UNIT-II

INTRODUCTION TO COPYRIGHTS

Copy rights: When Ernest Hemingway wrote The Old Man and the Sea in 1952, what he wrote
was protected by copyright.

What Works Are Protected under Copyright Law

Copyright protection is granted to works that include

(1) Literary works;

(2) Musical works, including any accompanying words;

(3) Dramatic works, including any accompanying music;

(4) Pantomimes and choreographic works;

(5) Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works;

(6) Motion pictures and other audiovisual works;

(7) Sound recordings; and

(8) Architectural works.

What Is Not Protected by Copyright Law

Several categories of material are generally not eligible for federal copyright protection. These
include among others:

 Works That Have Not Been Fixed In A Tangible Form Of Expression (For Example,
Choreographic Works That Have Not Been Notated Or Recorded, Or Improvisational
Speeches Or Performances That Have Not Been Written Or Recorded)
 Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of
typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents
 Ideas, Procedures, Methods, Systems, Processes, Concepts, Principles, Discoveries, Or
Devices, As Distinguished From A Description, Explanation, Or Illustration
 Works Consisting Entirely Of Information That Is Common Property And Containing
No Original Authorship (For Example: Standard Calendars, Height And Weight Charts,
Tape Measures And Rulers, And Lists Or Tables Taken From Public Documents Or
Other Common Sources)

How to obtain copy right protection

In U.S., copyright exists upon fixation of work in tangible medium; no registration necessary
Work must embody a threshold degree of originality.

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BASIC COPYRIGHT PRINCIPLES

Since last year, I’ve had the privilege of serving as one of 18 members of the World Economic
Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Intellectual Property System. Recently, we’ve developed
and published a set of digital copyright principles that we hope will provide a framework for
addressing copyright in light of the many new technologies for creating, disseminating, and
consuming content.

The original document as published through the World Economic Forum can be found here the
principles it identifies are as follows:

 Provide protection to creators and producers: Creators and producers of creative

works should receive meaningful protection, recognition and compensation for their
contributions to economic and cultural development.
 Maintain balance between Creators, Owners and users: Copyright law should reflect
an appropriate balance between the rights of creators and copyright owners and the
interests of consumers and other users of works.
 Monitor the copy right laws regularly: Copyright law should be regularly reviewed and
updated as appropriate to respond to new technologies and uses.
 Copyright should be cost effective and meaningful: Copyright systems should enable
rights to be meaningfully, practically, cost-effectively, and proportionally enforced.
 Useful for the public: A wide range of means should be available for creative works to
reach the public, as enabled by Internet and other technologies—maximizing choice for
both rights holders and users. It is desirable to have as much quality content as possible
available in as many formats as possible.
 Licensing should be liberalized: Licensing should be streamlined in a content-
appropriate manner and simplified to be as easy and efficient as possible, including for
different types of content and across national boundaries.
 Educate the public: The public should be educated about the purpose, scope and nature
of copyright protections, including exceptions, and the reasons for proposed changes or
government action.
SUBJECT MATTER OF COPYRIGHT
In General

Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship fixed
in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be
perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine
or device. Works of authorship include the following categories:

(1) Literary works;

(2) Musical works, including any accompanying words;

(3) Dramatic works, including any accompanying music;

(4) Pantomimes and choreographic works;

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(5) Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works;

(6) Motion pictures and other audiovisual works;

(7) Sound recordings; and

(8) Architectural works.

(b) In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea,
procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of
the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work.

