Copyright in a work is deemed to be infringed:
When any person without a license from the owner of the copyright or the Registrar of Copyright (in certain situations) or in contravention of the conditions of a license.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(i) Does anything the exclusive right to do which belongs to the copyright owner, or
(ii) Knowingly permits for profit any place to be used for the performance of the work in public which continues an infringement of the work, or
Image Source: cwu.edu
When any person, makes for sale or hire, or sells or lets for hire or offers for sale or hire, or exhibits in public for trade or import (except two copies other than cinematography film or record for personal use) any infringing copies of the week.
In general it is the commercial exploitation of the work in any form by a person without authority that constitutes infringement.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Acts not constituting infringement:
The Copyright Act provides certain exceptions to infringement. The object of these provisions is to enable the encouragement of private study and research and promotion of education. They provide defenses in an action for infringement.
The exceptions come under the following categories:
(i) Reproduction for use in judicial proceedings and for use of members of the legislature,
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(ii) Publication of short passages, restricted reproduction or performance for educational purposes,
(iii) Making of records under license from Copyright Board on payment of royalty,
(iv) Playing of records or performance by a club or society for the benefit of the members of religious institutions,
(v) Reproduction of an article on current economic, political, social or religious matters in newspapers, magazines etc,
(vi) Reproduction of a few copies for use in libraries or for research or private study,
(vii) Matters published in official gazettes including Act of Parliament (subject to certain conditions) or its translation,
(viii) Making of a drawing, engraving or photograph of an architectural B work of art, or a sculpture kept in a public place,
(ix) Use of artistic work in a cinematography film,
(x) Use of an artistic work (author not the owner of copyright) by the author of any mould, cast, sketch, plan, model, etc., made by him for the work,
(xi) Making of an object in three dimension of an artistic work in two dimensions subject to certain condition, and
(xii) Reconstruction of a building in accordance with architectural drawings.
(xiii) Fair dealing without commercial benefits.
Copyright law does not prevent a person from taking what is useful from an original work and create a new work with additions and improvements. Under the guise of a copyright the owner of a copyright cannot ask the court to close all the venues of research and scholarship and all frontiers of human knowledge.
There are three kinds of remedies against infringement of copyright, namely:
Civil remedies: Injunction damages or account of profit, delivery of infringing copy and damages for conversion.
Criminal remedies:
Imprisonment of the accused or imposition of fine or both. Seizure of infringing copies.
Administrative remedies:
Administrative remedies consist of moving the Registrar of copyrights to ban the import of infringing copies into India when the infringement is by way of such importation and the delivery of the confiscated infringing copies to the owner of the copyright and seeking the delivery.
Jurisdiction of courts:
A suit or other civil proceedings relating to infringement of copyright is filed in the District Court or Appellate Board within whose jurisdiction the plaintiff resides or carries on business or where the cause of action arose irrespective of the place of residence or place of business of the defendant
Limitation:
The period of limitation for filing the suit is three years from the date of infringement.