COPYRIGHT PROTECTION IN

THE CYBER WORLD

PRESENTED BY:-
SURBHI
M.COM(E-COM.)
3rd SEM.
Introduction
 Copyright describes the right given to the
creators for their literary, musical & artistic
work,such as novels & poetry, songs, paintings
& sculpture.
 Copyright law protects expressions of ideas
rather than the ideas themselves.copyright refers
to a bundel of exclusive vested in the owner of
copyright by virtue of sec.14 of the copyright
act,1957.
Emergence of Copyright
 The idea of Copyright protection only began to emerge with the invention of printing,
which made it possible for literary works to be duplicated by mechanical processes
instead of being copied by hand.
 By the end of the Seventeenth Century the system of privileges i.e. the grant of
monopoly rights by the Crown was being more and more criticized and the voice of
authors ascertaining their rights began increasingly to be heard; and this led in
England in 1709 to what is acknowledged to be the first Copyright Statute - "The
Statute of Anne".
 In the 18th Century there was continuous dispute and litigation over relationship
between Copyright subsisting at Common Law and Copyright under the Statute of
Anne. This was finally settled by the House of Lords in the case of Donaldson Vs.
Beckett in 1774, which ruled that at Common Law the author had sole right of
printing and publishing his books, but that once a book was published the right in it
were exclusively regulated by the Statute.
Indian Law dealing with Copyright
 The Indian Copyright Act was first passed in 1957. A few
amendments were made in 1983 & in 1984. However
keeping in view with the latest developments in the field of
technology, especially in the field of computers and digital
technologies. The new amendment Act called the Copyright
(Amendment) Act, 1994 (38 of 1994) was passed and this
made Indian Copyright Law is one of the toughest in the
world. This included the definition of "Computer Program"
also in its ambit. It clearly explains the rights of Copyright
holder, position on rentals of software, the rights of the user
to make backup copies and the heavy punishment and fines
on infringement of Copyright of software. It also make it
illegal to make or distribute copies of copyrighted software
without proper or specific authorization.
Main Changes in the new
Amendment Act
 Now "Literary work" includes "computer" and "computer program" also.
Offences :
Section. 63  of the Act provides for the provision of punishment for infringement of
Copyright provided in the Act.

 Section. 63A: Enhanced penalty on 2nd and subsequent convictions.


Section. 63B: Any person who knowingly makes use on a computer of an infringing
copy of a computer program, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which
shall not be less than 7 days but which may be extend to 3 yrs. and with fine which
shall not be less than Rupees 50,000/-, but which may extends to Rupees 2 lacs.

 Section. 64 : Power of police to seize infringing copies.

