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SUMMARY
The internet is one of the most important developments
made by man till date. It is the fastest growing mode of
communication. Traffic on the internet continues to double in
volume every 100 days. Its impact on transmission of
information is the most significant. It has revolutionized the
mode, quality and speed of transmission of information. Through
this medium, material can be assessed, viewed, printed and
downloaded from all over the world. There is no one person who
is in overall control of the internet. It is, therefore, sometimes
described as „the information technology communications
anarchy‟.
With the advent of internet and evolution of knowledge
based industries, a new form of property has emerged which
comes from human intellect and endeavour. This new form of
property is called the intellectual property. Intellectual property
refers to the creations of the human mind such as works of
fiction, art, design, creativity in the field of applied arts, fine
arts of technology. It is a package of rights that can be bought or
sold or leased. It includes copyrights, patents, trademarks and
designs.
Intellectual property differs from other forms of property
because its value and uses are quite uncertain. It cannot be kept
in a safe deposit vault or bank or locked up in a house. It is
easily and readily available to the general public and is,
therefore, easier to steal. It is a product of intellect. So it is
difficult to protect. With the arrival of internet and computers,
the works of intellectual property are easily traceable. Computer
programs are intellectual property. The evolution of the world
wide web has led to the registration of a large number of domain
names which are a kind of intellectual property. In the field of
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computer there has been emergence of various general rights.

The authors have thus made a general study of various
intellectual property rights like trademarks and copyright.
Computer database have also been accepted as literary works
and are protected under the copyright law. Apart from computer
database and computer program there may also exist other
literary, musical or artistic work on the internet that can be
protected under copyright.
Copyright is the right (or set of rights) granted to the first
author of an original work that allows the author to exclusively
exploit his work for commercial gain. Under the Copyright Act,
1957 (in India), the protection of a copyright has been stated to
extend to certain specified classes of works like:
(a) original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works:
(b) cinematographs films; and
(c) sound recordings.
The term “literary work” has been stated to “include”
computer programmes, tables, and compilations including
computer data-bases. This computer programmes and data
bases would receive the same protection, as would be available
to a literary work.
Further, the amendment of the Copyright Act, 1957 in the
year 1994 has introduced the definition of computer programme
given below:
(ffc), „computer programme‟ means a set of instructions
expressed in words, codes, schemes or in any other form
including a machine readable medium capable of causing a
computer to perform a particular task or (to) achieve a particular
result‟.
It is obligatory that one may have to consider computer
software as a collection of items and materials associated with
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the development and operation of computer programme, but

which does not include computer hardware. It may include:
 Preparatory design materials, like flowcharts, diagrams,
written specifications, form and report layouts, designs for
screen displays etc.
 Computer programmes (object code and source code) and
other executable code
 Software development tools, like relational database
development systems, compilers, report generators etc.
 Databases and data files.
 Computer output, for example, sound, print-out, computer
file or data, electronic signals.
 Screen displays
 Manuals and guides (on paper or stored digitally)
 Programmed languages
It is obligatory to note that written specifications,
flowcharts, form and report layouts, designs for screen displays
and computer output, like sound, print-out, etc. are all
protected by copyright provided they were original in the
copyright sense, at the first instance.
Copyright is the exclusive and assignable legal right, given
to the originator for a fixed number of years, to print, publish,
perform, film, or record literary, artistic or musical materials,
films, art works, architecture plans, menus, music video scripts
and computer software. It is a form of intellectual pr operty since
the product over which copyright is granted is the result of
civilization and investment of an intellect.
According to the New Britannica Encyclopedia, copyright is
the exclusive legally secured right to publish, reproduce and sell
the matter and form of a literary, musical, dramatic or artistic
work.
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According to Oxford English Dictionary, copyright is an

