Page 247 - DLIS001_FOUNDATION_OF_LIBRARY_AND_INFORMATION_SCIENCE

Foundation of Library and Information Science

Notes Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867 and Delivery of Books and Newspaper Act (Public
Libraries Act), 1954.

13.1 Copyright Act, 1957

Copyright is a right given by the law to creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works
and producers of cinematograph films and sound recordings. In fact, it is a bundle of rights
including, inter alia, rights of reproduction, communication to the public, adaptation and translation
of the work. There could be slight variations in the composition of the rights depending on the
work.
The object of copyright law is to encourage authors, composers, artists and designers to create
original works by rewarding them with the exclusive right for a limited period to exploit the
work for monetary gain. It protects the writer or creator of the original work from the
unauthorized reproduction or exploitation of his materials. There is no copyright in ideas.
Copyright subsists only in the material form in which the ideas are expressed.

13.1.1 Works Protected

The subject-matter of copyright protection includes every production in the literary, scientific
and artistic domain, whatever the mode or form of expression.

General Conditions for Protection

A Work has to be Original (Positive Condition)

For a work to enjoy copyright protection, it must be an original creation. The concept of originality
requires some clarification. First of all, it is important to bear in mind that an “original” creation
does not mean that the ideas in the work need to be new or original. Originality relates only to
the form in which they are expressed, be it literary or artistic. This being said, the definition of
originality is not uniform and may differ following different legal traditions. In countries
where common law system applies (such as India), for a work to be original, it should be the
product of your own mind. From that perspective originality means that the work has not been
copied from another work. Suffice it that a minimum amount of skill, labour and judgement is
displayed by the author; the requirement of originality is fulfilled. However, in countries
where civil law system applies, in order for a work to be original it should display some amount
of creativity on the part of the author that may entail more than mere skill and labour.

Did u know? ‘Originality’ conundrum
Think for yourself:
Can X get a copyright for something that has been created by Y before?
Usually, the answer to this question is ‘NO’. But the interpretations of ‘originality’ have at times
been such that an ‘YES’ answer is also possible to the above question: if ‘X’ can prove that she/
he has created an identical or similar work to one which existed before (say for instance a
photograph of a monument) without having copied the previous work, then X could claim
copyright on his work, which has been independently created by him/her. It follows further
that ‘X’ can enforce copyright against anyone who has actually copied from him/her.

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