“Copyright” connotes the bundle of “exclusive rights” (subject
to certain exceptions as defined in copyright law) that the law
confers on the owners of the copyright. Copyright is purely a
statutory right i.e., there is no copyright except to the extent
provided by statute, namely (in India) the Copyright Act, 1957
(the “Act”) which has been amended several times, most
recently in 2012. The Copyright Rules, 2013 provide for certain
procedural matters.
The Rights granted to a Copyright owner are
1. Economic Rights,
2. Moral Rights (Author’s Special Rights) 5
In our Act, as in the laws of many other countries, economic
rights are designated as “copyright” and moral rights are
treated as a separate right.
“Economic Rights” allow the copyright owner to gain
monetary benefits from the work. There are mainly two ways
for the owner to gain monetary benefits
First, the copyright owner has the option of granting licenses
which permit others to use the copyright material. These
licenses are mostly non-exclusive (i.e do not prevent the
licensor from licensing the same rights to others) and do not
involve transfer of ownership or title (sec.30). For instance,
radio channels acquire licenses from the copyright owner to
play their music on the radio.
Second, is the right to sell the ownership of copyright. The
ownership of copyright is transferable by “assignment.” The
transfer should be done in writing and must also identify the
specific rights assigned while mentioning the period and
territory.
“Moral rights” of an author, named “author’s special rights” in
India’s Copyright Act: these comprises two rights generally
known (though the Act does not use these terms,) as the
“Right of Paternity”, and “Right of Integrity”.
The “Right of Paternity” refers to the right of an author to
claim authorship of the work and the right to prevent all others
from claiming authorship of his work. Moral rights also seek to
protect the integrity of a work and the author’s connection with
it. The author can seek legal remedies in a Court for
infringement of his right to restrain or claim damages in
respect of any distortion, mutilation, modification or other acts
in relation to the work, if such distortion, mutilation,
modification or other acts would be prejudicial to his honour or
reputation. 6
Unlike, economic rights, moral rights in India and several other
countries are perpetual (capable of being exercised by the
author’s legal representative after the author’s death) and not
subject to any limited term. Further, by their very nature moral
rights cannot be transferred, though it is possible (except in a
few countries) to waive them.
1. Introduction to Copyright
Definition: Legal protection for creators of literary, artistic, musical, and digital works.
Purpose: Balance between creators’ rights and public access.
Importance for librarians: Managing access, reproduction, and dissemination.
2. Core Principles
Economic rights: Reproduction, distribution, performance, communication, adaptation.
Moral rights: Attribution, integrity of the work.
Duration: Generally, 60 years after author’s death (India).
3. Key Terms
Exclusive license vs. non-exclusive license.
Derivative works (adaptations, sequels).
Exhaustion principle (first sale doctrine).
Fixation: Work must be embodied in a tangible medium.
4. Fair Use vs Fair Dealing
Fair dealing in India: Research, criticism, review, reporting, teaching.
Fair use (U.S.): Broader, case-based interpretation.
Librarians must ensure copying falls under exceptions.
5. Library Entitlements
Permitted: Preservation, archiving, classroom use, research copies.
Restricted: Mass photocopying, unauthorized digital distribution.
Licensing: Copyright societies manage permissions.
6. Infringement Examples
Photocopying entire books.
Scanning and emailing copyrighted works.
Unauthorized digital uploads.
7. How to Avoid Infringement
8. Digital Age Challenges
E-books, databases, streaming content.
DRM (Digital Rights Management).
Librarians as gatekeepers of ethical access.
9. International Perspective
India follows Berne Convention, TRIPS Agreement.
Global harmonization of copyright standards.
Differences in U.S. vs Indian law.
10. Practical Guidelines for Librarians
No comments:
Post a Comment