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CHAPTER I: PRELIMINARY
1. Short title, extent and commencement.-
(1) These rules may be called the Copyright Rules, 1958.
(2) They extend to the whole of India.
(3) They shall come into force on the date on which the Act comes into force.
2. Interpretation.-
In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) “Act” means the Copyright Act, 1957 (14 of 1957);
(aa) “copyright business” means the business of issuing or granting licence in respect of any class of works in which copyright or any other right conferred by the Act subsists, and includes the functions referred to in sub-section (3) of section 34;
(b) “Form” means a form set out in the First Schedule;
(c) “Schedule” means Schedule to these rules; and
(d) “Section” means a section of the Act.
CHAPTER II: THE COPYRIGHT BOARD
3. Terms and conditions of office of the Chairman and members of the Copyright Board.-
(1) The Chairman and other members of the Copyright Board shall be appointed for such period not exceeding five years as the Central Government may in each case deem fit.
(2) The Chairman and other members of the Copyright Board shall, on the expiry of the period of their appointment, be eligible for re-appointment.
(3) The Chairman or any other member of the Copyright Board may resign his office by giving three months’ notice in writing to the Central Government.
(4) The Chairman and other members of the Copyright Board shall be paid such salary or honorarium as may be determined by the Central Government in each case.
(5) A non-official appointed as the Chairman or other members of the Copyright Board shall be entitled to traveling allowances for journeys performed on duty and to daily allowances for the period on duty on the scale provided in the rules applicable to the class of officers to which the Central Government may declare him to correspond in status:
Provided that it shall be competent for the Central Government to provide a different scale of such allowances if the circumstances of any case so require.
(6) An official appointed as the Chairman or other members of the Copyright Board shall be entitled to such traveling allowances for journeys performed on duty and to such daily allowances for the period spent on duty as may be admissible to him as such official.
(7) The other conditions of service of the Chairman and other members of the Copyright Board shall be regulated by orders made in that behalf by the Central Government from time to time.
4. Functions of the Secretary of the Copyright Board.-
The registrar of Copyrights shall perform all secretarial functions relating to the Copyright Board under the direction and control of the Chairman of the Copyright Board.
CHAPTER III: RELINQUISHMENT OF COPYRIGHT
5. Notice of relinquishment.-
The author of a work desiring to relinquish under section 21 all or any of the rights comprised in the copyright in the work shall give notice to the Registrar of Copyright in accordance with Form 1.
CHAPTER IV: LICENCES FOR TRANSLATIONS
6. Application for licence.-
(1) An application for a licence under section 32 to produce and publish a translation of a literary or dramatic work in any language shall be made in triplicate in accordance with Form 11 and shall be accompanied by the fee prescribed in Second Schedule.
(2) Every such application shall be in respect of one work only and for translation of that work into one language only.
7. Notice of application.-
(1) When any such application has been made, the Copyright Board shall, as soon as possible, give notice of the application in the Official Gazette and also, if the Copyright Board thinks fit, in one or two newspapers and shall send a copy of the notice to the owner of the Copyright, wherever practicable.
(2) Every such notice shall contain the following particulars :
(a) the date of the application;
(b) the name, address and nationality of the applicant;
(c) particulars of the work which is to be translated;
(d) the date and country of the first publication of the work;
(e) the name, address and nationality of the owner of the Copyright as stated in the application;
(f) the language in which the work is to be translated; and
(g) the Registration number of the work in the Register of Copyrights, if any.
8. Consideration of the application.- (1) The Copyright Board shall consider the application after the expiry of not less than one hundred and twenty days from the date of the publication of the notice in the Official Gazette.
(2) The Copyright Board shall give an opportunity to the applicant and also, wherever practicable to any person claiming any interest in the Copyright of the work, to be heard and may take such evidence in respect of the application as it thinks fit.
(3) If more than one application for translation of the work in the same language is pending before the Copyright Board at the expiry of one hundred and twenty days after the publication in the Official Gazette of the notice of the application first received, all such applications shall be considered together.
(4) If the Copyright Board is satisfied that the licence for a translation of the work in the language applied for may be granted to the applicant or, if there are more applicants than one to such one of the applicants as, in the opinion of the Copyright Board, would best serve the interests of the general public, it shall grant a licence accordingly.
