International Copyright Order
International Copyright Order
International Copyright Order
While the Act itself deals with international copyright under Chapter IX, the
terms ‘foreign works’ or ‘international copyright’ are nowhere defined in the
Act9. However, section 2(l) of the Act defines ‘Indian work’ as a literary,
dramatic, or musical work where
(i) the author of which is a citizen of India; or
Hence, we can presume that works other than Indian Works fall under the
category of Foreign Works. Also, the meaning of ‘Foreign Work’ can be culled
from section 40 of the Act.
Chapter IX deals with International Copyright under sections 40 to 43. In short,
the Act treats the Foreign Works of the countries mentioned in the International
Copyright Order, 1999 as if they were Indian Works, also giving the Central
Government power to restrict the rights of foreign authors under certain
circumstances.
This provision of the Copyright Act enables the Central Government to extend
copyright to foreign works by publishing an Order in the Official Gazette. An
essential feature of this provision is that only the countries mentioned in the
Order, which is The International Copyright Order, 1999, can be accorded
copyright in India. The “territories outside India” mentioned in subsections of
this section must be included in the International Copyright Order of 1999.
Hence countries which do not find their names in the International Copyright
Order, 1999 cannot claim copyright for their works in India. The Central
Government can extend any or all provisions of the Copyright Act to the works
falling under the following categories, thus treating them in a manner as if they
were Indian Works.
(a) Works published in any territory outside India to be treated in a
manner as if they were first published in India
(b) Unpublished works whose authors at the time of making the work were
subjects or citizens of a foreign country to be treated in a manner as if the
authors were Indian citizens.
(c) With respect to the domicile of an author in any territory outside India,
the Copyright Act will apply to him as if his domicile were in India
(d) Any work whose author at the date of the first publication of the work
was a subject or citizen of a foreign country, or who was dead at the time of
the first publication and a subject or citizen of a foreign country, the
Copyright Act will apply to him as if he were an Indian citizen at that date
or time.
PROVISO TO SECTION 40 OF THE COPYRIGHT ACT OF 1957
However, the proviso to this section dictates that before adding a country (other
than those countries with which India has entered into a Treaty or which is a
party to a Convention to which India is a party too) to the International
Copyright Order, 1999 or any other Order made under this section, the Central
Government should make sure that the concerned country has made or
undertaken to make provisions for the protection, in that country, of the works
entitled to copyright under the provisions in the Copyright Act of 1957, in other
words, the concerned foreign country should accord protection to works of
Indian authors.
The term of copyright protection in India shall not exceed the term of
protection accorded in the country of origin of the foreign work. Also, the
term of protection accorded by the foreign country should not exceed the
term of protection accorded by India.
The enjoyment of the rights accorded by the Copyright Act of 1957 shall be
subject to the fulfilment of the formalities and conditions prescribed by the
International Copyright Order, 1999. Also, the International Copyright Order
may provide that the whole of the Copyright Act, 1957 or any part of it shall not
apply to foreign works made before the commencement of the Order or the
Copyright Act; or to works first published before the commencement of the
Order.
This provision empowers the Central Government to extend the rights under
Chapter VIII to broadcasts and performances of foreign countries if it is
satisfied that such country has made or undertaken to make the necessary
provisions for the protection of rights in that country, as it is available in India
under the Copyright Act of 1957. The Central Government can extend the rights
of Broadcasting Organizations conferred under Chapter VIII of the Copyright
Act, 1957
(a) To Broadcasting organizations whose headquarters is situated in a
country which is included in the International Copyright Order, 1999 or
the broadcast was transmitted from a transmitter situated in a country
included in the Order, as if the headquarters of such organization were
situated in India or such broadcast was transmitted from a transmitter
situated in India
(b) To performances that took place in a territory outside India in a
manner as if they took place in India
This section also empowers the International Copyright Order to apply Chapter
VIII either fully or in part to the foreign broadcasts or performances; to
generally or to classes of broadcasts or performances. The term of the rights of
the broadcast organizations and performers in India should not, however,
exceed the term of rights accorded by the country of origin of the foreign work,
provided it does not exceed the period provided in the Copyright Act of 1957.
The enjoyment of the rights under Chapter VIII shall be subject to the fulfilment
of the formalities and conditions specified in the Order. Chapter VIII does not
extend to any performances or broadcasts made before the commencement of
the Order.
(b) There is no copyright in the work in India at the time of the first publication
of the work and
Any international organization which at the material time did not have the legal
capacity of a body corporate shall have and deemed at all material times to have
had the legal capacity of a body corporate for the purpose of holding, dealing
with, and enforcing copyright and in relation to all legal proceedings related to
copyright. The organizations which come under this section are those
organizations which are included in the International Copyright Order, 1999.
SUMMARY
Copyright protection of foreign works in India is achieved through Chapter IX
of the Copyright Act, 1957 and the International Copyright Order, 1999. Only
the countries mentioned in the Schedule of the International Copyright Order,
1999 are eligible to avail the copyright protection and it is deemed to exist
throughout the territory of India. This protection accorded by the Indian
Government is dependent on the protection accorded by the concerned foreign
country to the works of Indian authors. Hence the Copyright Act, 1957
empowers the Central Government to retract any protection or right extended to
a foreign work if it is not satisfied that the country of origin of such foreign
work has not taken enough steps to protect the works of Indian authors. The
foreign works are treated as if they are Indian works. Also, the term of
protection accorded in India shall be the same extended to Indian Works and
should not exceed the term of protection accorded in the country of origin. This
is in consonance with the Principle of National Treatment.