When you write, compose, or create something new with your creativity, there is always a fear that your content might get copied by someone else. Copyright is the right which is given to authors or inventors who are related to the field of literature, drama, music, fashion industry, or any other artistic work, sound recordings, and so on. To avoid the risk of getting content copied, The Copyright Act, 1957, came into effect in India from January 1957. This Copyright Act was made to make sure that anyone’s ideas, inventions, concepts may not be copied anywhere else. Copyright varies differently for different countries. Copyright registration is an important process, and in India, it is completely an online process.

Copyright Registration in India is a step by step process involving different steps and procedures. This registration can be obtained by the creator of the work, the person with the authoritarian power of the work, employer of the creator, artists, designers, musicians, cinematograph films and computer software, etc. There is a number of data that can be protected under the Copyright Act, which comprises all the tangible properties like music, art, computer programming, literature, photography, cinema, etc. The lyrics of the song, music, tunes, graphics, dramas, signatures, sculptures and recordings, pictures, etc., also come under the copyright. There is always a misconception that one needs to have a copyright registration certificate to get their data or content protected from being copied. But the truth is, Copyright is automatic and does not need any formal process. However, this copyright registration certificate can be used as evidence in the court as a reference to the dispute arose out of the claim for the ownership rights.

The applicant of the copyright registration has to attach the required documents at the web portal. The request for the Copyright Registration has to be made at the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), and Indian Postal Order (IPO) or DD of Rs. 10 as fees are payable to “Pat and Accounts Officer (PAO). For more than one work, a separate application has to be made. The required fees for the registration is provided in the second schedule to the copyright rules. After the submission of the form, a Diary Number is generated for future reference. After 30 days of the registration process, the objection or discrepancy correction notice is generated. Or else one can cross the Zero Discrepancy. If any discrepancy is found during the stage with zero differences, a letter or notice will be issued and sent to the concerned person. A hearing will be held regarding solving the issue, and the query will be solved, and then, it will be sent for registration. However, if there are zero discrepancies, then one can go for further procedures. After the whole application process, once you get the approval, a certificate of copyright registration will be issued. If due to some error, the application gets rejected, then a Letter of Rejection will be issued and will be sent to the applicant. Also Read: How to Register a Company in India

The validity of the Copyright Registration is quite long. Anything which is created after January 1, 1978, then the copyright protection registration will last until the creator is alive and even more than 70 years in addition. In terms of work-related to literary, dramatics, music, artistic, etc., the validity of the copyright registration is for a lifetime plus 60 years, which means the validity counts from the day to the death of the owner plus 60 more years. Whereas in the areas of cinematography, recording, photography, government-related, international records, the validation period starts from the date of publication of work.

Punishments Regarding Violations of Rights

Copyrighting is considered to be a big crime which not only violates the law but hurts the sentiments of the original creator or inventor. The rigorous punishment for the violation of the rights includes imprisonment up to 3 years or a fine of Rs. 2 lakhs. Though the registration process is not mandatory when an issue arises of copyright, and the matter goes to the court, then this registration act as a piece of concrete and crucial evidence in favor of the owner or creator of the content or data, etc.

Copyrighting, in general, is concerned with works of different fields like literature, drama, music, fashion industry, or any other artistic work, sound recordings, and many more. Categorizing the area for the copyright includes:

Literary Works: This includes different computer programs, books, articles, tables, and databases. Artistic work: This working field includes works such as paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs, or any other work of exquisite craftsmanship. Musical work: Musical field is one of the most creative fields which comprises so many creative ideas, which include music and or any written work like lyrics of the song by lyricist, composer, and rights of the singer. Sound Recording: This is a kind of recording from which sounds are produced irrespective of the medium. It includes sound recordings fixed in a CD-ROM, DVD – ROM, USB Drive.

A great amount of brainstorming and creative temperament is required while creating new and worthy content, and it is unfair if the content is wasted in the hands of those people who copy the content for their use. From lyrics of the songs to the content of the blog, apparel’s design, movie content, anything can be copied, and this is called Copyright Infringement. The Copyright Act holds one from copying the content, and this maintains the authoritarian value of the content/idea. Logos, brands, domain names, and titles do not come under the Copyright Act. Also Read: Registration Process Of Trust Under The Act 1882 In India, copyright registration has motivated the creation of great intellectual contents, arts, design, and further, they must be encouraged for any artistic practice. The strong law has created the environment of the emergence of good creative ideas and works, thus encouraging the people to come up with their own ideas and content and get recognition.

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