exclusive right given by law for a certain term of years, to an
author, composer or his assignee to print, publish and sell
copies of his original work.
The Encyclopedia Americana say that “copyright is the
exclusive right that protects an author, composer, or artists
from having his work recorded, performed, displayed, translated,
distributed or reproduced by way of copies, phonorecords or
others versions except with his permission subject to specified
limitations”.
The object of copyright law is to protect the author of the
copyright work from unlawful reproduction or exploitation of his
work by others. Thus the object is to encourage authors,
composers and artists to create original work by rewarding them
with the exclusive right for a limited period to reproduce the
works for the benefit of the public.
In order to protect the rights of the authors and artists
who create and produce intellectual products various countries
of the world have enacted copyright laws. The object of copyright
Laws is to encourage authors, composers and artists to create
original works by rewarding them with exclusive right for a
specified period to reproduce the work for publishing and selling
them to public.
It is generally agreed that copyright protects “only the form
of expression of ideas, not the ideas themselves. The creativity
protected by copyright law is creativity in choice and
arrangement of words, musical notes, colors, shapes and so
on..” This principle, however, has been implemented in different
ways in various countries, which eventually leads to different
results in borderline cases. Protection may thus extend not only
to literally similar elements but also to nonliteral elements if
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they are “comprehensive” relative to the overall texture of the

work.
Thus the basic principle on which copyright rests is that
creativity needs to be rewarded like manual work and
individuals who produce intellectual property should be able to
live by their creative skills and efforts. Copyright ensures owners
the control over and participation in the proceeds of the
commercial exploitation of their works.
Copyright protection finds its jurisdiction in „fair play‟. A
person works and produce something. The product of his skill
and labour ought to belong to him. Some people have also
objected to copyright protection.
Macaulay for instance viewed copyright as “a tax on
readers for the purpose of giving a bounty to authors”. It has
long been recognized that only the original author of a book
ought to have the right to reproduce the book and sell copies
thus reproduced. If other people were free to do this they would
be making a profit out of the skill and labour of the original
author. It is for this reason that the law has long given to
authors for a specified term certain exclusive rights in relation
to so-called literary works. Such rights were recognized at
common law at least as early as the fifteenth century.
While granting exclusive statutory rights to the copyright
holder, copyright also ensures to balance the interests of society
as a whole to fully participate in the scientific and cultural
progress of mankind by two means; firstly, limiting the duration
for which a work enjoys copyright protection, and secondly,
allowing certain uses without specific authorization by the
owner of copyrights, known as „fair use‟ provisions in copyright
parlance.
The Exact nomenclature and scope of the rights granted
under the umbrella of copyright may vary from country to
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country and from one class of work to another. Copyright is

national in nature, meaning thereby that the rights granted by
national laws extend to the territorial limits of a particular
country. However, international treaties like the Berne
Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works,
1886, the Universal Copyright Convention, 1952 and the
Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property
Rights. 1994 ensure protection of copyrights of nationals of a
member country in all other member countries. The principle of
National Treatment ensures that foreigners, if they are nationals
of a member-country, are given the same rights enjoyed by the
nationals and the „Most Favoured Nation‟ principle ensures that
the facilities extended to one member country should be
extended to all the member countries.
Originally designed to cover printed material, the scope of
copyright law progressively expanded to cover newer and newer
forms of creative expressions. Today copyright serves a variety of
industries including production and distribution of books,
magazines, etc. (the information industry) media of
entertainment i.e. dramatic/musical works for performances,
publication of musical works and cinema, T.V., etc (the
entertainment industry) and industrial designs (manufacturing
industry). The moral basis for protection rests in the English
Commandment. “Thou Shall Not Steal”. The law does not allow
any person to appropriate to himself what has been produced by
the labour, skill and capital of another. This is the very
foundation and philosophy of copyright law besides the
economic rights the copyright also protects the Author‟s
reputation and honour which is associated with his work.
Generally speaking, the economic rights can be transferred but
moral rights remain with the author even after the transfer of
economic rights.
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HYPOTHESIS
Hypothesis underlying the present research is that the
history of Copyright Law suggests that it has undergone various
danger with technological developments but this copyright
Regime is not sufficient to deal with the threat and challenges
raised by the internet and digital technologies. Various
International Treaties, regional treaties and national legislations
enacted to deal with these challenges have not solved all the
problems. Many issues till remain unsolved and the copyright
owners in the digital age need to build their own sense of
technological measures to face these challenges.
OBJECTIVE OF THE PRESENT RESEARCH:
Lots of advancements and developments have taken place
in the digital world or the cyber world. The internet has made
information access very faster and easier. Many new copyright
laws concerning internet issues in the digital world have come
up and old laws have undergone many amendments to cope with
the problems and cases arising out of internet matters.
The objective of the present research is to explain and
testify whether the copyright law in India as well as the
International Copyright convention have been able to enforce the
statutory protection to the copyright owners and to curb the
cyber menace access the globe.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The present research focuses on Copyright laws on
internet issues in the digital world in India as well as the world.
What laws should be provided to deal with such issues and how
to make the best use of existing laws in curbing the cyber
menace, is the point of discussion in the research. For this
research Doctrinal Method has been adopted by scanning
library, law journals, Online databases. Intellectual, Property
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Blogs, Intellectual Property Journals, Law Reviews, case study