Subject matter of copyright: National origin

 Unpublished Works: The works specified by sections 102 and 103, while unpublished,
are subject to protection under this title without regard to the nationality or domicile of
the author.
 Published Works: The works specified by sections 102 and 103, when published, are
subject to protection under this title if.

 on the date of first publication, one or more of the authors is a national or

domiciliary of the United States, or is a national, domiciliary, or sovereign
authority of a treaty party, or is a stateless person, wherever that person may be
domiciled; or
 the work is first published in the United States or in a foreign nation that, on the
date of first publication, is a treaty party; or
 the work is a sound recording that was first fixed in a treaty party; or
 the work is a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work that is incorporated in a
building or other structure, or an architectural work that is embodied in a building
and the building or structure is located in the United States or a treaty party; or
 the work is first published by the United Nations or any of its specialized
agencies, or by the Organization of American States; or
 The work comes within the scope of a Presidential proclamation. Whenever the
President finds that a particular foreign nation extends, to works by authors who
are nationals or domiciliaries of the United States or to works that are first
published in the United States, copyright protection on substantially the same
basis as that on which the foreign nation extends protection to works of its own
nationals and domiciliaries and works first published in that nation, the President
may by proclamation extend protection under this title to works of which one or
more of the authors is, on the date of first publication, a national, domiciliary, or
sovereign authority of that nation, or which was first published in that nation. The
President may revise, suspend, or revoke any such proclamation or impose any
conditions or limitations on protection under a proclamation.
 Effect of Berne Convention: No right or interest in a work eligible for protection under
this title may be claimed by virtue of, or in reliance upon, the provisions of the Berne
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 Convention, or the adherence of the United States thereto. Any rights in a work eligible
for protection under this title that derive from this title, other Federal or State statutes, or
the common law, shall not be expanded or reduced by virtue of, or in reliance upon, the
provisions of the Berne Convention, or the adherence of the United States thereto.
 Effect of Phonograms Treaties: Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b), no
works other than sound recordings shall be eligible for protection under this title solely
by virtue of the adherence of the United States to the Geneva Phonograms Convention or
the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

RIGHTS AFFORDED BY COPYRIGHT LAW

The Copyright Act has six exclusive rights for copyright holders. These rights are exclusive from
each other. This means that the permission of one right does not automatically allow the
permission of another right. The rights are also exclusive only to the copyright holder and to
anyone the copyright holder gives permission of its use.

These exclusive copyright rights are:

 The right to reproduce: The ‘right to reproduce’ is the right to copy the copyrighted work.
For example, no one else but the copyright holder of a novel may reprint or photocopy the
pages of the book. Or as for sound recordings, only the record label or artist may copy the
songs from the record album, tape, compact disc, or digital audio.
 The right to derivative works: The ‘right to derivative’ works entitles the copyright holder
exclusive right to create adaptations of the copyrighted work. Thus a derivative work is
when the process of the original copyrighted work is transformed. As such, J.K. Rowling
enjoys the exclusive right to have her Harry Potter books adapted into screenplays.
Derivative works may also include a board game adapted from a famous TV show or
compilations of poems adapted into a book of poetry.
 The right to distribute copies: The ‘right to distribute’ is the exclusive right to publicly
sell the copyrighted work or to transfer ownership either by rental, lease, or lending. Note
that ownership is not the same as holding a copyright. An author’s storyline is the copyright
but ownership is in the physical book. So when the copyright holder transfers ownership of
the physical material, they do not transfer the copyright along with it. But although the
copyright holder has the exclusive right to sell or transfer, this right is limited up until the
first sale of the material. Under the ‘First Sale Doctrine’, anyone in ownership of the
material after the first sale may sell, rent, lease, or lend the material without the copyright
holder’s permission. Thus, when one buys a book at a bookstore, it is the first sale of that
book. Thereafter, the person who bought the book may sell or dispose of the book as they
please without authorization from the copyright holder.
 The right to display publicly: The rights to ‘publicly perform’ and to ‘publicly display’ are
similar rights. The right to publicly perform only applies to certain copyrighted works
which are literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works; pantomimes, motion
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 pictures and other audiovisual works. The right to publicly display includes all of the above
works plus pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works. A work is displayed by showing a copy
of it by means of any device or process. Thus, a street vendor selling movies may only
display a clip of the movie if authorized by the copyright holder. To perform means to
recite, render, play, dance, or act the copyrighted work either directly or by means of any
device or process. So, a copyrighted dance routine can only be performed in public with the
copyright holder’s permission. A performance or display ‘in the public’ is a place opened to
the public that does not include a family gathering or social gathering of acquaintances.
Therefore, that dance routine can be performed at a private wedding without the copyright
holder’s authorization.
 The right to perform publicly: The last exclusive right, ‘right to perform publicly by
audio transmissions’, only applies to sound recordings. This includes receiving the
copyright holder’s permission before using a song clip for a TV commercial or uploading an
artist’s song onto a YouTube video.
 The right to perform publicly via digital audio transmissions.

