INTRODUCTION

Copyright is a bundle of exclusive rights given by the law to the creators of original works. It is a
form of intellectual property protection granted by law. The rights provided under Copyright law
include the rights of reproduction of the work, communication of the work to the public, adaptation
of the work and translation of the work.
Copyright laws serve to create property rights for certain kinds of intellectual property, generally
called works of authorship. Copyright laws protect the legal rights of the creator of an ‘original
work’ by preventing others from reproducing the work in any other way.

The main goals of copyright are: -

 To encourage the development of culture, science and innovation

 To provide a financial benefit to copyright holders for their works
 To facilitate access to knowledge and entertainment for the public.
Copyright provides a framework for relationships between the different players in the content
industries, as well as for relationships between rights holders and the consumers of content.
Copyright is a form of Intellectual Property, along with trademarks and patents in all countries,
and other creations (such as trade secrets, database rights, rights of publicity and the like) that may
vary from country to country.

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO RELATED INTERNATIONAL TREATIES AND

CONVENTIONS

Indian copyright law is at parity with the international standards as contained in TRIPS. The
(Indian) Copyright Act, 1957, pursuant to the amendments in 1999, 2002 and 2012, fully reflects
the Berne Convention for Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, 1886 and the Universal
Copyrights Convention, to which India is a party. India is also a party to the Geneva Convention
for the Protection of Rights of Producers of Phonograms and is an active member of the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

International copyright treaties

Several international treaties encourage reasonably coherent protection of copyright from country
to country. They set minimum standards of protection which each signatory country then
implements within the bounds of its own copyright law.
1. Berne Convention, 1886
Berne convention was the first and oldest multilateral convention on copyright that was for the
protection of literary and artistic work which was adopted in 1886.
Initially 10 nations were part of this convention and today 152 nations out of 190 are part of it.
This convention made a union for the protection of rights of the authors in their literary and artistic
work.
 The Berne Convention provides that, at a minimum, copyright protection in all signatory countries
should extend to “literary and artistic works”, including “every production in the literary, scientific
and artistic domain, whatever may be the mode or form of its expression.”

The Berne Convention contributed some major concerns to the copyright laws: -
1. The work originating in one signatory nation of Berne Convention to be protected in the
same manner in other nations too.
2. The automatic protection was granted to the author’s work and was not subjected to any
registration deposition fees or any formal notice in connection with the publication. This
means that the copyright exists as soon as the work is “FIXED” i.e. recorded in any form.
3. If any dispute arises in the nation of origin, then the dispute can be filed in either of both
nations.
4. It described types of works protected, duration of protection, scope of exceptions and
Limitations of copyright.
5. Principles such as “national treatment” (works originating in one signatory country are
given the same protection in the other signatory countries as each grants to works of its
own nationals)
6. Principles such as “automatic protection” (copyright inheres automatically in a qualifying
work upon its fixation in a tangible medium and without any required prior formality).

2. WIPO Copyright Treaty

The WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) is a special agreement under the Berne Convention which
deals with the protection of works and the rights of their authors in the digital environment. In
addition to the rights recognized by the Berne Convention, they are granted certain economic
rights. The Treaty also deals with two subject matters to be protected by copyright:
i.Computer programs, whatever the mode or form of their expression; and
ii.Compilations of data or other material ("databases").
The treaty was signed in 1996 and also recognizes that the transmission of works over the Internet
and similar networks is an exclusive right within the scope of copyright, originally held by the
creator.
It categorizes as copyright infringements both: -
 The circumvention of technological protection measures attached to works
 The removal from a work of embedded rights management information.

3. The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)

The Agreement on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) is comprehensive in giving
cover to all areas of technology, property, patents, trademarks, copyrights and so on.
The TRIPs encourages upon the member country’s sovereign right to frame its own legislation on
intellectual property matters. This clause has been included on account of persistent demand from
the developed and industrialized countries.
The TRIPs Agreement covers seven categories of intellectual property rights:
 Copyright
 Trademarks
 Geographical Indications
 Industrial Designs
 Patents
 Integrated Circuits
 Trade Secrets

It was signed in 1996 and administered by the world trade organization. This agreement includes
a number of provisions related to the enforcement of Intellectual Property rights. It says
that national laws have to make the effective enforcement of Intellectual Property rights
possible, and describes in detail how enforcement should be addressed.