and News Reports etc.
Copyright law was conceived in order to encourage the
development and distribution of works of authorship. It
accomplishes this by giving authors certain exclusive rights to
their works, including the right to authorize others to exercise
those rights. If such protection were absent, neither the
authorship nor distribution would cease but unauthorized
reproduction and distribution would be so easily accomplished
that the quantity and diversity of creative activity would be
inhibited.
The copyright law deals with the rights of intellectual
creativity. This area of intellectual property is particularly
concerned about protection, creativity and ingenuity. It is an
important area of intellectual property because it is one of the
means of promoting, enriching and disseminating the national
cultural, heritage. A country‟s development depends to a very
great extent on the creativity of its people and encouragement of
individual creativity and its dissemination is a Sine quo non for
progress.
The law of copyright affords maximum protection to
authors. It encourages the researches of learned men. It secures
to them proprietary rights in their own works.
The copyright system as it has developed over the past
nearly 300 years, has created a balance between the rights of
the authors, and the interests of the public in access to
protected works. From the inception of copyright law, rights
have been subject to limitations of duration and exemptions for
personal and scientific use.
Copyright is a concept which predates the concept of
Intellectual Property Rights, however, with the emergence of
other Intellectual Property in the recent past, Copyright has
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been placed & recognized along with other such rights, under
one common hood i.e. Intellectual Property Rights.
Evolution of the concept of copyright has been co-relative
to evolution of technology. Piracy is found to be co-extensive
with advancement of technology. From the jurisprudential point
of view, it may be rightly said that a co-jural relationship
between piracy on the one hand and advancement of technology
on the other hand exists, that is to say, more the technical
advancement more the Piracy.
The distribution of digital content over the Internet via file-
sharing networks has made traditional copyright law obsolete in
practice. The digital-media business has gotten a lot more
complicated in the last decade. When file-sharing networks
opened a gaping hole in the entertainment industry‟s ability to
control the distribution of its content, a war broke out between
copyright holders and consumers.
The whole structure of the modern electric era is based
and rests upon the edifice of the Intellectual property. Therefore
it is most essential and important to safeguard the interests of
the researchers, institutions, and individuals, who are toiling
day and night in bringing innovative methods, inventing new
technology, advancing and promoting novel methods,
manufacturing, entertainment and dissemination of knowledge,
furnishing information through multimedia. TRIPS Agreement
plays the most significant role in promoting the interests of
copyright owners, patentees, trade marks owners etc. It is the
need of the time that in order to encourage the advancement of
industrial property rights all the member states should co-
operate with each other and strive to create an atmosphere with
may be most conductive in this direction.
The Information Technology act 2000 enacted by our
Parliament signals to the world that we are ready to face the
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digital challenge. Though the Act has been criticized for not
being comprehensive yet it is a milestone in the history of our
Republic as being the first technology legislation. By the middle
of the 1990s the global trend in world trade was moving from
paper based documents like the Bills of Exchange and other
instruments. In order to keep pace with the changing scenario
the Government of India initiated the process for identifying the
issues so that suitable legislation can be enacted to facilitate e -
commerce. The issues identified basically relate to the problem
of giving evidentiary value to electronic records on par with
paper-based records conclusion of contracts online, legal
recognition of digital signatures and the resulting offences,
which required amendment to the Indian Penal Code. As the
Preamble of the Act states, the Act was meant to give effect to
the resolution of the General Assembly of United Nations by
Resolution 51/162 of 30 January 1997, called upon the Member
States to adopt the model law to achieve uniformity of law
applicable to alternatives of paper-based methods of
communication and storage of information. The above Act was
also passed for the compliance of TRIPS provision requiring
member States for the enforcement of TRIPS provisions by
enacting national legislations. Legislative competence also flows
from article 253 of the Constitution which empowers the
Parliament to make law for implementing any treaty, agreement,
etc., or any decision made at any international conference,
association or other body.
In the last it can be said that the importance of the law of
copyright has greatly increased with technological advances
creating modern mass media of dissemination. It is of
paramount interest to all those who are concerned in literature,
drama, music and art. Increasingly, technological solutions are
being found for the problems posed by the new technologies
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through access control or copy control mechanisms such as