COPY RIGHT OWNERSHIP

Meaning of copyright owner: The person or entity who retains legal control over all (or some)
of the rights granted under copyright law, usually the author of the work. Copyrights are
generally owned by the people who create the works of expression, with some important
exceptions:
 If a work is created by an employee in the course of his or her employment, the employer
owns the copyright.
 If the work is created by an independent contractor and the independent contractor signs a
written agreement stating that the work shall be “made for hire,” the commissioning
person or organization owns the copyright only if the work is (1) a part of a larger literary
work, such as an article in a magazine or a poem or story in an anthology; (2) part of a
motion picture or other audiovisual work, such as a screenplay; (3) a translation; (4) a
supplementary work such as an afterword, an introduction, chart, editorial note,
bibliography, appendix or index; (5) a compilation; (6) an instructional text; (7) a test or
answer material for a test; or (8) an atlas. Works that don’t fall within one of these eight
categories constitute works made for hire only if created by an employee within the scope
of his or her employment.
 If the creator has sold the entire copyright, the purchasing business or person becomes the
copyright owner.

What rights do copyright owners have under the Copyright Act?

The Copyright Act of 1976 grants a number of exclusive rights to copyright owners, including:

 Reproduction right: the right to make copies of a protected work

 Distribution right: the right to sell or otherwise distribute copies to the public

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  Right to create adaptations (called derivative works) : the right to prepare new works
based on the protected work, and
 Performance and display rights: the rights to perform a protected work (such as a stage
play) or to display a work in public. This bundle of rights allows a copyright owner to be
flexible when deciding how to realize commercial gain from the underlying work; the
owner may sell or license any of the rights.

COPYRIGHT TRANSFER

Meaning of Copyright transfer

A copyright transfer agreement is a legal document containing provisions for the conveyance of
full or partial copyright from the rights owner to another party.

Termination of a Transfer

Sometimes an author transfer’s copyright to someone and then later the author reacquires it
through a process known as “terminating a transfer.” Copyright laws provide a method by which
authors can reclaim rights after a number of years. This termination and reclamation process is
complex, and the rules differ depending on when the work was first published. As a very general
rule, transfer terminations occur between 28 and 56 years after the first publication. Terminations
are filed with the Copyright Office and can be located by researching Copyright Office records.

COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION

Meaning: Copyright registration is to place on record a verifiable account of the date and content
of the work in question, so that in the event of a legal claim, or case of infringement or
plagiarism, the copyright owner can produce a copy of the work from an official government
source.

In general, copyright registration is a legal formality intended to make a public record of the
basic facts of a particular copyright. However, registration is not a condition of copyright
protection. Even though registration is not a requirement for protection, the copyright law
provides several inducements or advantages to encourage copyright owners to make registration.

Advantages /Benefits of Copyright Registration

 Registration required before a copyright owner bring suit for infringement

 Statutory damages and attorneys’ fees available infringement action if work
registered before infringement or within 3 months after publication
 Registration may serve as presumptive evidence the copyright in the work is valid
 Registration may give actual or constructive no copyright claim
 Registration may be recorded with U.S. Customs Service to prevent importation of
infringing goods.