INDIAN COPYRIGHTS ACT, 1957

Copyright law protects expressions of ideas rather than the ideas themselves. It protects original
works of ownership. It gives an exclusive right to do or authorize others to do certain acts in
relation to literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, cinematography and sound recordings.
Computer programmes are also included in literary works. Authors of Computer programmes,
broadcasting organizations are to be given the right to authorize or prohibit the commercial rental
of their works to the public. These similar exclusive rights also apply to the films.

The Copyright Act, 1957, along with the Copyright Rules, 1958, is the governing law for copyright
protection in India. After independence, the Indian Copyright Act was the first law which was
enacted from the provisions of Berne Convention.

Objectives:

The Indian Copyright Act, 1957 is enacted with the following two main objectives:

1. Encouragement to the Original Work:

The main objective of the Copyright Act is to encourage authors, composers, artists, and designers
to create original works by rewarding them with the exclusive right for a limited period (usually
for the life of the originator plus 50 years) to exploit the work for monetary gain.
The economic exploitation is done by licensing such exclusive rights to the entrepreneurs like
publishers, film producers and record manufacturers for monetary consideration. In reality, people
who economically exploit the copyright are the greater beneficiaries of the copyright law than the
creators of works of copyright. The publishers and authors of books are such examples.

2. Protection to the Originator:

The objective of copyright law is also, in essence, to protect the author or the creator of the original
work from the unauthorized reproduction or exploitation of his/her materials. The right also
extends to prevent others from exercising without authority any other form of right attached to
copyright, for example, in case of literary work, the right of translation, adaptation or abridgement.
In recent times, with the rapid advance of technology, copyright infringement in the form of
‘piracy’ has become a serious problem of international character. This is because the technological
progress has made reproduction of copyright material easy and cheap.
 Accordingly, the Indian copyright owners can protect their copyright in almost any country in the
world. The appropriate actions taken under the Copyright Act 1957 can stop infringement of
copyright. Infringement of copyright is also an offence punishable with imprisonment and fine.

DEVELOPMENT OF COPYRIGHT LAWS IN INDIA

The Indian Copyright law was developed in 3 phases:

1. Early Phase: - In 1911, the earliest statutory law on copyright was made under the
administration of British rule. The provisions of the Berne convention were followed.
During that phase, the term of copyright was for the lifetime of the author plus 7 years after
his death and the government could grant compulsory license to publish a book. The
registration was also made necessary in 1914.
2. Modern Phase: - Copyright Act of 1911 was again amended in 1914 and it was also called
modern copyright legislation. For the very first time criminal sanction was introduced in
act for infringement of copyright. The term of the copyright was fixed for 10 years from
the date of its first publication. This act remained applicable until replaced by Copyright
Act, 1957.
3. 1957 Phase: - The Act was enacted after the independence of the nation from British rule.
It was the first enactment of intellectual property laws. It came into force on 21 st January
1958. Major provisions of act were adopted by the Berne convention of protection of
literary and artistic work, 1886.
This act is amended 6 times till now to align with rapid changes in society and provisions
of international treaties i.e. Berne Convention, UCC, TRIPs Agreement.

SUBJECT MATTER OF COPYRIGHT, ECONOMICS AND MORAL RIGHTS

Modern copyright laws serve to protect a variety of intellectual property ranging from songs and
jingles to computer software and proprietary databases. All subject matters protected by copyright
are called ‘works’. Thus according to Section 13 of The Copyright Act 1957, it may be subjected
for the following works:
Clause (a) of this Section 13 provides the definition of original work whereas clause (b) and (c)
provides secondary works.
1. Primary Works
1. Original Literary Work,
2. Original Dramatic work,
3. Original Musical work,
4. Original Artistic Work,
2. Secondary Works
1. Cinematography films, and
2. Sound recordings.
 Original Literary Works:
Section 2(o) of the Copyright Act, 1957 provides an inclusive definition of word literary works
according to which the literary work includes computer programming, tablets, and compilations
including computer database. These cover published works including books, articles, journals, and
periodicals, as well as manuscripts. Even adaptations, translations, and abridgements are taken as
 original works and are protected under copyright law. Section 13(a) classify literary works in the
primary work.

