7]
AI and copyright
On 8 December 2025 a DPIIT committee released Part I of a working paper on generative AI and copyright for comment until 7 January 2026. It proposes a "hybrid model": a mandatory blanket licence for training on lawfully accessed works with a statutory right to payment, collected by a non-profit body. Part II, on copyright in AI outputs, was still to come. I did not find what has happened since, so treat this as a proposal.[8]
What this page does not cover
- Neighbouring rights (performers’ rights, broadcast reproduction rights) and statutory licences.
- The wording of sections 52, 57 and 63 from the Act itself. The India Code copy I opened stopped around section 40 in my read, so those three come from explanatory sources.[3] [4]
- Online platform liability, and enforcement of foreign works beyond the point that India ratified the Berne Convention in 1928 according to one source.[4]
- Copyright Office forms and fees.
References
Links are pages I opened while building this page. Where a source is a law-firm or explainer article rather than the Act itself, it is labelled secondary.
- IP India Annual Report 2024-25. ipindia.gov.in. Chapter I, section 7 (copyright).
- The Copyright Act, 1957. India Code (PDF). Sections 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 22 to 28 read. Stated to be current as on 15 June 2026.
- Infringement of copyright, sections 51, 52, 55, 63. Khurana & Khurana. secondary
- Copyright law in India. IAS Gyan. Works, rights, sections 52 and 57, Berne Convention. secondary
- Section 57, Copyright Act. The Legal School. secondary
- Eastern Book Company v. D.B. Modak, (2008) 1 SCC 1. Summary at The Legal Quorum. secondary I did not open the judgment.
- Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026. Conventus Law. secondary
- DPIIT working paper on generative AI and copyright. Mondaq. secondary