Copyright Registration Process

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Copyright Registering agencies
 In Canada, copyrighted works can be registered at the Canadian Intellectual Property
Office for a fee.
 In Kenya, copyrighted works can be registered at the Kenya Copyrights Board for a small
fee.
 In the United Kingdom, commercial services provide a registration facility where copies
of work can be lodged to establish legal evidence of a copyright claim. There are also
requirements to file certain published works with the British Library and, on request, the
five legal deposit libraries.
 In the United States, the United States Copyright Office accepts registrations. For works
created in the US by US citizens, a registration is also required before an infringement
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 suit may be filed in a US court. Furthermore, copyright holders cannot claim statutory
damages or attorney's fees unless the work was registered prior to infringement, or within
three months of publication.
 In India Copyright office New Delhi.

Who May File an Application Form?

The following persons are legally entitled to submit an application form:
 The author.
 The copyright claimant.
 The owner of exclusive right(s).
 The duly authorized agent of such author, other copyright claimant, or owner of
exclusive right(s). Any person authorized to act on behalf of the author, other copyright
claimant, or owner of exclusive rights may apply for registration.

DURATION OF COPYRIGHT
The duration of copyright in these works is generally computed the same way as for works
created on or after January 1, 1978: life plus 70 years or 95 or 120 years, depending on the nature
of authorship. However, all works in this category are guaranteed at least 25 years of statutory
protection. Duration may differ from country to country and nature of work.

Country Copyright terms based on Copyright terms based on publication and

authors deaths creation dates
India Life + 60 years (except 60 years from publication (posthumous works,
posthumous works photographs, cinematograph films, sound
recordings, works of public undertakings, and works
of international organizations.

USA Life + 70 years (works published 95 years from publication for works published
since 1978 or unpublished 1964–1977; 28 (if copyright not renewed) or 95
works) years from publication for works published 1923–
1963 (Copyrights prior to 1923 have expired, not
including copyrights on sound recordings published
prior to February 15, 1972, covered only under state
laws

FEE DETAILS OF COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION

S.No. For an application for COMPULSORY LICENSE : Fee

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 For a license to republish a Literary, Dramatic, Musical or Artistic
1. Rs. 5,000/- per work
work (Sections 31, 31A,31B* and 32A)
For a license to communicate an any work to the public by Rs. 40,000/- per
2.
Broadcast(Section 31(1)(b)) applicant/per sataton
3. For license to republish a Cinematograph Film (Section 31) Rs. 15,000/- per work
4. For a license to republish a sound recording (Section 31) Rs. 10,000/- per work
5. For a license to perform any work in public (Section 31) Rs. 5,000/- per work
For a license to publish or communicate to the public the work or
6. Rs. 5,000/- per work
translation (Section 31A)
For a license to publish any work in any format useful for person
7. Rs. 2,000/- per work
with disability (Section 31 B)
For an application for a license to produce and publish a translation
8. of a Literary or Dramatic work in any Language (Section 32 & 32- Rs. 5,000/- per work
A)
For an application for registration or copyright in a:
(a)Literary, Dramatic, Musical or Artistic work Rs. 500/- per work
9. (b)Provided that in respect of a Literary or Artistic work which is
used or is capable of being used in relation to any goods (Section Rs. 2,000/- per work
45)
For an application for change in particulars of copyright entered in
the Register of Copyrights in respect of a:
(a)Literary, Dramatic, Musical or Artistic work Rs. 200/- per work
10.
(b)Provided that in respect of a literary or Artistic work which is
used or is capable of being used in relation to any goods (Section Rs. 1,000/- per work
45)
For an application for registration of Copyright in a Cinematograph
11. Rs. 5,000/- per work
Film (Section 45)
For an application for registration of change in particulars of
12. copyright entered in the Register of Copyrights in respect of Rs. 2,000/- per work
Cinematograph film (Section 45)
For an application for registration of copyright in a Sound
13. Rs. 2,000/- per work
Recording (Section 45)
For an application for registration of changes in particulars of
14. copyright entered in the Register of Copyrights in respect of Sound Rs. 1,000/- per work
Recording (Section 45)
15. For taking extracts from the indexes (Section 47) Rs. 500/- per work
16. For taking extracts from the Register of Copyrights (Section 47). Rs. 500/- per work
For a certified copy of an extract from the Register of Copyrights
17. Rs. 500/- per copy
of the indexes (Section 47)
For a certified copy of any other public document in the custody of
18. Rs. 500/- per Copy
the Register of Copyright or Secretary of the Copyright Board
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 For an application for prevention of importation of infringing
19. Rs. 1,200/- per wor
copies (Section 53) per place of entry

COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION FORMALITIES

Copyright formalities are legal, generally statutory, requirements needed to obtain a copyright in
a particular jurisdiction. Common copyright formalities include

 Copyright registration: In general, copyright registration is a legal formality intended to

make a public record of the basic facts of a particular copyright.
 Copyright renewal: Copyright renewal is a process through which an initial term
of copyright protection for a work can be extended for a second term. Once the term of
copyright protection has ended, the copyrighted work enters the public domain, and can
be freely reproduced and incorporated into new works.
 Copyright notice: In United States copyright law, a copyright notice is a notice of
statutorily prescribed form that informs users of the underlying claim
to copyright ownership in a published work. Copyright is a form of protection provided
by U.S. law to authors of “original works of authorship.”
 Copyright deposit: Legal deposit is a legal requirement that a person or group submit
copies of their publications to a repository, usually a library. The requirement is mostly
limited to books and periodicals. The number of copies varies and can range from one to
19 (in Poland).

Note: Requirements for meeting copyright formalities were largely eliminated in many countries
with the adoption of the Berne Convention, which granted a copyright for a creative work
automatically as soon as the work was "fixed". Berne was first adopted in 1886 by eight
countries, mostly in Europe. Acceptance grew over the course of the 20th century. (See List of
parties to Berne Convention) The United States, a notable late holdout, joined Berne effective
March 1, 1989, with the passage of the Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988; China,
another notable holdout, joined Berne in 1992.
With the adoption of Berne and its successor treaties, requiring formalities to obtain a copyright
has fallen out of practice around the world.

COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
Copyright infringement is the use of works protected by copyright law without
permission, infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, such as the right
to reproduce, distribute, display or perform the protected work, or to make derivative works.

Examples of copyright infringement

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  Downloading and sharing MP3 files of music, videos and games without permission of
the copyright owner.
 Using corporate logos without permission.
 Scanning a photograph that has been published and using it without permission or
attribution.
 Placing a number of full-text articles on a course web page and allowing the web page to
be accessible to anyone who can access the Internet.
 Downloading licensed software from non-authorized sites without the permission of the
copyright or license holder.
 Making a movie file or a large segment of a movie available on a web site without
permission of the copyright owner.
Common Method of Copyright infringement
 Piracy: The practice of labeling the infringement of exclusive rights in creative works as
"piracy
 Theft: Copyright holders frequently refer to copyright infringement as theft.
Ways to Identify Copyright infringement
 Copyright holders or their agents locate possible copyright infringements by using
automated systems, such as spiders.
 Via Tagged files on file-sharing networks, like Gnutella, Lime wire and Bit Torrent.
 Taking content “bait” on industry-owned fileservers.

Penalties of copy right infringement

 Infringer pays the actual dollar amount of damages and profits.

 The law provides a range from $200 to $150,000 for each work infringed.
 Infringer pays for all attorneys’ fees and court costs.
 The Court can issue an injunction to stop the infringing acts.
 The Court can impound the illegal works.
 The infringer can go to jail.

Exceptions to Copyright infringement in India

The Copyright Act 1957 exempts certain acts from the ambit of copyright infringement. While
many people tend to use the term fair use to denote copyright exceptions in India, it is a factually
wrong usage. While the US and certain other countries follow the broad fair use exception, India
follows a different approach towards copyright exceptions. India follows a hybrid approach that
allows-

 Fair dealing with any copyrighted work for certain specifically mentioned purposes and
 Certain specific activities enumerated in the statute.
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While the fair use approach followed in the US can be applied for any kind of uses, the fair
dealing approach followed in India is clearly limited towards the purposes of

 Private or personal use, including research,

 Criticism or review,
 Reporting of current events and current affairs, including the reporting of a lecture
delivered in public.

