Basic Requirements for Copyright Registration

Registration under Copyright Act will protect any form of artistic creations or Intellectual property. It gives both the Economic & Ethical Rights to the original creator.

Basic Details of Creator

To register before the Copyright Act, some basic details of the creator like Name, Address & Nationality are mandatory.

Power of Attorney

The candidate must sign the power of attorney rightfully if you are registering copyright through any advocate or legal firm.

Submission of the work sample

A candidate registering for copyright should put forward his/her work in a soft copy format in JPEG, JPG, or GIF format. Copyright registration for computer programs, database requires 4 CDs or DVDs of that particular computer programs.

Trademark Certificate for Artistic Work

For submitting copyright registration on any sort of artistic work, the applicant must get a clear copyright search certificate from the trademark office on a prior basis.

Documents Required for Copyright Registration

Name, Address & Nationality of the Candidate – ID proof
NOC from the publisher if work published and publisher is different from the applicant.
Search Certificate from Trade Mark Office (TM -60) if any
NOC from a person whose photograph appears on the work.
Power of Attorney
2 Copies of work
KYC of author
DD/IPO of Rs. per work ((as applicable)
NOC from the author if the candidate is different from the author.

Basis	Copyright	Trademark	Patent
Meaning	It is a helpful legal security aid for the creator/producer on any of their original artwork such as literature, music composition, sound recording, cinematography, or computer programs. Copyright ensures the entire Economic & Ethical authority of the creator on his/her intellectual properties.	Trademark legally preserves any particular word, symbol, or designs that make a business entity distinctive among its competitors.	It is a form of intellectual property that guards the invention of any inventor for a limited period of time. Through a patent, the inventor/owner can legally exclude others from reproducing, using or selling a particular invention.
Protection is given for	Original artistic works like written text, composed music, recorded sounds, paintings, choreography, motion pictures, cinematography, computer programming & databases etc.	Any word, logo, color, font, design that differentiate products, the identity of any particular party from others.	Features of shape, configuration, pattern, and ornament, the form of lines, colour or blend thereof applied to each article.
Significance	Expression of Ideas	Identification of brand	Invention
Govern by	Indian Copyright Act, 1957	Trade Marks Act, 1999	Indian Patent Act, 1970
Requirements of Registration	The work must be original, creative and must be able of fixing in the tangible form.	The marks needs to be unique.	The design needs to be original and must be referred to the article by any industrial process.
Exclusions	Others are not permitted copy the work without the permission of the creator.	Stop others from using the same logo/symbol.	Stop others from using the invention without the permission
Validity Term	The validity time in copyright is 60 years.	The validity time in trademark is 10 years.	The validity time in patent is 20 years.
Rights Provided	The right to be the owner of the original artworks and excludes others from illegal copying, distributing and reproducing of the copyrighted intellectual properties.	Rights to apply the mark, design, color, font and stop every illegal usage of the same by any third person.	Right to stop others from producing, selling using or importing the patented invention.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is copyright?

Copyright registration is an intellectual property right just like a trademark and patent. It is basically a legal right which is provided to the creators for their unique work.

Copyright falls under the auspices of intellectual property law and protects the rights of creators of original works of authorship whether the work in question is published or not.

Original works of authorship include literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and photography.

What can be copyrighted?

Copyright works include books, sound recordings, music, artistic work, cinematographic films, dramatic, computer programs, databases, advertisements, and paintings.

Can I apply for Copyright registration in respect of ideas or mathematical concepts?

No, one cannot apply for Copyright registration in respect of ideas or mathematical concepts. Copyright does not provide protection to the ideas or concepts.

Can I apply for Copyright registration of my website?

Copyright protection cannot be given to a website as a whole. For this, an applicant has to submit a separate application in respect of each component appearing on a website.

Who can apply for the copyright registration?

Any Individual or business entity can apply for copyright registration. Author, creator, musician, photographer, producer, painter, composer, or a company may safeguard their creatives with using this legal power.

Is Copyright Registration is mandatory?

By law, when something is written, drawn, photographed, etc., its copyright is automatically owned by the author. In other words, a copyright exists at the moment the work is created.

