INTRODUCTION TO COPYRIGHT LAW

Copyright was introduced in India in order to give some rights to the original makers in the field of literature, drama, music and various other works involving the work of mind .It means that the maker has got the sole right of duplicating his/her work and no other is responsible and has got the right to do the same. Thus if any sort of rights are infringed then laws are made in order to get over that critical situation. The origin of copyright was marked by the innovation of printing press. The easy mode of getting books printed and articles being available by great scholars made all things on silver spoon and thus increased the chances of copyright and piracy. Piracy was known to the public in across fifteenth century.

A law was laid down in England that was known “Queen Anne’s Statue” Which has provided right to reprint the books to authors for a certain period of time. The law was 1710 laid law and extended till reprinting of books only. At that point of time the law did not include restrictions on paintings, drawings, etc. but the aspects mentioned were a part of piracy. There was another law introduced to overcome such situations or above mentioned aspects known as “Engravers Act” in 1735. Other enactments were introduced and then came the Copyright Act in 1911.

The world has entered into the era of instant communication. People in remote areas can enjoy live performances in any corner of the world. This is all because of electronic media. The internet and email have made communication more effective and messages can reach across the globe in seconds. Now various ways of communication has also been introduced through internet. This modern communication has created the communication more effective in terms of time and cost. Modern communication relying more on copyright products can be pirated on large scale and that’s why adequate precautions should be exercised.

FAIR USE DOCTRINE

Copyright is the right which is given by the law to the creators of literary, musical and there variety of worked which is done in minds. Copyright generally means that only creator has the right to make copies of his/her work and no one else is allowed to make alternate copies of that. Copyright has the basic idea that innovations want incentives and only copyright can convert this innovation and gives a legal sanction. Copyright thus yields income to the creator and rewards individual creativity.

Besides Protecting the Society, copyright contributes to the development of economy also. The copyright provides huge employment opportunities to the country. There are two views on the economic importance of copyright; it is not easy to assess it properly. The first and foremost thing is the copyright banned industries. And the activities they include in the copyright industries are directly and indirectly dependent on copyright materials for their commercial success. But the ranges of activities that fall under the copyright industries are so wide that they could not be kept under a definite group. These types of industries are drawn from different industry classification and they cannot be classified as an industry in a usual area. And these makes the issue of copyright more complicated.

However, there are many activities that come under copyright industries. It includes publishing and printing of books, newspapers, magazines, journals and periodicals, production and sales of audio products such as cassettes/CDs, production of cinema videos, creation of computer software’s and databases and their distribution, radio television broadcasting, musical performances, photography, etc. The list never ends. But the present study is on the main segments of copyright industries and covers cinematography works such as videos, sound recording, and literary works such as book publishing and lastly the computer software’s and performances.

In India, no data is available to know the contributions of the copyright to the national economy. However, Indian economy has a vast population and it can be said that it can contribute enormously to the economy.

EFFECT ON THE ECONOMY

Copyright based industries contribute to nation on economic profit level they offer huge employment to the general public at large scale. The most benefitted person involved is the national exchequer who earns because of excise duty which is at great number. The economic growth is affected by such copyright activities. The copyright industries include all those activities which are directly or indirectly related to commercial products of manufacturing and processing of copyright industries and hence the range is so vast that it is ambiguous to decide the economy being affected by such products. There are innumerable activities which are included in copyright industries. They are printing and publishing of books, newspapers, journals & other periodicals, production and sale of audio products (Cassettes/CD’s), production & distribution of cinemas, videos and cables, creation of computer software’s & databases  and their distribution, radio and television broadcasting ,advertising, photography, dramatic and musical performances, etc.

WHAT IS COPYRIGHT LAW? WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION IN INDIA? TO KNOW MORE, VISIT - 

The rich background of Indian economy is basically based on such activities being India the world’s largest seller of cassettes and thus copyright industries help in such increase. The software industries have achieved a higher growth of more than 50 % in 1996-97 as compared to previous sessions.

The amendment to copyright laws are done on a regular basis so as to avoid contradictions which can curb in future scenario and therefore such amendments are made mandatory to be followed , the following of basic rule before the amendment can be punished henceforth . 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. When the act was implemented it was found that there were certain situations occurred due to piracy and could not overcome up to that extent and thus it became mandatory for the act to be amended but then to overcome some solutions were laid in order to be followed with the amended act and hence it was used the same way.

BY- DAMINI DUBEY