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A work of literature, drama, music or art is an intellectual property. It must be protected from illegal copying or reproducing it. The Copyright Act, 1957 accords this protection.
This law is based on two competing considerations. One, the creator's property, that is, the original works need to be protected. Two, for advancement of knowledge in the interest of the society, there should be some amount of freedom to produce parts of other people's copyrighted works. Copyright has been held to be a right which a person acquires in a work which is the result of his intellectual labour. The primary function of the copyright law is to protect from annexation by other people the fruits of a man's work, labour or skill.
In respect of the Press, copyright means, under Section14 of the Copyright Act, 1957, the exclusive right in the case of a literary, dramatic or musical work, to do and authorize the doing in substantive form of any of the following acts, namely:
- to reproduce the work in any material form;
- to publish the work;
- to make any adoption of a work; and
- to reproduce or publish translation of the work.
Punishment for knowingly infringing or abetting the infringement of a copy right is imprisonment which may exceed up to one year or fine or both.
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