Registering a copyright with the Copyright Office is voluntary. Copyright protection exists even without registration;

However, your work must be registered before you can file a copyright infringement legal case in a court.

In addition, registration of copyright makes it easier to prove ownership of your work in the event of an infringement and allows you to collect more in damages from the infringer/theft.

What is the difference between a patent and copyright?

The main a difference between a patent and copyright is on the basis of their objective. The patent protects an invention of a new product or a process, from being stolen by others and to facilitate commercialization of its use by the inventor. On the other side, copyright protects original works, e.g. literary works, videos, music records, artistic works, architecture, software etc. from being plagiarized.

Why Copyright registration is necessary?

Copyright registration to secure your original work from theft or undue advantage. Having copyright your original work give evidence that this particular work belongs to you only.

What are the benefits of Copyright Registration?

Can use the copyright logo.
Makes it easier to prove ownership of your work in the event of an infringement and plagiarism.
Can file a copyright infringement legal case in a court.
Allows you to collect more in damages from the infringer/theft.
One time cost, lifetime protection.

Is my original work after Copyright registration is protected globally?

Copyright Registration under Indian Copyright Act is valid only within the borders of the country. However, To secure protection to Indian works in foreign countries, India has become a member of the following international conventions on copyright and neighboring (related) rights:

Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
Universal Copyright Convention.
Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms against Unauthorised Duplication of their Phonograms.
Multilateral Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation of Copyright Royalties.
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.

Now, Your original work register under India Copyright office shall be protected under 176 countries.

What is the validity of my copyright?

Your literary or musical or artistic work copyright is valid for lifetime and even after the demise of creator it remains valid for 60 more years

What is a Copyright Diary Number?

It is a unique application number generated at the time of submission of Copyright application online. You can track down your copyright application from this number.

How to copyright a book in India?

In order to copyright your book you just need to provide some basic information about the author and complete content of a book. Rest our professional copyright consultant do & register your book under copyright office.

How to copyright a song in India?

In order to copyright your song you just need to provide some basic information about the music composer/owner and MP3 file of the original song. Rest our copyright experts do & register your song under copyright office.

Explain the process of copyright registration?

You can easily fill-up the form and upload your original work which needs to be copyright
Once we receive information & placed an order
Your application shall be forwarded to our copyright consultant & start process your copyright application
We will provide you DAIRY NUMBER (unique Reference Number) within 3 working days subject to complete information furnished by you.

Whether computer Software or Computer Programme can be registered?

Yes. Computer Software or programme can be registered as a literary work carrying open source code. As per Copyright Act, 1957 literary work includes computer programmes, tables, and compilations, including computer databases. Source Code has also to be supplied along with the application for registration of copyright for software products.

How can I get copyright registration for my Web-site?

A website contains several works such as literary works, artistic works (photographs etc.), sound recordings, video clips, cinematograph films and broadcasting and computer software too. Therefore, a separate application has to be filed for registration of all these works.

What is the term of protection of copyright?

The general rule is that copyright registration in India lasts for 60 years. In the case of original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works the 60-year period is counted from the year following the death of the author. In the case of cinematograph films, sound recordings, photographs, posthumous publications, anonymous and pseudonymous publications, works of government and works of international organizations, the 60-year period is counted from the date of publication.

What is the validity of my copyright?

Your literary or musical or artistic work copyright is valid for lifetime and even after the demise of creator it remains valid for 60 more years

Which are the international copyright conventions of which India is a member?

Copyright, as provided by the Indian Copyright Act, is valid only within India To secure the Indian works in foreign countries, India has become a member of the following international conventions on copyright and neighbouring (related) rights:

Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, where India is among 176 member nations.
Universal Copyright Convention.
Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms against Unauthorized Duplication of their Phonograms.
Multilateral Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation of Copyright Royalties.
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.

Do you provide copyright services in my town?

Yes Online Legal India is an online platform serving all over India no matters wherever you are doing business all you need is internet connection on your mobile or desktop and we are ready to get your job done

Do I need to physically present for the process?

No, You don’t need to be physically present for the process, Online Legal India is an online catering platform all you need is internet connection in your phone/computer and the required documents with you and we can get the job done no matters even if you are present at remotest location of the India.

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