Subject matter of copyright: works, films, sound recordings and computer software

1. Section 13: the classes of work

Copyright subsists throughout India in:

• original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works;
• cinematograph films; and
• sound recordings.

The word “original” qualifies only the first group. Films and sound recordings are protected as recordings, but section 13(3) denies copyright to a film if a substantial part of it infringes another work, and to a sound recording made in breach of copyright in the underlying work. Section 13(4) preserves the separate copyright in the novel, script, lyrics and music used in a film or recording. Section 13(2) adds the connecting factor: a published work must be first published in India or its author must be an Indian citizen; an unpublished work needs an author who is a citizen of, or domiciled in, India.

2. Originality and the idea–expression line

In Eastern Book Company v. D.B. Modak, 2007 INSC 1266, (2008) 1 SCC 1, the publishers of SCC claimed copyright in their copy-edited versions of Supreme Court judgments, which the respondents had put on CD-ROM. The Court held that judgments themselves are in the public domain and that mere labour in correcting punctuation and spelling is not enough. A work must show a modicum of creativity and some skill and judgment; it need not be novel or of high quality. The Court protected the editorial additions that showed such judgment, such as the division of judgments into paragraphs with numbering and internal cross-references, and the headnotes, but not the raw text.

In R.G. Anand v. Delux Films, 1978 INSC 138, (1978) 4 SCC 118, the author of the play Hum Hindustani alleged that the film New Delhi copied it. Both dealt with provincialism in marriage. The Court held there is no copyright in an idea or theme; the question is whether the expression has been copied, and on the facts it had not.

3. Literary works

Section 2(o): literary work includes computer programmes, tables and compilations including computer databases. Literary does not mean of literary merit; a railway timetable, a question paper, a catalogue or a legal form can qualify if it involves skill and judgment. A title alone is not a literary work: in Krishika Lulla v. Shyam Vithalrao Devkatta, 2015 INSC 781, (2016) 2 SCC 521, the Supreme Court quashed criminal proceedings over the film title “Desi Boyz”, holding that there is no copyright in the title of a work. Protection for titles, if any, lies in passing off.

4. Dramatic and musical works

• Dramatic work (section 2(h)) includes any piece for recitation, choreographic work or entertainment in dumb show, the scenic arrangement or acting form of which is fixed in writing or otherwise, but does not include a cinematograph film. A dance is protected once it is fixed.
• Musical work (section 2(p)) means a work consisting of music, including any graphical notation, but not the words or actions to be sung or performed with it. The lyrics are a separate literary work. So one song may involve three copyrights: the lyricist’s literary work, the composer’s musical work and the producer’s sound recording.

5. Artistic works

Section 2(c): a painting, sculpture, drawing (including a diagram, map, chart or plan), engraving or photograph, whether or not it possesses artistic quality; a work of architecture; and any other work of artistic craftsmanship. A technical drawing is an artistic work. Section 13(5) limits copyright in architecture to its artistic character and design, not methods of construction. The overlap with industrial designs is handled by section 15 of the Copyright Act, discussed in the designs notes.

6. Cinematograph films

Section 2(f): a cinematograph film is any work of visual recording, including a sound recording accompanying it, and includes works produced by any process analogous to cinematography, including video films. The producer, the person who takes the initiative and responsibility for making the work, is its author (section 2(d)(v) and 2(uu)). Copyright in a film lasts sixty years from the year after publication (section 26).

Copyright in the film is distinct from the underlying works. In Indian Performing Right Society v. Eastern India Motion Pictures Association, 1977 INSC 87, (1977) 2 SCC 820, the Court held that a producer who commissions a composer and lyricist for valuable consideration becomes, in the absence of a contrary agreement, owner of the copyright in their work as incorporated in the film, so the composer could not demand a separate fee for its exhibition with the film. Krishna Iyer J. remarked on the weak position of composers. The 2012 amendment responded: the proviso to section 17 and the provisos to section 18(1) now protect the author’s right to an equal share of royalties when the work is used other than with the film in a cinema hall.

7. Sound recordings

Section 2(xx): a recording of sounds from which they may be produced, regardless of the medium or method. The producer is the author. Copyright lasts sixty years from the year after publication (section 27). The rights under section 14(e) are to make another recording embodying it, to sell or hire it, and to communicate it to the public.

8. Computer software

The syllabus lists this separately because it is the clearest modern application of the Act. Software patents and online piracy are covered in the IPR I note “Intellectual property in cyberspace: software patents, copyright in software and piracy”; here the focus is on the Copyright Act provisions.

• Definition. Section 2(ffc): a computer programme is a set of instructions expressed in words, codes, schemes or any other form, including a machine-readable medium, capable of causing a computer to perform a particular task or achieve a particular result. Since 1994 it is a literary work (section 2(o)), consistent with Article 10(1) of TRIPS.
• Extra right. Section 14(b) adds to the literary rights the right to sell or give on commercial rental any copy of the programme. The rental right does not apply where the programme is not the essential object of the rental, as with the software inside a hired car.
• Exceptions. Section 52(1)(aa) to (ad) allow a lawful possessor to make copies or adaptations needed to use the programme and back-up copies, to do acts needed for interoperability, to observe and test its functioning to find the underlying ideas, and to copy from a legally obtained copy for non-commercial personal use. Fair dealing under section 52(1)(a) does not apply to computer programmes.
• Offence. Section 63B punishes knowing use of an infringing copy of a computer programme on a computer (seven days to three years, fine fifty thousand to two lakh rupees, reduced where not for gain).
• Patents. A computer programme per se is not an invention under section 3(k) of the Patents Act, 1970, so copyright is the main protection.

In Engineering Analysis Centre of Excellence v. CIT, 2021 INSC 137, (2022) 3 SCC 321, a tax case, the Supreme Court explained that an end-user licence or distribution agreement for shrink-wrapped software does not transfer any of the section 14 rights; it is a sale of a copyrighted article, and section 52(1)(aa) allows the buyer to use it. So the payment was not a royalty. The distinction between owning copyright and owning a copy is useful in any software answer.

How this is examined

February 2025 asked: “‘Copyright exists in expression of idea and not in idea itself’. Explain the statement in the light of subject matters of copyright.” Open with section 13 and R.G. Anand, take each class of work with its definition, and use Eastern Book Company for originality and Krishika Lulla for titles. January 2026 set “Literary work” and June 2025 “copyright in the cinematograph film” as 6-mark notes: for the first use sections 3 and 8 above; for the second use section 6, with the author, term and the IPRS case.