(5) Every such licence shall be subject to the condition provided in sub-section (4) of section 32 relating to the payment of royalties and shall specify—
(a)the period within which the translation shall be produced and published;
(b)the language in which the translation shall be produced and published;
(c)the rate at which royalties in respect of the copies of the translation of the work sold to the public shall be paid to the owner of the copyright in the work; and
(d)the person or persons to whom such royalties shall be payable.
(6) The grant of every such licence shall, as soon as possible, be notified in the Official Gazette and in the newspapers, if any, in which the notice under rule 7 was published and a copy of the licence shall be sent to the other parties concerned.
9. Manner of determining royalties.-
The Copyright Board shall determine the royalties payable to the owner of the copyright under sub-section (4) of section 32 after taking into consideration—
(a) the proposed retail price of a copy of the translation of the work;
(b) the prevailing standards of royalties in regard to translation of works; and
(c) such other matters as may be considered relevant by the Copyright Board.
10. Extension of the period of licence.-
The Copyright Board may, on the application of the licensee and after notice to the owner of the copyright, wherever practicable, if it is satisfied that the licensee was for sufficient reasons unable to produce and publish the translation within the period specified in the licence, extend such period.
11. Cancellation of licence.- The Copyright Board may, after giving the licensee an opportunity of being heard, cancel the licence on any of the following grounds, namely:—
(a) that the licensee has failed to produce and publish the translation within the time specified in the licence or within the time extended on the application of the licensee;
(b) that the licence was obtained by fraud or misrepresentation as to any essential fact;
(c) that the licensee has contravened any of the terms and conditions of the licence.
CHAPTER IVA: COMPULSORY LICENCE FOR PUBLICATION OF UNPUBLISHED WORKS, TRANSLATION AND REPRODUCTION OF WORK
11A. Application for licence.-
An application for a licence under section 31A, sub-section (1A) of section 32 and section 32A to publish any unpublished work or to translate any work in any language or to reproduce any published work shall be made in triplicate in accordance with Form II-A and shall be accompanied by the fee prescribed in the Second Schedule.
11B. Every such application shall be in respect of one work only and in respect of translation of a work into one language only.
11C. Notice of application.- (1) A copy of such application shall be served by registered mail on the owner of copyright and if the owner of such copyright is not known or is not traceable, a copy of the application shall be served on the publisher whose name appears on the work.
(2) The Copyright Board shall give an opportunity to the applicant and also, wherever practicable, to any person claiming any interest in the copyright of the work, to be heard and may take such evidence in respect of the application as it thinks fit.
(3) If more than one application for translation of the work in the same language or for reproduction of the work or for publication of any unpublished work is pending before the Copyright Board, all such applications shall be considered together.
(4) If the Copyright Board is satisfied that the licence for a translation of the work in the language or for reproduction of the work or for publication of unpublished work, applied for may be granted to the applicant, or if there are more applicants than one, to such one of the applicants, as in the opinion of the Copyright Board, would best serve the interest of the general public, it shall grant a licence accordingly.
(5) Every such licence shall be subject to the conditions provided in sub-section (7) of section 31A, clause (i) of sub-section (4) of section 32 and clause (i) of sub-section (4) of section 32A relating to payment of royalties and shall specify :—
(a) the period within which such work shall be published;
(b) the rate at which royalties in respect of the copies of such work sold to the public shall be paid to the owner of the copyright in the work;
(c) in a case of translation of the work, the language in which the translation shall be produced and published; and
(d) the person or persons to whom such royalties shall be payable.
(6) The grant of every such licence shall, as soon as possible, be notified in the Official Gazette and a copy of the licence shall be sent to the other parties concerned.
11D. Manner of determining royalties.-
The Copyright Board shall determine the royalties payable to the owner of the copyright under sub-section (7) of section 31A, clause (i) of sub-section (4) of section 32 and clause (i) of sub-section (4) of section 32A after taking into consideration :
(a) the proposed retail price of a copy of such work;
(b) the prevailing standards of royalties in regard to such works; and
(c) such other matters as may be considered relevant by the Copyright Board.
11E. Extension of the period of licence.-
The Copyright Board may, on the application of the licensee and after notice to the owner of the copyright, wherever practicable, if it is satisfied that the licensee was for sufficient reasons unable to produce and publish the translation or reproduce the work or publish the unpublished work within the period specified in the licence, extend such period.