encryption technology or water marking incorporated into works
distributed over digital networks with a view to protecting them
from illegal exploitations. Encryption, watermarking, coding,
encapsulating copyrighted works in a temper-resistant electronic
envelope, electronic lamination, etc., have already been
experimented with.
The need of technology is not only for preventing the works
from being stolen and misappropriated, but also for detecting
infringements and misappropriations.
Many developed countries attempted to introduce new
norms to solve the problems in the digital context. The Digital
Millennium Copyright Act, 1998 of USA. The Copyright
Amendment (Digital Agenda) Act, 2000 of Australia, the
directives issued by the EC in 2000 and the amendments to the
Copyright Act introduced by Japan are illustrative of the new
trends. Different approaches were followed by these countries for
implementing the mandate under WCT.
Many of these provisions protected the interest of the
content provides sacrificing the interest of the users and
mandating the service providers to ensure prevention of
copyright infringement when it was brought to their notice.
The Copyright in Computer Software is sufficiently
protected in India, especially after Amendment Act, 2012 (27 of
2012). But pace of technological developments poses many legal
issues. Therefore, there is need to generate awareness among
various stakeholders. First the proprietors must know their
rights, users must be aware about infringement and fair use,
enforcement agencies including police personnel must be fully
trained and equipped with modern technology to deal with piracy
and violation of copyright laws. Judiciary must be willing to lay
down innovative tests and solutions to check Computer Software
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infringement. Latest judicial pronouncements can also bring

more clarity to level playing field for copyright protection in
computer software. Government should be ready to monitor
closely software piracy incidents, analyse them with the purpose
to deal with them efficiently and finally take steps to reduce
infringement of various types of software by different means.
Legislature must carry its vigour to do further research on the
various measures and provisions which can effectively protect
computer software and keep amending the law whenever
necessary.
It can be said that Indian Copyright law has kept itself up
to data with the International Conventions relating to copyright,
namely, Berne convention, Rome Convention, Universal
Copyright Convention, TRIPS, WIPO Copyright Treaty and WIPO
Performers and Phonograms Treaty.
1. Copyright relating to traditional libraries are no longer
applicable in the digital environment when works are made
available in entirely different forms and easily accessible
over the internet which can be distributed easily through
peer to peer services. So, there is need for a digital library
in India. The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) has
been launched at a limited scale in April, 2015. The
European Union is similarly working towards mass
digitization to provide for a better copyright system. With
specific reference to universal libraries, requirements for
licensing should be developed to make them feasible.
2. The Copyright Amendment Act, 2012 introduced Section
65A which states that any person who circumvents an
effective technological measure applied for the purpose of
protecting any of the rights conferred by this Act, with the
intention of infringing such rights shall be punishable with
improvement which may extend to two years and shall also
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be liable to fine. But it fails to address the menace of

