December 1, 2021 6:51 am
Incorporation of Foreign Company In India
Advantages
- Establishes a public record
- Right to sue infringes in court
- Creation of Goodwill
- Legal Protection to Work
- Protection after owners’ death
Eligible Category
- Cinematography film
- Computer programs
- Website
- Published
- Artistic work
Introduction
With the increasing awareness among people regarding the intellectual property rights and also with the continuous advancement in technology, there is a rush amongst the number of intellectual property rights’ registration in India. Several tailor-made solutions in the zones of Intellectual Property Rights are available today to safeguard the business through Copyright, Trademark, Patents and Registration.
An Overview
Copyright is the legal right to ownership and enjoyment entitled to creators of literary, dramatic, musical, artistic work, producers of cinematograph films, and recordings. In India, copyright registration provides its owner exclusive, sole right to distribute, reproduce, adapt, translate the work, or give authorization to another entity for performing the same.
Copyright Registration is often used by many businesses for producing their literature or user manuals. It provides certain safeguards to the owner such as the right of ownership and enjoyment of the authors over their creations and consequently allows them to protect and reward their creativity.
Copyrights Act, 1957 also provides the right to transfer from the person owning the said Copyright to another or the person’s employer who had commissioned it.
Who can apply for Copyrights?
Any person who has produced any literary, dramatic, musical, artistic work, cinematograph film, or sound recording which is original in nature and not have been previously registered or applied for registration are eligible to get it registered under the Copyright Act, 1957. The Invention produced or prepared must be original and useful in nature.
In India, Copyrights are mainly classified under three classes of work and each of the classes provides its distinctive right.
Individuals who are legally accountable for the submission of a copyright application are as follows:
- The Author – This can either be an individual who has invented the work or the boss or for whomever the work was invented, in case of “made for hire” work.
- The Copyright Claimant – This can either be the author or an organization or an individual who has received ownership rights from the author either via written contract/assignment/will or any other transfer of rights.
- The Authorized Agent – Any individual or institution duly authorized to perform on author’s behalf, other copyright claimant or a holder of exclusive rights.
- The Owner of Exclusive Rights – An owner of any of the exclusive rights that form a copyright to be transferred and separately owned.
Benefits of Copyright Registration
Protection to the invention
Registration of Copyrights protects the invented work from being copied or misused by any unauthorized person be it individual or entity and also ensures certain minimum safeguards over the creation.
Value addition to intangible assets or skills
Registration of Copyrights adds value to the intangible assets of the business or person.
Right to sue
Registration of copyright entitles the owner with a right to sue and file a suit in case of illegal use and infringement.
Builds trust & brand image
Registration of copyright helps in the trust development and creation of a brand image among consumers.
Who can apply for Copyrights?
- Name of Applicant*
- Full Address of the Applicant*
- Nature of Work produced which shall include the class, description, title and language of work (if required)
- Date of Publication (If published)
* Proof to be provided for point 1&2
How to Register a Copyright
The whole process of copyright registration can be divided into four steps:
1. COLLECTION OF REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
Basic documents as stated above are required along with an authorization letter signed by you for filing of application. So, the steps ask for the collection of all these imperative documents.
2. APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION
The next step is to file an application for the registration. Applications must be prepared and submitted to the Registrar of Copyright in the prescribed format. This can either be done via the offline method or online within 2 working days.
After that, the Registrar issues a Diary No., and a waiting period of 30 days is mandatory for receiving objections (if any).
3. CONDUCT HEARING
In case when any objection is received by the Registrar, a hearing on the application of copyright is conducted. The scrutinizer checks the application for any disparity, if no objections are received within the prescribed time of 30days.
4. REGISTRATION OF WORK
In the absence of any disparity, the registration process is completed and the extract of the same is sent to the Registrar for entry.
If a case of disparity, on successful completion of hearing conducted by the Registrar the scrutinizer will again scrutinize the application and will give its decision.
Copyright registration consultants handle the whole process of copyright registration that starts with the collection of documents, continues with application filling, and ends at approval.
Validity of Registered Copyright
The Copyright registered is valid for 60 years. In case literary, dramatic, artistic or musical work the 60 years are counted from the year following death of author and in case of sound recordings, cinematographic films, photographs, anonymous, posthumous publications, pseudonymous publication, work of international organization and work of government, the period for 60 years starts from the date of publication.
