Online Copyright Registration: It’s Process, Benefits, FAQ’s & Many More

Let’s go back to the days when you used to peep in your neighbors test note just because you were not able to prepare for it or maybe when you used to copy the homework from your friend’s notebook because you were feeling too lazy to complete it on your own, however in both the situations you were scared of getting caught because that would amount to punishment or even a notice parents! So now, when you have escaped from those entire situations the government has planned to keep an eye and safeguard the creativity of the person who created it.

What is Copyright?

It is the rights given to the creator of literary, computer programmers, musical and artistic works.  It encourages human creativity and provides economic rights to the creator which allow them and their family members to take financial benefits of their work usually from a period lasting up to 60 years after the creator’s death. This not just only gives recognition to their work but also give them incentives. It is dealt under The Copyright Act, 1957.

Copyright Registration Process in India:-

Registration of copyright is optional, and not mandatory. It is not a prerequisite condition for claiming the copyright.

The procedure for registration is as follows:

• Registration application has to be made on as prescribed in the first schedule to the Rules;
• Different applications should be applied for registration of each work;
• Each application along with  the requisite fee should be given on prescribed format in the second schedule to the Rules; and
• The format of applications should be duly signed by the person who has applied or the advocate in whose favor a Vakalatnama or Power of Attorney has been executed. The Power of Attorney signed by the party and acknowledged by the advocate should also be attached along with.

Document required for registration Process:

Documents which are required to be submitted either by Hand or By Post along with application form. According to the work, everyone has to submit the different documents which are

Artistic:- The documents which are supposed to be submitted  are as mentioned below:

• 2 set of Copies of work (His original creativity)
• Amount of DD /IPO according to the job and amount per work
• NOC is required from the artistic if the applicant is different from Artistic or copyright holders or copy of the agreement.
• NOC from publisher or author as the case may be 
• Person’s  NOC whose photograph appears on the work.
• If the application for the copyright is being filed by anyways from the attorney, a specific Power of Attorney in original duly signed by the applicant and that must be accepted by the attorney.

Work needs to be original:-

To get copyright registered it is important that the work is original because the original literary work is the result of the human mind and his efforts it may consist of a many of verbal/oral or numerical statements and it’s not necessary that it should have that artistic blend always. It can be expressed in writing, and which has been arrived at by the exercise of substantial independent skill, creative, labor or judgment

Advantages of Copyright Registration in India

1. Genuine public evidence of the copyright holder’s title.
2. Copyright holders are able to sue infringers in court.
3. If the application has been registered before or within the period of 5 years of publication, it creates a genuine record in court regarding the validity of the copyright and the information stated in the copyright certificate.
4. If the application has been registered before the 3 months of publication of the work or before the infringement of the work, the copyright owner has a right to sue and seek statutory damages and advocate’s fees in federal court.
5. To understand the importance of copyright registration, you will need to have a clear perspective on the difference between copyright and copyright registration. Without a copyright registration of your work, you will have to collect proves before blaming someone in the court of law. Copyright registration is extremely essential if you want to protect your work from unauthorized use.

What is right for a copyright holder?

Every copyright owner can use his protected work as he wishes, but he must have regard to the rights and interests of others and also exclude them from using it without his permission. The rights conferred are as follows:

• Statutory Rights:– The rights under which the creator has the right to permit or prevent certain acts or actions in relation to the work. With the help of this right, the owner of the work can prohibit or permits reproduction, distribution, public performance, broadcasting, translation, and adaptation.
• Economic Rights:- This right allows the creator to derive financial benefits by exploiting his produced and protected work. This also gives him the leverage to either exploit the work himself or license others to exploit any one or more of the rights for the consideration which may be in the form of royalty or a lump sum payment.
• Moral Rights:-This right permits the author to take certain actions to preserve the personal link between him and the work. This includes the right to claim authorship of the work and the right to object to any distortion modification of the work or other derogatory action in relation to the work.
• Negative Rights:-This right stops others from exploiting the work of the author for their benefit without the consent or license of the author.

Who should get a Copyright?

• Authors/ writer/ computer programmers:– All sort of literary work can copyright it includes Novels, stories, screenplays, poems, plays, non-fiction works such as histories & biographies, newspaper and magazine articles, reference works like encyclopedias and diction, computer programs and database to keep them safe they should be registered.
• Choreographers or other Dramatic work:– It includes any piece of recitation, choreographic work or entertainment in mime, the arrangement or acting form of which is fixed in writing so the efforts don’t go fruitless.
• Musicians:– Musical work consists of music and includes any graphical notation of such work so to protect the same.
• Artists:– Artistic work includes painting, drawing, photographs, Work of architecture and work of artistic craftsmanship so if the artist wants to keep his work she must get it registered.
• Journalists/ Movie producers:– They usually make cinematographic films so in order to safeguard the same they must get copyright over the same.

Website owners for contents of websites: – If you have created a website and want to protect your contents being copied to their website. You can file a copyright for each page of the website. Point to remember here every time you change or update contents of your website you need to mention it and take follow up registration.