Case: Zee Telefilms v. Sundial Communications

Facts: A had prepared concept notes for the purpose of television film which consist of characters,
plots, notes and sketches etc.
Issues: Whether A is entitled to copyright of those concept notes?
Held: Yes, since A invests labour and skill in preparing the concept paper. Such person is entitled
for copyright.

Case: Macmillan & Co. v. K.J Cooper

Facts: Plaintiff’s book consisted of selected passages by Plutarch’s life of Alexander the great,
joined together by few words to give a different appearance. The book also contained an
introduction and notes useful for education. A similar book was published by defendants with
notes. The original work contained 40,000 words while the defendants had copied 20,000 words
and 7000 words in notes.
Issue: Whether the defendants work infringed the copyright in the plaintiff’s works?
Held: Defendants work infringed the copyright

 Original Dramatic Works:

According to section 2(h) of the Copyright Act, 1957, the dramatic work includes any piece for
recitation, choreographic work or entertainment in dumb shows, the scenic arrangement or acting
form which is fixed in writing or otherwise but does not include a cinematographic film. Since the
definition is an inclusive one, the other things fall within the general meaning of dramatic work,
and may also be covered by the definition.
Case: Academy of General Education Manipal v. Malini Mallya
Court shows clear difference between literary and dramatic work. The difference between the two
rests on the fact that literary work allows itself to be read while a dramatic work “forms the text
upon which the performance of the plays rests.” A dance performance will not be covered under
copyright work but under dramatic work.
Case: Creation Records v. New Group Newspaper
Held: It was held that a photograph which involves no movement or action cannot be treated as
dramatic work. Copyright of Dramatic work can in form of:
Adaption of Dramatic work:- Adaptation work means modification of that work in some other
form.
 Original Musical Works:
According to section 2(p) of the Copyright Act, 1957, the musical work means any work consisting
of music and includes any graphical notion of such work, but does not include any words or any
action intended to be sung, spoken or performed with the music. The words in a song and the music
have separate rights and the rights cannot be merged. In order to qualify for copyright protection,
a musical work must be original.
Example:- Famous song “Yaaram” which is written by Gulzar and composed by Vishal
Bharadwaj. The copyright of the lyrics will belong to Gulzar and musical composition will be of
the composer Vishal Bharadwaj.

 Original Artistic Works:

 According to the section 2(c) of the Copyright Act, 1957, the artistic work includes any painting,
sculpture, drawing, engraving photograph of any work possessing artistic qualities. However, it
also includes the architecture and artistic craftsmanship of such works.
Case: Associated publishers vs Bashyam
Facts: A portrait of Mahatma Gandhi was made based on two photographs.
Held: A portrait based on photographs will be entitled to copyright if it produced a result from the
photograph and the portrait itself is original.
Example: A photographer took a photograph of a painting of MF Hussain, then paints the same
himself and sells such copies painted by him.
Held: A copyright in a painting is infringed when a person copies from the original painting or a
picture of painting.
 Cinematographic Films
Section 2(f) of the Copyright Act, 1957 defines cinematographic films which includes any work
of visual recording and a sound recording accompanying such visual recording and the expression
cinematograph shall be construed as including any work produced by any process analogous to
cinematographic including video films. It is classified into secondary works as suggested in clause
(b) of section 13 of the act.
Case: R.G. Anand vs Delux Films
Facts: Plaintiff was a producer and play writer of play ‘Hum Hindustani’. The plaintiff tried to
consider the possibility of filming and narrated the play to defendant. The defendant, without
informing the plaintiff, made the picture ‘New Delhi’ which was alleged to be based on the said
play.
Issue: Whether the film ‘New Delhi’ was an infringement of the plaintiff’s copyright in play ‘Hum
Hindustani’?
Held: No, because the stories were different, only the theme “love story” was same.
Case: Balwinder Singh vs Delhi Administration
Held: The concept of cinematograph is not only limited to movies being played in theater it also
covers videos and television, they both fall under the preview of cinematograph film.
Level of Originality:

A television report or documentary may be based upon a live incident or a newspaper report, thus
the act does not prescribe any specified level of originality in the cinematographic film.