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FAQs on Incorporation of Foreign Company In India
1. What type of works can be protected under the Copyright Act, 1957?
The Copyright subsists throughout the India in the following classes of works which are as follows:
- Original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works;
- Cinematograph films; and
- Sound recordings
2. What is the criterion required for the works to be qualified for copyright protection?
Any work which is falling under any of the categories as mentioned above and the said work is seeking to be copyrighted needs to be original; Though, it is not necessary that the said work should posses some original thought or idea. The law is only concerned with the originality of the expression of thought.
3. Who can apply for the Copyright protection in India?
Individuals who are legally accountable for the submission of a copyright application are as follows: The Author – This can either be an individual who has invented the work or the boss or for whomever the work was invented, in case of “made for hire” work. The Copyright Claimant – This can either be the author or an organization or an individual who has received ownership rights from the author either via written contract/assignment/will or any other transfer of rights. The Authorized Agent – Any individual or institution duly authorized to perform on author’s behalf, other copyright claimant or a holder of exclusive rights. The Owner of Exclusive Rights – An owner of any of the exclusive rights that form a copyright to be transferred and separately owned.
4. What are the rights granted to the copyright holder?
A copyright registered grants protection to the right holder/creator and his/her representatives for the works and prevents such works from being copied or reproduced without the prior consent. The creator/originator of a work can prohibit or he/she/it can authorize anyone to:
- reproduce the said work in any form, such as prints, sound, video, etc;
- use the said work for a public performance, such as a play or a musical work;
- make copies or recordings of the work, like via compact discs, cassettes, etc.;
- broadcasting it in various forms; or
- translating the same to various other languages
5. Are any moral rights protected under the Copyright Act, 1957 (like rights to be identified as an author of a work or to object to the derogatory treatment of a work)?
Yes, the Copyright Act, 1957 grants the author “special rights,” which exist independently and solely with the author’s copyright, and subsists with him/her even after the assignment (wholly or partially) of the said copyright. There are following right granted to the author which are as follows:-
- Right to claim authorship of the work; and
- Right to restrain or claim damages with respect to any distortion, mutilation, modification, or other act in
- Relation to the said work if such distortion, mutilation, modification, or other act would be prejudicial to.
- his honor or repute
6. What is the duration of copyright in protected works?
The duration of protection for the copyright works varies with the type of work and the date of creation:
| Category of work | Duration |
| Literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works | The Copyright expires in 60 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author dies. Where a work has a joint author/ co-author, the time period starts from 60 years from the end of the calendar year in which the last known author dies. Where the author’s identity is not known then the copyright expires in 60 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was first published. |
| Sounds recordings | The Copyright shall subsist until the next 60 years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which such sound recording is published |
| Cinematograph Films | The Copyright shall subsist until the 60 years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which such film is published |
7. For how much time do the moral rights subsist in copyright works?
The author’s moral right as a right against the distortion is available even after the expiry of the term of the copyright.
8. Can a copyright in a work be jointly owned by the individual? If yes, what are the rights of the co-owner?
As per the Copyright Act, the “work of joint authorship” means a work produced by with the collaboration of two or more authors in which the contribution of one author is not different from the contribution of the other authors. Hence, the Act recognizes the joint authorship. The Joint authors fully enjoy all of the rights granted under the Act. The tenure of copyright of a work in case joint authorship is calculated with respect to the author that dies last.
9. What step should be taken to validly transfer, assign or license the copyright?
An assignment of the copyright shall be valid only if it is reduced to writing duly signed by the assignor or by his/her authorized agent.
10. Under what circumstances the Copyright be used without a license?
Following are the special circumstances under which a copyright can be used without a license:
- For the purpose of private study, research or entertainment etc.
- Quoting for an appropriate portion from the Copyright work
- Reporting of the current events in newspapers, magazines or radios/television etc.
- Translation or reproducing it in small quantity for use by the teachers or scientific researches
- Performance free of charge
- Copying, drawing, photographing or recording an artistic work which is placed or displayed in an outdoor public space
- Usage by government officials in performance of their duties
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