11F. Cancellation of licence.-
The Copyright Board may, after giving the licensee an opportunity of being heard, cancel the licence on any of the following grounds, namely:—
(a) that the licensee has failed to produce and publish such work within the time specified in the licence or within the time extended on the application of the licensee;
(b) that the licence was obtained by fraud or misrepresentation as to any essential fact;
(c) that the licensee has contravened any of the terms and conditions of the licence.
11G. Notice for termination of licence.-
Notice for termination of licence under proviso to sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of section 32-B shall be served on the person holding the licence by the owner of copyright in Form II-B of the First Schedule to these rules.
CHAPTER V: COPYRIGHT SOCIETIES
12. Conditions for submission of applications for registration of copyright societies.-
(1) Any association of persons, whether incorporated or not, comprising seven or more owners of copyright (hereinafter referred to as “the applicant”) formed for the purpose of carrying on the business of issuing or granting licences in respect of any class of works in which copyright subsists or in respect of any other right conferred by the Act may file with the Registrar of Copyrights an application in Form II-C for submission to the Central Government for grant of permission to carry on such business and for its registration as a copyright society.
(2) An application under sub-rule (1) shall be signed by all the members of the governing body (by whatever name called) and the chief executive of the applicant (who need not be a member of the applicant).
13. Application for registration by performing right societies.-
A performing right society functioning in accordance with the provisions of section 33 on the date immediately before the coming into force of the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1994 (38 of 1994) and desirous of carrying on the business as a copyright society under the Act shall submit an application in Form II-C to the Registrar of Copyrights as early as possible but not later than ten months from the date of commencement of the said Act.
14. Conditions for grant of permission to carry on copyright business.-
An applicant including a performing right society referred to in rule 13 for registration of it as a copyright society shall not be eligible to be considered for such registration unless—
(i) the instrument by which the applicant is established or incorporated creates a commitment on it to deal with only copyright business and other activities ancillary thereto; and
(ii) the applicant is willing to comply with the provisions of the Act and the rules made thereunder.
Explanation : In this rule, and in rule 14A, “instrument” means the memorandum and articles of association.
14A. Documents accompanying applications.-
Every application made under rule 12 or rule 13 shall be accompanied by—
(a) a true copy of the instrument by which the applicant is established or incorpo-rated ;
(b) the consent in writing of the individuals named in the application to act as members of the governing body (by whatever name called) of the applicant;
(c) a declaration containing the objectives of the applicant, the bodies through which it will function and arrangements for accounting and auditing;
(d) an undertaking to the effect that the instrument by which the application is established or incorporated provides for conforming the same to the provisions of the Act and these rules.
14B. Conditions for registration of a copyright society.-
(1) When an application for registration is submitted to the Central Government through the Registrar of Copyrights, that Government may, within sixty days from the date of its receipt by the Registrar of Copyrights either register the applicant as a copyright society or, if —
(i) the applicant has no professional competence to carry on its business or has not sufficient funds to manage its affairs; or
(ii) there exists another copyright society registered under the Act for administering the same class of works and it is functioning well; or
(iii) the Central Government has reason to believe that the members of the applicant are not bona fide copyright owners or they have not voluntarily signed the instrument setting up the applicant and the application for registration ; or
(iv) the application is found to be incomplete in any respect, reject the application :
Provided that no such application shall be rejected without giving the applicant an opportunity of being heard.
(2) Upon the registration of a copyright society by the Central Government, the Registrar of Copyrights shall issue a certificate of registration in Form II-D under his hand and seal.
(3) On and from the date of its registration as specified in the certificate of registration, the copyright society shall be entitled to commence and carry on the permitted copyright business in the name by which it has been so registered.
14C. Procedure for holding inquiry.-
If the Central Government, on a complaint of the Registrar of Copyrights or of any owner of rights, has reason to believe that a copyright society is being managed in a manner detrimental to the interests of the owners of rights concerned, it may, after making an inquiry in the following manner, cancel or suspend the registration of the copyright society made under these rules, namely :—
(i) The Central Government shall provide a copy of the complaint to the society and require the society to submit within such time as may be specified by the Central Government a written statement of its defence and to state whether it desires to be heard.
(ii) If, after considering the written statement furnished by the society, the Central Government is satisfied that a prima facie case is established, it shall order an inquiry into the allegations and appoint an inquiry officer not below the rank of a Deputy Secretary to the Government of India for holding the inquiry.