 Sound Recordings:

According to section 2(xx) of The Copyright Act, 1957, sound recording suggests that a
recording of sounds from which that sound may be produced regardless of the medium on which
such recording is made or the method by which the sounds are produced. Clause (c) of section 13
of the act state sound recordings as a by-product works.
Case: Gramophone Co. India v. Super Cassette Industries
Facts: ‘G.co’, Plaintiff, produced audio records titled ‘Hum Aapke Hain Kaun’ by Rajashree
production ltd, who were the owners of cinematographic work. They had already sold 55 lakhs
audio cassettes and 40,000 compact discs titled ‘Hum Aapke Hain Kaun’. The defendants too
launched an audio cassette by adopting the same title with its design, color scheme, get up and
layout deceptively similar. Permanent Injunction was sought.
Held: Injunction varied by stipulating not to use the same title, design colour scheme etc with bold
letters the record is version of different artists.
RIGHTS OF THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER
In the Copyright Act, 1957, the owner possesses the rights which are to prevent others from using
his works in certain ways and to claim compensation for the usurpation of that right. In this Act,
there are two types of rights given to the owner:

 Economical rights;
 Moral rights.

Economic rights
This right is also known as the Exclusive Rights of the copyright holder provided under Section
14 of the Act. In this Act different types of work come with different types of rights. Such as:

1. In the case of original literary, musical, and dramatic work:

 Right to reproduce;
 Right to issue copies;
 Right to perform at public;
 Right to make cinematography and sound recording;
 Right to make any translation;
 Right to adaptation; and
 Right to do any other activities related to the translation or adaptation.
2. In the case, of computer program work:
 Right to do any act aforesaid mentioned; and
 Right to sell, rent, offer for sale of the copyrighted work.
3. In the case of artistic work:
 Right to reproduce;
 Right to communicate;
 Right to issue copies;
 Right to make any cinematography and sound recording;
 Right to make an adaptation; and
 Right to do any other activities related to the translation or adaptation.
4. In case of a cinematograph film work:
 Right to sell, rent, offer for sale of the copyrighted work; and
 Right to communicate.
5. In the case of a sound recording work:

 Right to communicate;
 Right to issue copies; and
 Right to sell, rent, offer for sale of the copyrighted work.

Moral rights
In addition to the protection of economic rights, the Copyright Act, 1957 conjointly protects the
ethical rights, that is due to the actual fact that a literary or inventive work reflects the temperament
of the creator, just as much as the economic rights reflects the author’s need to keep the body and
the soul of his work out from commercial exploitation and infringement. These rights are supported
by Article 6 of the Berne Convention of 1886, formally referred to as a world convention for the
protection of literary and inventive works, whose core provision relies on the principle of national
treatment, i.e. treats the opposite good as one’s own.
Section 57 of The Copyright Act, 1957 recognize two types of moral rights which are:

 Right to paternity– which incorporates the right to assert the authorship of the work, and right
to forestall others from claiming authorship of his work; and
 Right to integrity- which incorporates right to restrain, or claim of damages in respect of any
distortion, modification, mutilation, or any other act relates to the said work if such distortion,
multiplication or alternative act would be prejudiced to claimant honor or name.

AUTHORSHIP AND OWNERSHIP IN COPYRIGHT

Section 17 of this Act recognizes the author as the first owner, which states that subject to the
provision of this Act, the author of a work shall be the first owner of the copyright therein:

 In the case of literary or dramatic composition, the author,

 In the case of musical work, the musician,
 In the case of creative work apart from photography, the artist,
 In the case of photographic work, the artist,
 In the case of cinematographic or recording work, the producer,
 In case of any work generated by any computer virus, the one who created.
However, this provision provided to bound exception:

 In case of creation is made by the author underemployment of the proprietor of any newspaper,
magazine or any periodic, the said proprietor,
 In the case where a photograph is taken, painting or portrait is drawn, cinematograph is made
for the valuable consideration of any person, such person,
 In case of a work done in the course of the author’s employment under the contract of service,
such employer,
 In case of address or speech delivered on behalf of another person in public, such person,
 In the case of government works, the government,
 In the case of work done under direction and control of public undertaking such public
undertaking, and
 In the case of work done in which provision of Section 41 apply, concerned international
organizations.