 Section. 65 : Any person who knowingly makes, or has in his possession, any plate
for the purpose of making infringing copies of any work in which Copyright subsists
is punishable with imprisonment which may extends to 2 yrs. and with fine.
Copyright infringement
 Copyright infringement (or copyright
violation) is the unauthorized use of material
that is covered by copyright law,in a manner
that violates one of the copyright owner's
exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce
or perform the copyrighted work, or to make
derivative works.
Copyright Protection Of Content On
The Internet
 Web content which may be in the form of
text, graphics, audio or video files & the
underlying software programs are all
entitled to protection in acc. With the sec.
43 (b) of the IT Act and the copy right law.
 Sec. 43(b) of the IT Act 2000 imposes the
liability of upto Rs. 1 crore upon a person
who unlawfully downloads data.
Downloading For Viewing Content On
The Internet
 For accessing a page on the page www, the user
actually downloads a copy of that web page on to his
own computer in order to view it , it amounts to
reproduction of the work and if such work enjoys
copyright then such downloading amounts to
infringement.
 But where a web page is downloaded for the purpose of
only viewing the same it does not amounts to copy right
infringement
Liability Of ISPs For Copyright
Violation In Cyber World
 Sec 79 of IT Act 2000 which is in the following terms speaks of the
liability under the IT Act of the network service provider.
 79. Network Service Provider not to be liable in certain cases:
 For the removal of doubts it is here by declared that no person
providing any service as a network service provider shall be liable
under this act, rules or regulations made there under for any third
party info. Or data made available by him if he proves that the
offence or contravention was committed without his knowledge or
that he had exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission
of such offence or contravention.
Copyright in Cyber world and
copyright exceptions
 A number of exceptions allow limited use of copyright works without the permission of
the copyright owner. These uses are known as fair dealing; the main exceptions are as
follows.
 1. Non commercial research and private study - it is permitted to make single copies or
take short extracts of works when used for not-for-profit research, private studying, for
an educational course or for a hobby and only when using literary (written work),
dramatic (theatre), music, artistic work (art, photographs, and so on) or the layout of a
publication (the font size, font style, and so on).
 2. Criticism or review, reporting current events - fair dealing in relation to criticizing or
reviewing and reporting current events is allowed for any type of copyright work (except
a photograph) as long as it is with a sufficient acknowledgment. Photographs cannot be
reproduced for the purpose of reporting current events in order to prevent newspapers
or magazines reproducing competitor's photographs.
 3. Teaching in educational institutions - the fair dealing exceptions in this category
include copying a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work in the course of teaching as
long as a fax machine, photocopier or any device which makes multiple copies is not
used (it would be acceptable for a teacher to write material on a chalkboard and for
students to take their own notes); anything done for setting or answering examination
questions (not including photocopying music to be performed in an exam).
 4. Not for profit playing of music - Generally, playing music or a sound
recording in public requires a licence from the copyright owner or owners.
However, the following activities fall within the scope of certain exceptions
to copyright: playing sound recordings for the benefit of a not-for-profit club,
society or other organisation having charitable purposes as its main
objective, or for religion, education or social welfare; playing broadcasts
that include sound recordings in a public place where the public have not
paid for admission and the playing forms part of the activities of a not-for-
profit organisation or it is necessary for the purposes of demonstrating or
repairing televisions and radios.
 5. Helping visually impaired people - The exception covers you if you are
visually impaired, blind or partially sighted, have a physical disability such
as arthritis, meaning that you cannot hold a book, cannot focus or move
your eyes. It allows you to make a copy of a lawfully obtained copyright
work if you make it into a format that helps you read the material.
 6. Time shifting - A recording of a broadcast can be made in domestic
premises for private and domestic use to enable it to be viewed or listened
to at a more convenient time.
 7. Sufficient acknowledgment link - Acknowledgment is not required when
used for reporting of current events by means of sound recording, film,
broadcast or cable programme.
(1) Copyright Act, 1957 and on-line
copyright issues
 The following provisions of the Copyright Act, 1957 can safely be relied upon for meeting the challenges
of information technology:
 (a) The inclusive definition of computer is very wide which includes any electronic or similar device
having information processing capabilities. Thus, a device storing or containing a copyrighted material
cannot be manipulated in such a manner as to violate the rights of a copyright holder.
 (b) The term computer Programme has been defined to mean a set of instructions expressed in words,
codes, schemes or in any other form, including a machine readable medium, capable of causing a
computer to perform a particular task or achieve a particular result. It must be noted that Section13(a)
read with Section 2(o) confers a copyright in computer Programme and its infringement will attract the
stringent penal and civil sanctions.
 (c) The inclusive definition of literary work includes computer programmes, tables and compilations
including computer databases. Thus, the legislature has taken adequate care and provided sufficient
protection for computer related copyrights.
 (d) The copyrighted material can be transferred or communicated to the public easily and secretly
through electronic means. To take care of such a situation, the Copyright Act has provided the