(iii) On being appointed as such, the inquiry officer shall conduct the inquiry having regard to the principles of natural justice.
(iv) The inquiry officer may, if he considers it necessary, engage a chartered accountant or an audit officer in the office of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India to assist him in the inquiry. The concerned copyright society shall render all assistance and shall make available all such documents as may be called for by the inquiry officer to enable him to complete the inquiry within a period of three months or such further time as may be allowed by the Central Government.
(v) If, according to the findings of the inquiry officer, the complaints against the copyright society are found to be true or if the society fails to cooperate with the inquiry officer, the Central Government shall cancel the registration of the copyright society.
14D. Suspension of registration and appointment of administrator.-
If, pending inquiry under sub-section (4) of section 33, the Central Government is of the opinion that in the interests of the owners of rights concerned, it is necessary so to do, it may, by order, suspend the registration of the society for a period not exceeding one year, as may be specified in that order and shall appoint an administrator to discharge the functions of the copyright society.
14E. Powers and functions of the administrator.-
(1) On appointment of the administrator referred to in rule 14D under sub-section (5) of section 33, all powers of the copyright society shall vest in him and all other representative bodies or committees of the copyright society other than the general body shall stand dissolved.
(2) The administrator shall, within six months before the expiry of the period of suspension, arrange election for reconstituting the dissolved bodies failing which, the bodies so superseded shall stand revived at the end of the period of suspension for their remaining term, excluding the period of suspension.
14F. Cancellation of registration of a copyright society.-
The registration of a copyright society as such may be cancelled by the Central Government if —
(a) any of the particulars furnished in the application for registration is, at any time, found to be untrue or incorrect and misleading in any manner;
(b) after holding an inquiry by an officer duly appointed by the Central Government and giving the copyright society a reasonable opportunity of being heard, the Central Government is satisfied that the copyright society is being managed in a manner detrimental to the interests of the owners of rights concerned or if the copyright society persistently fails to manage its affairs properly or if it persistently fails to properly maintain its accounts and get them audited or it utilises its funds for purposes other than the copyright business.
14G. Conditions subject to which a copyright society may accept authorisation and an owner of rights may withdraw such authorisation.-
(1) A copyright society may accept from an owner of rights or his duly authorised agent, exclusive authorisation to administer any right in a work if such owner or such agent enters into an agreement, in writing, with the copyright society specifying the rights to be administered, the duration for which such rights are authorised to be administered, the quantum of fees agreed to and the frequency at which such fees shall be paid by the copyright society in accordance with its Scheme of Tariff and Distribution.
(2) The owner of copyrights shall, without prejudice to the rights under the agreement and subject to the condition of a prior notice of sixty days, be free to withdraw such authorisation in case the copyright society fails to fulfil its commitments as laid down in the agreement.
14H. Conditions subject to which a copyright society may issue licences, collect fees and distribute such fees.-
(1) A copyright society may issue licences and collect fees in accordance with its Scheme of Tariff in relation to only such works as it has been authorised to administer in writing by the owners of rights and for the period for which it has been so authorised.
(2) The distribution of fees collected shall be subject to a deduction not exceeding fifteen per cent of the collection on account of administrative expenses incurred by the copyright society.
14-I. Procedure for obtaining approval of owners of rights for collection and distribution of fees, etc.-
Every copyright society shall maintain the following registers at its registered or administrative office :
(i) A register of owners of copyright and other rights to be called the “Register of Owners” in respect of which the copyright society has been authorised by the owners to issue or grant licences. The register shall contain the names of the owners, their addresses, the nature of rights authorised to be administered by the copyright society, date of publication of the work, the date on which the copyright society becomes entitled to and the duration of such right.
(ii) A register to be called the “Register of Agreements” containing a copy of every agreement entered into by the copyright society with the owners for the purpose.
(iii) A register to be called the “Register of Fees” containing particulars of fees and mentioning the name of persons or organisations from whom the fees have been realised, the amount so realised and the date of realisation.
(iv) A register to be called the “Disbursement Register” containing details of disbursements made to each owner of copyright, category-wise, mentioning the name of the owner, nature of his copyright and the date and amount of disbursement made to him.
