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The Indian Copyright Act, 1957
Copyright is a right granted under law to creators of literacy, dramatic, musical and artistic works and producers of cinematograph films and sound recording in respect of their creation. Copyright ensures certain minimum safeguards of the rights of authors over their creation thereby protecting and rewarding creativity.[1]

Copyright subsists, throughout India inter alia in the following categories of work[2], until sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the work is published[3]:

- Original literacy, dramatic, musical and artistic works;
- Cinematograph Films;
- Sound Recording.

(i) To make a copy of the film, including a photograph of any image forming part thereof.
(ii) To sell or give on hire, or offer for sale or hire, any copy of the film, regardless of whether      such copy has been sold or given on hire on earlier occasions.

A Copyright in a work shall be deemed to be infringed when[5]:

(a) When any person, without a licence granted by the owner of the Copyright or the Registrar of Copyrights under this Act or in contravention of the conditions of a licence so granted or of any conditions imposed by a competent authority under this Act-

  • Does anything, the exclusive right to do which is by this Act conferred upon the owner of the copyright, or

  • permits for profit any place to be used for the communication of the work to the public where such communication constitutes an infringement of the copyright in the work, unless he was not aware and had no reasonable ground for believing that such communication to the public would be an infringement of copyright, or

(b) When any person -

  • Makes for sale on hire, or sells or lets for hire, or by way of trade displays or offers for sale or hire, or

  • Distributes either for the purposes of trade or to such an extent as to affect prejudicially the owner of the copyright, or

  • By way of trade exhibits in public, or

  • Imports into India, any infringing copies of the work:

Provided that nothing in such clause (iv) shall apply to the import of one copy of any work for the private and domestic use of the importer.

India is one of the few countries which criminalizes copyright infringement rather than merely providing a remedy in damages.

Chapter XIII of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957 provides for penalties for offences committed under the Copyright Act and empowers the police to take necessary action. The provisions are as follows:

  • Imprisonment for a term of 6 months to 3 years and a fine of Rs. 50,000/- (US$ 1,000) to Rs. 200,000/- (US$ 4,000) for the offence of infringement of copyright or other rights under the Act. [6]

  • Imprisonment for a term of 1 year to 3 years and a fine of Rs. 100,000/- (US$ 2,000) to Rs. 200,000/- (US$ 4,000) on second and subsequent convictions. [7]

  • Imprisonment for a term of 7 days to 3 years and a fine of Rs. 50,000/- (US$ 1,000) to Rs. 200,000/- (US$ 4,000) for knowingly using an infringing copy of the computer programme.[8]

  • Seizure of infringing copies.[9]

  • Imprisonment for a term up to 2 years and a fine for possession of plates for purpose of making infringing copies.[10] 

    • Disposal of infringing copies or plates used for making infringing copies.[11]
  • Imprisonment for a term up to 1 year or fine or both for making false entries in the register.[12]

  • Imprisonment for a term up to 1 year or fine or both for making false statements for the purpose of deceiving or influencing any authority or officer.[13]
  • Imprisonment for a term up to 3 years and a fine for publication of a sound recording or video film in contravention of provisions of Section 52A (section 68 A).[14]

The Information Technology Act, 2000

The recently amended, Information Technology Act, 2000[15] (the “IT Act”), provides that if any person without permission of the owner or any other person who is incharge of a computer, computer system or computer network[16]

(a) accesses or secures access to such computer, computer system or computer network or computer resource;

(b) downloads, copies or extracts any data, computer data base or information from such computer, computer system or computer network including information or data held or stored in any removable storage medium

(c) provides any assistance to any person to facilitate access to a computer, computer system or computer network in contravention of the provisions of this Act, rules or regulations made thereunder,

(d) destroys, deletes or alters any information residing in a computer resource or diminishes its value or utility or affects it injuriously by any means

(e) Steals, conceals, destroys or alters or causes any person to steal, conceal, destroy or alter any computer source code used for a computer resource with an intention to cause damage,

he shall be liable to pay damages by way of compensation to the person so affected.

