Copyright Registration is completed as per the Copyright Act, 1957. With the registration, you become a legal owner or proprietor of your creative work in respect of music, books, website, paintings, mobile application, etc. Copyright Registration with authority ensures that the original work of an author cannot be copied or misused. No individual is allowed to use a similar work or creation without the permission of the creator or author. The author is certified to fine others for using their work or change it without the consent of the original author. Copyright Registration protects the creator's rights from Copyright Infringement. It gives official protection by which no other unauthorised person can misuse the work in any way without procuring the owner’s permission.
A copyright is an identity of any created work as an intellectual property that gives the creators of a work, exclusive rights to decide or regulate, who and under what conditions can copy and be used as a creative work. It is crucial to note that the copyright does not protect the idea but the “expression of an idea”. While retaining the essential emphasis on the acknowledgment and protection of the origins and expression of the idea, copyright laws differ regionally and according to varying national laws. The copyright is considered as a basic tool towards protecting intellectual and creative property. The security offered by Copyright to the efforts of designers, writers, musicians, architects, and producers of sound recordings, computer software, etc., create an environment helpful to creativity, which persuades them to create more and encourages others to create.
Copyright gives a bundle of rights to the creators by giving:
Copyright Registration can be done for:
Copyright provides a monopoly to the authors over their unique creations. Copyright registration is essential when some creative work is done and acclamation/protection to its creator is to be given legally. Also, it restricts others to use the copyrighted work for a commercial or domestic purpose and a person cannot use it without prior permission of the owner.
Copyright gives the author authority where the author can openly sell, disclose, or pass on the rights of the work to different persons with copyright protection.
Copyright enhances the reputation of the author that certain work belongs to them.
Copyright provides legal protection to the copyrighted work and helps in avoiding an expensive dispute over the original owner if someone steals your creative work.
Copyright restricts others from making unauthorized use of the author’s work. If the author gets to know that someone is copying their work, they can send a legal notice to that person.
When faced with copyright infringement, the owner becomes eligible for a suit of statutory damages. The statutory damages permit courts to award special damages in case of a successful infringement lawsuit. This relieves the copyright owner from the duty of proving actual damages. Moreover, there is a huge value to it considering the proving of statutory damage over infringement is a difficult task. Furthermore, the copy owner will recover some amount for each of their infringed work. Some leverage necessary to bring the lawsuit to an early close is provided.
Another one of the benefits of a copyright is that the registration is on record so that it dissuades others from making unauthorized use of your work. If you discover that someone is copying your work, you can send a 'cease' notice. So you don’t have to bother about legal proceedings at a later stage. This saves a lot of time and money.
The copyright once registered is valid for the lifetime of the owner and 60 years after the death of the owner. During this period, the owner of the copyright has exclusive rights over the work copyrighted and can prevent others from damaging their rights.
The different status of Copyright Registration is as follows:
Basic Documents:
Copyright registration provides a bundle of exclusive rights to the creator, including reproduction, communication to the public, adaptation, and translation of the work. It ensures legal protection, public display of ownership, and the ability to take legal action against infringers.
Works that can be copyrighted include artistic works, cinematograph films, music voice recordings, literary works, musical works, dramatic works, pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works, motion pictures, sound recordings, and architectural plans, drawings, and actual buildings.
Documents required for copyright registration include particulars of the applicant, name and address of the author, copies of the original work, incorporation certificate (if applicable), details of the nature of the work, class, title, description, language, and date of publication.
The term “Patent” denotes one of the pillars of Intellectual Property Right (IPR), and it is a right granted by the government to the inventor on his/her invention. Further, the term “right” includes the authority to make, sell, use, and import of the product or process and restricts others from doing the same.
Patent Registration provides a statutory right to the inventor by the government for his/her invention which is either a new process or product. The Registered patent helps the inventor to prevent the third party without authorization of making or manufacturing, using, offering for sale, selling, importing, distributing, and licensing.
After the process of patent registration, one gets intellectual property right to an invention carried out by an individual or a firm. In case it is unique, the government will grant you the full right for your product. It grants you the full right of making, using, selling or importing the product or services and prohibits others from doing so. The patents in India are governed by the Patent Act 1970 and Patent Rules 1972.
The lifetime of a patent is 20 years. This period is limited in most cases, but it could only be extended by the act of congress and in rare cases it could be extended for a few years.
The following requirements are necessary to get your invention patented in India:
Provisional application: Also known as a temporary application, a provisional application is filed when an invention is still in the pipeline and has not been finalized. Early filing of a patent will prevent any other related inventions from being designated as prior art to the inventor's application. This type of patent application is filed when an invention requires additional time for development.
Ordinary or Non-Provisional application: This type of application does not have any priority to claim or if the application is not filed in pursuance of any preceding convention application. A complete specification can be filed through:
Convention application: The convention application is filed for claiming a priority date based on the same or similar application filed in any of the convention countries. To avail a status of the convention, an applicant must apply to the Indian Patent Office within a year from the date of the initial filing of a similar application in the convention country. To re-iterate in simpler terms, a convention application entitles the applicant to claim priority in all the convention countries.
PCT international application: Though the PCT international application does not provide an international patent grant, it paves the way for the streamlined patent application process in many countries at one go. The Patent Corporation Treaty governs it and can be validated in up to 142 countries. Filing this application will protect an invention from being replicated in these countries.
PCT National application: This application is filed if the applicant discovers that he has come across an invention, a slight modification of the invention that has already been applied for or patented by the applicant. PCT National application can be filed if the invention does not involve a substantial inventive step.
Divisional application: An applicant may choose to divide an application and furnish two or more applications if a particular application claims more than one invention. The priority date for these applications is similar to that of the parent application.
In India, any individual or business entity that wants to protect and secure an idea or invention can apply for Patent. The term “Invention” includes both the new product and new process. Also, a natural person who is an assignee under the Patent Law and claims to be the true and first inventor of the art/research has the right to make such an application. The LRs or Legal Representative of a deceased person (who immediately before his death was entitled to make an application for Patent Registration) can file for Patent as well.
The process of Patent Registration is exhaustive and needs a thorough check at each step to ensure a seamless grant of a patent. Below mentioned steps will provide a detailed overview of the Patent Registration process:
A patent is a right granted by the government to the inventor on his/her invention. It includes the authority to make, sell, use, and import the product or process and restricts others from doing the same.
The lifetime of a patent is 20 years from the date of filing.
There are several types of patent applications including Provisional Application, Ordinary or Non-Provisional Application, Convention Application, PCT International Application, PCT National Application, and Divisional Application.
Any individual or business entity wanting to protect and secure an idea or invention can apply for a patent in India. This includes new products or new processes.