Copyright facilitates protection of all sorts of creative works by its developer. This law was made keeping in mind the idea of restoring creativity. It encourages people to create a unique work with a definitive idea. It covers a vast area of creative works like literature, images, music, visual designs or graphics, films, broadcast etc. Let us understand this in detail.
An insight to Copyright Law
All the copyrights are registered under The Copyright Act 1957. This act protects the originality of literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works. However, it does not protect the ideas with which the work is created. The creator of the work is considered the first owner of its copyright once he/she applies for it.
The copyright is valid for a specific period which depends according to the type of work, i.e. for literary or creative works the period is 70 years while for computer-generated work it is 50 years. If the validity of the copyright expires, it is made available for the public domain.
Once a work is created it is automatically copyrighted for the sake of protecting its originality. But, in case you wish to register your work legally you have to apply it to the Copyright Office.
Advantages of going for a copyright
Getting copyright done is always better if you wish to protect your creativity. Also, it provides various rights and benefits to the copyright holder. For the artists, it is extremely crucial to copyright their creation before anyone else uses it. Once an artist copyrights their work, it provides them exclusive rights to make its copies, distribution, broadcast, or make available to the general public.
It also allows the creators to be recognised as specific artists and raise the question in case of any unauthorised use of their work. They must always be mentioned in credits in case the other person uses any part of their work.
Applying for a copyright
Processing with copyright registration has become extremely easy today since the complete process is done online. You need to provide your documents, and the rest will be taken care. The documents required in this process are –
- Power of Attorney signed by the applicant.
- Info Sheet which will include the details of the work that you wish to copyright.
- Three copies of that particular work.
- One identity proof {PAN Card, Aadhar Card, Voter ID, Passport or Driving License}.
Exclusions in the process
There are all sorts of creative and literary works that can be protected under the copyright law, however; there are few exceptions in this case.
- Unrecorded or un-noted work, e. something which does not have a written or recorded proof.
- Short phrases, names, slogans or titles.
- Procedures, methods, systems, concepts or methodology.
- Standard calendars, charts, rules or measures.
Summing Up
Copyright is the key to the protection of your creative work and a method to restore its distinctiveness. Also, it provides different rights to the holder for their benefit.