ASSIGNMENT OF COPYRIGHT
The owner of the copyright can generate wealth not only by exploiting it but also by sharing it
with others for mutual benefit. This can be done by the way of assignment and licensing of
copyright.
Only the owner of the copyright has the right to assign his existing or future copyrighted work
either wholly or partly and as a result of such assignment the assignee becomes entitled to all the
rights related to copyright to the assigned work, and he shall be treated as the owner of the
copyright in respect of those rights.
Mode of the assignment agreement
As per Section 19, these conditions are necessary for a valid assignment:
 It should be in writing and signed;
 It should specify the kinds of rights assigned and the duration or territorial extent; and
 It should specify the amount of royalty payable if required in any case.
It is also provided that, if the period is not mentioned in the agreement it will be considered as five
years and if the territorial extent is not stipulated in the agreement, it will be considered as
applicable to the whole of India.
Disputes related to the assignment of copyright
According to the Copyright Act, 1957, the appellant board where the receipt of the complaint by
the assignor and after holding necessary inquiry finds that the assignee has failed to make the
exercise of the rights assigned to him, and such failure is attributed to any act or omission of the
assignor, may by suitable order, revoke such assignment. However, if the dispute arises with
respect to the assignment of any copyright then that appellate board may also order the recovery
of any royalty payable.
Operation of law in assignment
According to The Copyright Act, 1957, where under a bequest a person is entitled to the manuscript
of any literary, dramatic or any other kind of work and such work has not been published before
the death of the testator, unless the contrary is proved such person shall be treated as the owner for
such work.
INFRINGEMENT AND REMEDIES
Where a person intentionally or unintentionally infringes the rights of the copyright holder, the
holder may be subject to the following remedies available under this Act.
Civil remedies
These remedies are given under Section 55 of the Copyright Act, 1957 which are:
Interlocutory injunction
This is the most important remedy against the copyright infringement, it means a judicial process
by which one who is threatening to invade or has invaded the legal or equitable rights of another
is restrained from commencing or continuing such act, or is commanded to restore matters to the
position in which they stood previous to the relation. Thus for granting the interlocutory injunction,
the following three factors are considered as necessary:

 Prima facie case, an assumption of the court that the plaintiff can succeed in the case and
become eligible for relief.
 Balance of convenience, in it the court will determine which parties suffer the greater harm,
this determination can vary with the facts of each case.
 Irreparable injury, it is difficult to decide and determine on a case by case basis. Some
examples of it include- loss of goodwill or irrevocable damages to reputation, loss of market
share.

Mareva injunction
This is a particular form of the interlocutory injunction which restrains the defendant from
disposing of assets that may be required to satisfy the plaintiff’s claim or for removing them from
the jurisdiction of the Court.
Anton Piller order
This order is passed to take into possession the infringed documents, copies and other relevant
material of the defendant, by the solicitor of the plaintiff. This order is named after the famous
case of Anton Piller KG v/s Manufacturing Process Ltd, 1976. In this case, the plaintiff Antone
Piller, the German manufacturer is successful in passing ex-parte awards of restraining the use of
his copyrighted products against the defendant.
John Deo’s order
In this order, the Court has the power to injunct rather than those impeded in the suit, who may be
found violating the rights in the field of copyright. Thus this order is issued against the unknown
person, who has allegedly committed some wrong, but whose identities cannot entertain the
plaintiff.
Pecuniary remedies
There are three types of pecuniary remedies provided:

1. An account of profit, which lets the owner seek the sum of money made, equal to the
profit made through unlawful conduct.
2. Compensatory damages, which let the copyright owner seek the damages he suffered.
3. Conversational damages, which are assessed to the value of the article.

Criminal remedies
For infringement of copyright, the criminal remedies provided under Section 63:

 Imprisonment, not less than 6 months which may extend up to 3 years;

 Fine may not be less than 50,000 which may extend up to 2,00,000;
 Search and seizure of copyrighted goods; and
 Delivery of copyrighted goods to the copyrighted owner.
In the case of repeat offenders, minimum punishment terms of 1 year and fine of 1 lakh however,
the highest punishment will be the same as the first time offender.
EXCEPTIONS
This act shall not constitute copyright infringement in cases of:
Fair Dealing
Fair dealing is the statutory limitation on the exclusive right of the copyright owner which permits
reproduction or use of copyrighted work in a manner that otherwise would have constituted
infringement. This law is given under Section 52 of the Copyright Act, 1957 according to which
the free uses can be made for any work except computer program for the purposes:

 For private and personal use including research,

 For criticism and review,
 For reporting of current events or issues including lectures in public,
 For broadcasting in cinematographic films or by posting photographs,
 For reproduction and reporting of any judicial proceeding,
 For reproduction, or publication of any kind of work prepared by the secretariat of a legislature,
 For reproduction of any kind of work in a certified copy made or supplied accordance with any
law,
 For reading and recitation of any literary or dramatic work in the public domain,
 For publication of any non-copyright matter bona fide intended for the use of educational
institutes, and
 For recording any sound by the owner of the right in the work.

INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT ORDERS

Chapter IX of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957 describe the provisions of international copyright.
Section 40 states the powers to extend copyright to foreign works and section 42 govern the
provisions as to works of certain international organizations.
Power to extend copyright to foreign works are as follows -
The Central Government may, by order published in the Official Gazette, direct that all or any
provisions of this Act, shall apply.
(a) To published work first within the territory of India and then outside
(b) To unpublished works, the authors whereof were at the time of the making of the work, subjects
or citizens of a foreign country to which the order relates, in like manner as if the authors were
citizens of India.
(c) In respect of domicile in any territory outside India to which the order relates in like manner as
if such domicile were in India
(d) To any work of which the author was at the date of the first publication thereof, or, in case
where the author was dead at the date, was at the time of his death, a subject or citizens of foreign
country to which the order relates in like manner as if the author was a citizen of India at that date
or time.
According to section 42 of the act, it provides power to restrict rights in works of foreign authors
first published in India – If it appears to the Central Government that a foreign country does not
give or has not undertaken to give adequate protection to the works of Indian authors, the Central
Government may, by order published in the Official Gazette, direct that such of the provisions of
this Act as confer copyright on works first published after the date specified in the order, the
authors whereof are subjects or citizens of such foreign country and are not domiciled in India,
and thereupon those provisions shall not apply to such works.
ISSUES IN DIGITAL COPYRIGHTS
Digital Right Management includes techniques which have been developed to control duplication,
modification and distribution of original works. The authors or the creators of the original works
contend that DRM techniques are necessary in order to protect their interest by preventing free and
unauthorized copying and distribution of their work.
However there are few who support the view that DRM techniques pose unnecessary hurdles for
the public and impede the way of innovation and creativity by not letting others from being
motivated by the original work of others.
PROVISIONS UNDER INDIAN COPYRIGHT LAW
Many techniques have been developed to protect the original work like digital watermarking,
access and copy controls etc. However, despite the fact that these techniques have been
incorporated in the legislations, regulation and protection of original works in the digital
environment remains a goal that is yet to be achieved. It is very important that ideas should be
available to the general public so that the flow of creativity must not be blocked. However creators
and authors must always be incentivized for their efforts. Hence the interest of both must be kept
in mind while enacting and implementing DRM techniques.
Strengthening of Border Measures
Section 53, dealing with importation of infringing copies, has been substituted with a new section
providing detailed border measures to strengthen enforcement of rights by making provision to
control import of infringing copies by the Customs Department, disposal of infringing copies and
presumption of authorship under civil remedies.
Protection of Technological Measures
The new section 65A, introduced for protection of technological protection measures (TPM) used
by a copyright owner to protect his rights on the work, makes circumvention of it a criminal offence
punishable with imprisonment.
As a result, any person who circumvents an effective technological measure applied for the
protection of any of the rights, with the intention of infringing such rights, shall be punishable with
imprisonment, which may extend to two years and shall also be liable to fine. The rationale is to
prevent the possibility of high rate infringement (digital piracy) in the digital media.
This amendment also clarifies the problem of circumvention impacting the public interest on
access to work facilitated by the copyright laws. Sub-section (2) permits circumvention for
specified uses.
Digital Rights Management Information
Section 65B has been introduced to provide protection of rights management information, which
has been defined under clause (xa) of section 2.
This amendment is intended to prevent the removal of the rights management information without
authority and distributing any work, fixed performance or phonogram, after removal of rights
management information. As a result, any unauthorized and intentional removal or alteration of
any rights management information is a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment, which
may extend to two years and fine. The rationale of the protection emanates from the practice in the
digital world of managing the rights through online contracts governing the terms and conditions
of use.
The protection of technological measures and rights management information were introduced in
WCT and WPPT as effective measures to prevent infringement of copyright in digital
environments. The introduction of Sections 65A and 65B is expected to help the film, music and
publishing industry in fighting piracy.