7 Interesting Facts on the Copyright Law of India to Know on this World Intellectual Property Day

World Intellectual Property Day is celebrated every year on 26 April. The event was established by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 2000 to “raise awareness of how patents, copyright, trademarks and designs impact on daily life.”

The theme for World Intellectual Property Day 2021 is “IP and SMEs: Taking your ideas to market.“

Background of World Intellectual Property Day

April 26th was chosen as the day to celebrate World Intellectual Property Day as it coincides with the date when the convention establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization came into effect in 1970. Each year, the World Intellectual Property Organization is celebrated,  it is associated with a message or theme. Let us have a look at the themes associated with the event. 

World Intellectual Property Day Themes

World Intellectual Property Day is a featured topic in the UPSC Exam.

Seven Interesting Facts about Copyright Law of India

• The Copyright Act of 1957 was the first legislation regarding Copyright in Independent India. To this date, the law has been amended six times (the latest being the Copyright Amendment Act, 2012)
• India is a member of some of the most important international conventions, such as the Universal Copyright Convention. These international bodies deal with anything regarding copyright laws.
• The rights covered under the Copyright laws include: – the right to reproduce copyrighted work, communicate your work to the public, adaptation and translation of the work.
• The Indian Copyright Laws protect literary works, musical works, dramatic works, artistic works, sound recordings and cinematography.
• The Copyright Act of 1957 provides three kinds of remedies: administrative, civil and criminal
• The criminal remedies are covered under Chapter XIII of the statute and the penalties upon infringement include imprisonment of up to 3 years along with a fine of up to Rs.200,000
• Copyrights of works of the countries mentioned in the International Copyright Order are protected in India as if such works are Indian works. The term of copyright in a work shall not exceed that which is enjoyed by it in its country of origin.

To know about other laws covered under the Indian Penal Code, visit the linked article.

What are Intellectual Property Rights?

Intellectual property rights are the rights given to persons over the creations of their minds. They usually give the creator an exclusive right over the use of his/her creation for a certain period of time. Intellectual property rights are divided into two main areas:

• Copyright
• Industrial property.

Copyright 

A ‘copyright’ can be defined as a packet/bundle of rights given by the law to the creators of literary, dramatic, artistic works, and musicals and the producers of cinematographic films and sound recordings. 

Industrial property

Industrial property can be divided into two main areas:

• First, protection of distinctive signs, in particular trademarks which distinguish the goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings and geographical indications which identify a good as originating in a place where a given characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographical origin.
• Second, industrial property is protected primarily to stimulate innovation, design and the creation of technology. Inventions (protected by patents), industrial designs and trade secrets come under this category.

To know more about other International Days, their importance and their dates, visit the linked article.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does WIPO mean?

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). WIPO was created in 1967 “to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world”.

What is the role of the World Intellectual Property Organization?

The World Intellectual Property Organization seeks to develop a balanced and accessible International Intellectual Property system, which rewards creativity, stimulates innovations, and contributes to economic development while safeguarding public interests.

Is India a member of WIPO?

India became a member of WIPO in 1975 and is currently party to six treaties administered by WIPO, namely, WIPO Convention (1975), Paris Convention (1998), Berne Convention (1928), Patent Cooperation Treaty (1998), Phonograms Convention (1975) and Nairobi Treaty.

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