circumvention of TPM (Technological Protection Measures)
which other laws like the German Copyright Act does. USA
protects TPM under section 1201, Title 17 of the United
States code. The Copyright Act, 1968 of Australia also
prohibits trafficking is any kind of circumvention
technology.
In my opinion, Indian Legislature should follow the
developed nations and amend the copyright law to incorporate
prohibition of trafficking. A clause preventing trafficking in
circumvention devices will enable the copyright regime of India
to adapt to the challenges posed by the digital media
environment.
3. Section 52 of the Indian Copyright Act. 1957 only specifies
the broad heads and the main actions which would not
amount to infringement. Efforts should be made to analyse
the principles brought out by the courts and link it with
criticism and review‟ to have a wider understanding of fair
use in the copyright holders interest. So, there is a need to
introduce a provision dealing with fair use which would lay
down what would constitute fair use, not withstanding
other provisions which tend to curb such use.
4. In order to provide better protection to the copyright
owners, it would be just and proper to provide for a graver
punishment in cases of infringements and further
enhanced punishments in case of subsequent violations so
that it can act as a great deterrent factor.
5. The infringement of copyright material hits the financial
side of the copyright owner apart from his intellectual side.
Thus the law makers should consider the infringement or
violation of copyright material both as a civil as well as a
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criminal wrong and provide for all damages to the

copyright owner.
6. A powerful electronic copyright management system
should be introduced in copyright law across the globe to
prevent invasion of piracy in digital scenario.
7. Copyright was thought to be more appropriate and suitable
protection regime for computer software. But the
application of provisions of copyright law to software based
products is not free from problems because the mode of
operation of computers is such that makes copying easier.
The essence of copyright is that it prohibits the copying of
a work where as in softwares, any form of use requires
copying from a storage location to be processed within the
equipment.
This problem should be taken care of by different countries
by making suitable amendments in their respective Copyright
Acts.
8. In my opinion computer programs should be brought
within copyright protection instead of just extending the
traditional definition of literary work to computer
programs. A separate new chapter covering exclusively
computer related provisions should be added in the
copyright legislation. This will enable us to accommodate
the new changes in the digital age.
9. The law provides for quasi judicial bodies in which judges
of the Supreme Court or High Court, sitting or retired or a
person eligible to become judge of a HC or SC is made
chairman. It is suggested that courts on the pattern of
consumer courts may also be constituted to deal with such
cases in addition to the Copyright Board.
10. Copyright awareness campaign / education is a must for
popularizing copyright culture. For example with change of
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medium, the work becomes materially different from the

original expression.
11. If a back up copy kept for personal study, research, record
or protection from destruction is sold by heirs, in auction
or otherwise, situation of the successor becomes that of
infringer, although there is no colorable attempt on his
part. The copyright law in particular and all laws in
general should be modified, where the successor of a
property comes in possession of a pirated work or even
when the case may belong to possession of old weapons
etc.
12. On the 21 st century, a law is needed to regulate
transaction in cyber space method which e-commerce, e-
trading, pirated goods and copyrighted material over the
net would have been open to infringement without the
option of judicial redressal.
13. There should be trained and well equipped specialized
police force for detection and enforcement of crimes
relating only to violation of intellectual property rights
because infringement cases are increasing day by day.
What is seized is not even one percent of infringing copies.
Thus a more vigilant investigating machinery in the form of
police is required.
14. The American Copyright Law balances the interests of the
Internet subscriber and copyright holder and provides a
clear direction for the Internet service provider regarding
the course of action which he has to take when the
competing claims are made by the interested parties. A
legal provision on the same lines should be incorporated in
the Indian Copyright Act so as to provide a better stand to
the service provider.
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15. We should build synergies between lawyers and digital

experts to evolve a conceptual framework which can
accommodate the peculiar problems of new technology.
The technology should generate its own mechanism for the
protection of copyright.