POOR MAN'S COPYRIGHT

INTRODUCTION

Copyright creates a rights of the creators over their literary and artistic works which includes books, films, paintings as well as computer programs, databases, advertisements, technical drawings etc. Although it is not compulsory for the creator to register his work under the Act, however it is advisable to register one’s work as copyrighted to have a solid evidence in case of any dispute over copyright of the work. 

Poor Man's Copyright uses registered dating by the postal service or any other trusted source to date the work so created, which helps to establish that the work has been in one's possession since a particular time. The concept is based on the idea that if this intellectual property of a person is misused by a third party then in that case the poor-man's copyright would at least establish that on the particular date, the work was in the possession of the person, before any proof that a third party may hold.

POOR MAN'S COPYRIGHT, A SUBSTITUTE TO REGISTRATION?

In Poor man’s copyright the creator sends to oneself a copy of one’s own work. It is done to create an evidence of the fact that the creator of the same was in the possession of the said published work since this particular day. Generally, to determine who the first user is, the Court looks for when the work was first published. It is assumed that the seal on the envelope makes it possible to prove that the creator was the first user. In case of a later copyright dispute, the creator may take this sealed envelope to court and open it up proving that the work is his.

One looks at this Poor man’s Copyright as a concrete proof and assumes that  losing the copyright case with such material evidence on their side is impossible. Unfortunately, both the case and evidence are weaker than thought. In fact, both might turn out to be worthless. Copyright is automatic for any creative work as soon as it is fixed in a permanent medium and Registration is not required to gain copyright protection, but to attain an additional legal tools to enforce one’s copyright.

Some important benefits of registering a work includes :

1. creating a public record of the ownership by the copyright holder,
2. enabling the holder of the copyright to take legal action against infringers in a court,
3. in case registration is made within a short span of time or at any time prior to the infringement of the copyrighted work, the copyright owner can claim statutory damages.

Without Registration, only an award with reference to actual damages and profits can be claimed, which can be quite complicated to prove in a court of law.

Poor man’s Copyright, on the other hand just proves the fact that the creator was in possession of the work on the particular date, however, it is only without any undisputed evidence. One of the biggest problems with the poor man’s copyright is that it’s easy to tamper with mails or letters, so it’s not very reliable as evidence. One can mail an envelope with nothing in it just to obtain a dated stamp on it, and then place something in the envelope later. One can steam an envelope open and replace the material in it. Thus, it cannot not recognized as a substitute to Registration.

WHAT IS COPYRIGHT LAW? WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION IN INDIA?, To KNOW MORE WATCH THIS - 

DRAWBACK TO POOR MAN'S COPYRIGHT 

Of the several problems with the modern Internet “electronic date stamp” version of these methods - the thought that in case someone steals one’s work or claims it as their own, then one can provide this dated stamp as a “proof” of creation and copyright ownership, is misguided. These methods fail to provide any record of who the authors are or who might have contributed to the work. A date stamp or sealed envelope only suggests that the work existed at a certain time, but it in now way answers the most important question: Who owns this work?

Other issue with this practice is that while as a matter of logic the work had to have been created on or before it was mailed or posted, it fails to indicate when the work was indeed created. For example, if A creates a work in February 2020, but doesn't mail or post it until September 2020, the date/timestamp A seeks to use as evidence will be in September. Meanwhile, if B somehow has access to A’s work, copies a portion of that work, and releases and/or registers his new work for copyright in June 2020, then B’s work will have a date of June and A’s work will have a date of September, without concrete proof that his or her work was actually written in February, before B’s work.

While it holds truth that A can always show that B had access to his/her work, a date on a copyright registration certificate of B will almost always surpass the date or timestamp and other date evidence. If A had registered for copyright protection, he or she could have indicated that the work was created in February even if he or she filed later. Furthermore, A is left with no strong option to defend his/her work if infringed, as A cannot even sue for infringement in the Court without having a copyright registration.

POOR MAN'S COPYRIGHT AND LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

Bringing “poor man’s copyright” into the modern world, the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO), has introduced a new business service - WIPO PROOF, a secure and tamper proof digital timestamp allocatable to any intellectual property. This service will be useful to organisations that have Intellectual Property rights that have not undergone the official registration processes. This new process will now allow authentic proof of existence at a particular time for copyright, trade secrets, research data and confidential know-how such as formulae, recipes and methods. This new service has a nominal charge and the timestamps need to be renewed every two years

CONCLUSION

Poor man's copyright may not be a very effective method of protecting one’s work against infringement as in a court of law, it is very unlikely that it would prove one’s copyright ownership. Because of such drawbacks, poor man’s copyright is not a substitute for registration. However, in a highly dynamic global economy where value is increasingly based on human activity enabled by digital technologies and big data, it is critical to be able to prove that you were in possession of your intellectual asset's digital files and the innovations in this path may prove to be worthy.

BY - SHRIJA VERMA