Further, the IT Act[17] also provides that if any person, dishonestly, or fraudulently, does any act referred to in section 43, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3 years or with fine which may extend to Rs 500,000 or with both.

Hence, dishonest or fraudulent intent in committing the actions set out in Section 43 as described above would also enable a person to be criminally prosecuted.

Further, copyright owners can also initiate action against a person with whom they have kept their copyrighted material if there is a loss to them or wrongful gain to others due to negligence in implementing and maintaining reasonable security practices or procedures by such person as per the IT Act[18] as follows:

Where a body corporate, possessing, dealing or handling any sensitive personal data or information in a computer resource which it owns, controls or operates is negligent in implementing and maintaining reasonable security practices and procedures and thereby causes wrongful loss or wrongful gain to any person, such body corporate shall be liable to pay damages by way of compensation to the person so affected.

Mentioned below are some of the key provisions contained in Chapter XI of the IT Act which provides for penalties for offences committed under the Act and empowers the police to take necessary action:

  • Whoever dishonestly receives or retains any stolen computer resource[19] or communication device knowing or having reason to believe the same to be stolen computer resource or communication device, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to 3 years or with fine which may extend to Rs 100,000 or with both.[20]

  • hoever, by means of any communication device or computer resource cheats by personation, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to 3 years and shall also be liable to fine which may extend to Rs 100,000.[21]

  • Any intermediary[22] who intentionally or knowingly fails to preserve and retain such information as may be specified for such duration and in such manner and format as the Central Government may prescribe shall be punished with an imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3 years and shall also be liable to fine.[23] 

  • The Act shall apply to an offence or contravention committed outside India by any person if the act or conduct constituting the offence or contravention involves a computer, computer system or computer network located in India.[24] 

  • Any computer, computer system, floppies, compact disks, tape drives or any other accessories related thereto, in respect of which any provision of this Act, rules, orders or regulations made there under has been or is being contravened, shall be liable to confiscation.[25]

[1] Section 14 of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957
[2] Section 13 of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957
[3] Chapter V of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957
[4] Section 14(d) of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957
[5] Section 51 of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957
[6] Section 63 of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957
[7] Section 63 A of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957
[8] Section 63 B of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957
[9] Section 64 of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957
[10] Section 65 of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957
[11] Section 66 of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957
[12] Section 67 of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957
[13] Section 68 of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957
[14] Section 68 A of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957
[15] Amended vide the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008
[16] Section 43 of the Information Technology Act, 2000
[17] Section 66 of the Information Technology Act, 2000
[18] Section 43A of the Information Technology Act, 2000

[19] Section 2(1)(k) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 defines "Computer Resource" as computer, communication device, computer system, computer network, data, computer database or software. Section 2(1)(o) defines "Data" to mean a representation of information, knowledge, facts, concepts or instructions which are being prepared or have been prepared in a formalized manner, and is intended to be processed, is being processed or has been processed in a computer system or computer network, and may be in any form (including computer printouts magnetic or optical storage media, punched cards, punched tapes) or stored internally in the memory of the computer. Section 2(1)(v) defines "Information" to include data, message, text, images, sound, voice, codes, computer programmes, software and databases or micro film or computer generated micro fiche

[20] Section 66 B of the Information Technology Act, 2000
[21] Section 66 D of the Information Technology Act, 2000

[22] Section 2(1)(w) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 defines "Intermediary" with respect to any particular electronic records, means any person who on behalf of another person receives, stores or transmits that record or provides any service with respect to that record and includes telecom service providers, network service providers, internet service providers, web hosting service providers, search engines, online payment sites, online-auction sites, online market places and cyber cafes.

[23] Section 67 C of the Information Technology Act, 2000
[24] Section 75 of the Information Technology Act, 2000
[25] Section 76 of the Information Technology Act, 2000