14J. Tariff Scheme.-
As soon as may be, but in no case later than three months from the date on which a copyright society has become entitled to commence its copyright business, it shall frame a scheme of tariff to be called the “Tariff Scheme” setting out the nature and quantum of fees or royalities which it proposes to collect in respect of such copyright or other rights administered by it.
14K. Distribution Scheme.- (1) As soon as may be, but in no case later than three months from the date on which a copyright society has become entitled to commence its copyright business, it shall frame a scheme to be called the “Distribution Scheme” setting out the procedure for collection and distribution of the fees or royalities specified in the Tariff Scheme among the owners of copyright or other rights whose names are borne on its Register of Owners maintained under clause (i) of rule 14-I for the approval of such owners.
(2) Any distribution under the Distribution Scheme shall, as far as possible, be in proportion to the income of the copyright society from actual use of the work or works of each owner of rights.
14L. Meeting of a copyright societies.-
(1) As soon as the Tariff Scheme and the Distribution Scheme have been prepared, the copyright society shall call a general meeting of the owners of rights whose names are recorded in the Register of Owners to approve the same.
(2) A notice of not less than twenty-one clear days shall be given to every such owner of rights of the meeting and a copy each of the proposed Tariff Scheme and Distribution Scheme shall be annexed to the notice.
(3) The notice under sub-rule (2) shall specify that any owner of rights who objects to the Tariff Scheme or Distribution Scheme shall be entitled to withdraw the authorisation given to the copyright society to administer any right in his work.
(4) The copyright society shall keep a record of the owners of rights who have given their approval and those who have objected thereto.
(5) Approval by owners of rights for the Scheme shall be by a majority of such owners present in person.
(6) The quorum for a general meeting shall be one-third of the members.
(7) The copyright society shall not amend an approved Tariff Scheme or Distribution Scheme except with the consent of the owners obtained at a subsequent general meeting called for the purpose.
14M. Accounts and audit.-
(1) Every copyright society shall maintain proper accounts of the fees and royalties collected in a financial year, payments made out of such collections to the owners of rights and other expenditure incurred for meeting administrative expenses and related matters with the approval of the owners of rights:
Provided that a copyright society shall not spend more than fifteen per cent of its collection towards its administrative expenses.
(2) Every copyright society shall get its accounts audited by a chartered accountant annually.
14N. Annual general meeting of owners of rights.-
(1) Every copyright society shall, within a period of twelve months from the holding of a meeting in pursuance of sub-rule (1) of rule 14L, hold a general meeting of owners of rights, herein called the annual general meeting of owners :
Provided that a special meeting of the owners of rights may also be held, if considered necessary.
(2) The meeting of owners of rights shall be held in the town or city in which its registered or administrative office is situated and the notice calling the meeting shall specify the time, date and address of the venue of the meeting.
14-O. Documents to be presented in the annual general meeting of owners of rights.-
Every copyright society shall place before its annual general meeting the following documents, namely :—
(i) an up-to-date list of the owners of rights, their names and addresses as recorded in the Register of Owners maintained by the copyright society, as provided in sub-rule (1) of rule 14-I;
(ii) audited accounts of the society for the previous year;
(iii) the Tariff Scheme ;
(iv) the Distribution Scheme ;
(v) a statement approved by its governing body (by whatever name called) setting out a full and detailed account of all its activities during the previous years; and
(vi) details of budget estimates for the succeeding year and a programme of action for the succeeding year.
14P. Returns to be filed by the copyright societies with the Registrar of Copyrights.- Every copyright society shall file a return called the annual return with the Registrar of Copyrights within one month from the conclusion of each annual general meeting of owners setting out the following details, namely :—
(i) the date of the annual meeting of owners held immediately preceding the filing of the annual return, the number of owners who attended the meeting in person or by proxy, and the minutes of such meeting ;
(ii) the up-to-date list of the owners of rights, their names and addresses as recorded in the Register of Owners maintained by the copyright society, as provided in rule 14-I;
(iii) audited accounts of the copyright society ;
(iv) the Tariff Scheme ;
(v) the Distribution Scheme ; and
(vi) a statement approved by its governing body or Board of directors setting out a full and detailed account of all its activities during the year in relation to the rights of the owners.
CHAPTER VI: REGISTRATION OF COPYRIGHT
15. Form of Register of Copyrights.-
(1) The Register of Copyrights shall be kept in six parts as follows:—
Part I - Literary works other than computer programmes, tables an
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