MEANING OF COPYRIGHT AND THE RIGHTS CONFERRED :
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. In fact, it is a bundle of rights including, inter alia, rights of reproduction, communication to the public, adaptation and translation of the work. It means the sole right to produce or reproduce the work or any substantial part thereof in any material form whatsoever (Kartar Singh Giani v. Ladha Singh & Others AIR 1934 Lah 777).
Section 14 of the Act defines the term Copyright as to mean the exclusive right to do or authorise the doing of the following acts in respect of a work or any substantial part thereof, namely
In the case of literary, dramatic or musical work (except computer programme):
(i) reproducing the work in any material form which includes storing of it in any medium by electronic means;
(ii) issuing copies of the work to the public which are not already in circulation;
(iii) performing the work in public or communicating it to the public;
(iv) making any cinematograph film or sound recording in respect of the work;
making any translation or adaptation of the work.
Further any of the above mentioned acts in relation to work can be done in the case of translation or adaptation of the work.
In the case of a computer programme:
(i) to do any of the acts specified in respect of a literary, dramatic or musical work; and
(ii) to sell or give on commercial rental or offer for sale or for commercial rental any copy of the computer programme. However, such commercial rental does not apply in respect of computer programmes where the programme itself is not the essential object of the rental.
In the case of an artistic work:
(i) reproducing the work in any material form including depiction in three dimensions of a two dimensional work or in two dimensions of a three dimensional work;
(ii) communicating the work to the public;
(iii) issuing copies of work to the public which are not already in existence;
(iv) including work in any cinematograph film;
making adaptation of the work, and to do any of the above acts in relation to an adaptation of the work.
In the case of cinematograph film and sound recording:
(i) making a copy of the film including a photograph of any image or making any other sound recording embodying it;
(ii) selling or giving on hire or offer for sale or hire any copy of the film/sound recording even if such copy has been sold or given on hire on earlier occasions; and
(iii) communicating the film/sound recording to the public.
In the case of a sound recording:
• To make any other sound recording embodying it
• To sell or give on hire, or offer for sale or hire, any copy of the sound recording
• To communicate the sound recording to the public.
The main objective of the Act is to give protection to the owner of the copyright from the dishonest manufacturers, who try to confuse public and make them believe that the infringed products are the products of the owner. Further, it wants to discourage the dishonest manufacturers from enchasing the goodwill of the owner of the copyright, who has established itself in the market with its own efforts [Hawkins Cookers Ltd.v. Magicook Appliances Co., 00(2002) DLT698].
Unlike the case with patents, copyright protects the expressions and not the ideas. There is no copyright in an idea. In M/s Mishra Bandhu Karyalaya & Others v. Shivaratanlal Koshal AIR 1970 MP 261, it has been held that the laws of copyright do not protect ideas, but they deal with the particular expression of ideas. It is always possible to arrive at the same result from independent sources. The rule appears to be settled that the compiler of a work in which absolute originality is of necessary excluded is entitled, without exposing himself to a charge of piracy, to make use of preceding works upon the subject, where he bestows such mental labour upon what he has taken, and subjects it to such revision and correction as to produce an original result.
Whether one book is a copy of the other or not, it was held in S K Dutt. V. Law Book Co. & Others AIR 1954 All 57, in deciding the question whether one book is a copy of the other or not the Court has, in one view, to keep in mind the two features of the two books, namely, the external and the internal features. By external features means the get-up and the ‘overall’ scope of the publication. By internal features means the general lay out of the subject-matter, the manner of the treatment of the subject matter and the amount of material contained in the book.