circumstances which amount to communication to the public. Thus, making any work available for being
seen or heard or otherwise enjoyed by the public directly or by any means of display or diffusion other
than by issuing copies of such work regardless of whether any member of the public actually sees, hears
or otherwise enjoys the work so made available, may violate the copyright. The communication through
satellite or cable or any other means of simultaneous communication to more than one household or
place of residence including residential rooms of any hotel or hostel shall be deemed to be
communication to the public
 (e) The copyright in a work is infringed if it is copied or published without its owner’s consent. The
Copyright Act provides that a work is published if a person makes available a work to the public by issue
of copies or by communicating the work to the public. Thus, the ISPs, BBS providers, etc may be held
liable for copyright violation if the facts make out a case for the same.
 (f) The copyright in a work shall be deemed to be infringed when a person, without a license granted by
the owner of the copyright or the Registrar of Copyrights under this Act or in contravention of the
conditions of a license so granted or of any condition imposed by a competent authority under this Act- 
(i) Does anything, the exclusive right to do which is by this Act conferred upon the owner of the
copyright, or
(ii) Permits for profit any place to be used for the communication of the work to the public where such
communication constitutes an infringement of the copyright in the work, unless he was not aware and
had no reasonable ground for believing that such communication to the public would be an infringement
of copyright.
 (g) The Copyright Act specifically exempts certain acts from the purview of copyright infringement. Thus,
the making of copies or adaptation of a computer Programme by the lawful possessor of a copy of such
computer Programme from such copy in order to utilize the computer Programmed for the purpose for
which it was supplied or to make back-up copies purely as a temporary protection against loss,
destruction, or damage in order only to utilize the computer Programme for the purpose for which it was
supplied, would not be copyright infringement. Similarly, the doing of any act necessary to obtain
information essential for operating inter-operability of an independently created computer Programme
with other programmed by a lawful possessor of a computer Programme is not a copyright violation if
such information is not otherwise readily available. Further, there will not be any copyright violation in the
observation, study or test of functioning of the computer Programme in order to determine the ideas and
principles, which underline any elements of the Programme while performing such acts necessary for the
functions for which the computer Programme was supplied. The Act also makes it clear that the making
of copies or adaptation of the computer Programme from a personally legally obtained copy for non-
commercial personal use will not amount to copyright violation.
(2) Information Technology Act,
2000 and on-line copyright issues
 The following provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000 are relevant to
understand the relationship between copyright protection and information
technology:
 (a) Section 1(2) read with Section 75 of the Act provides for extra-territorial
application of the provisions of the Act. Thus, if a person (including a foreign
national) violates the copyright of a person by means of computer, computer system
or computer network located in India, he would be liable under the provisions of the
Act.
 (b) If any person without permission of the owner or any other person who is in
charge of a computer, computer system or computer network accesses or secures
access to such computer, computer system or computer network or downloads,
copies or extracts any data, computer data base or information from such computer,
computer system or computer network including information or data held or stored in
any removable storage medium, he shall be liable to pay damages by way of
compensation not exceeding one crore rupees to the person so affected. Thus, a
person violating the copyright of another by downloading or copying the same will
have to pay exemplary damages up to the tune of rupees one crore which is
deterrent enough to prevent copyright violation.
 (c) While adjudging the quantum of compensation, the adjudicating officer
shall have to consider the following factors: 
(i) The amount of gain or unfair advantage, wherever quantifiable, made as
the result of the default; 
(ii) The amount of loss caused to any person as a result of the default; 
(iii) The repetitive nature of the default.
 Thus, if the copyright is violated intentionally and for earning profit, the
quantum of damages will be more as compared to innocent infringement.
 (d) A network service provider (ISP) will not be liable under this Act, rules
or regulations made there under for any third party information or data
made available by him if he proves that the offence or contravention was
committed without his knowledge or that he had exercised all due diligence
to prevent the commission of such offence or contravention. The network
service provider under section 79 means an intermediary and third party
information means any information dealt with by a network service provider
in his capacity as an intermediary.
 (e) The provisions of this Act shall have overriding effect notwithstanding
anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time
being in force.[55]
Existing International Norm
 WIPO Copyright Treaty, 1996 [WCT].
 The right of making available to the public the
work in such a way that the members of the public
may access the work from a place and a time
individually chosen by them
Future of copyright in India:
 The copyright laws in India are set to be amended
with the introduction of the provisions for anti-
circumvention and Rights Management
Information in the Indian copyright regime
although India is under no obligation to introduce
these changes as it is not a signatory to WCT or
WPPT. With the amendment of the Copyright Act
in 1994, which came into force on 10 May 1995,
the situation with regard to copyright enforcement
in India has improved.