While the term fair dealing has not been defined anywhere in the Copyright Act 1957, the
concept of 'fair dealing' has been discussed in different judgments, including the decision of the
Supreme Court of India in Academy of General Education v. B. Malini Mallya (2009) and the
decision of the High Court of Kerala in Civic Chandran v. Ammini Amma.

Prevention of copy right infringement in India

 Administrative remedies: detention of the infringing goods by the customs authorities

 Criminal Remedies: imprisonment (up to 3 years) along with a fine (up to 200,000
Rupees)
 Civil remedies: injunctions, damages and account of profits.

INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT LAW

While no creative work is automatically protected worldwide, there are international treaties which
provide protection automatically for all creative works as soon as they are fixed in a medium. There are
two primary international copyright agreements, the Buenos Aires Convention and the Berne Convention
for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
 Berne Convention: The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic
Works (also referred to as just the Berne Convention) requires protection for all creative
works in a fixed medium be automatic, and last for at least 50 years after the author's
death for any work except for photographic and cinematographic works. Photographic
works are tied to a minimum of 25 years. Cinematographic works are protected for 50
years after first showing, or 50 years after creation if it hasn't been shown within 50 years
after the creation. The Berne Convention also allows for the rule of the shorter term,
stating that "unless the legislation of that country otherwise provides, the term shall not
exceed the term fixed in the country of origin of the work". Not all countries have applied
this rule however.
 Buenos Aires Convention: The Buenos Aires Convention was a treaty signed by
most North and South American countries, which allows for protection of all creative
works as long as they contain a notice informing that the creator claims copyright on it.
The Buenos Aires Convention also instituted the rule of the shorter term, where the
length of the copyright term for the work in a country was whichever was shorter - the
length of the term in the source country, or the protecting country of the work.

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 All Buenos Aires countries are now also parties to the Berne Convention, but elements from
Buenos Aires are still used in the modern era, such as the rule of the shorter term.

SEMICONDUCTOR CHIP PROTECTION ACT

Meaning of Semiconductor chip: An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also

referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small plate
("chip") of semiconductor material, normally silicon.

Meaning of Semiconductor chip Protection act: The Semiconductor Chip Protection Act of
1984 (or SCPA) is an act of the US Congress that makes the layouts of integrated legally
protected upon registration, and hence illegal to copy without permission. Prior to 1984, it was
not necessarily illegal to produce a competing chip with an identical layout. As the legislative
history for the SCPA explained, patent and copy right protection for chip layouts, or chip
topographies, was largely unavailable. As a result, U.S. chip manufacturers- notably, Intel, along
with the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), took the lead in seeking remedial
legislation-against what they termed “chip piracy” during the hearings that led to enactment of
the SCPA, chip industry representatives asserted that a pirate could for $10,000 copy a chip
design that had cost its original manufacturer upwards from $10,000 to design. In 1984 the
United States enacted the semiconductor chip protection Act of 1984 (the SCPA) to protect the
topography of semiconductor chips. Japan and European Community (EC) countries soon
followed suit and enacted their own, similar laws protecting the topography of semiconductor
chips. Chip topographies are also protected by TRIPS, an international treaty.

In India, the Act for protection of the layout designs of integrated circuits in India, came into
force on 4th September, 2000 and is called the SICLD (Semiconductor Integrated Circuit Layout
Design) Act, 2000. The Act provides for exclusive rights to the registered proprietor of a layout
design and also to the registered users. Applications for registration of layout designers must be
filed with the registrar. Appeals against the orders of the registrar could be filed with the
appellate board. The Act also provides for criminal prosecution for infringement of layout
designs.

Benefits

 Protection of effort and investments in design and improvement of circuits

 Recognition of original effort

Registration

 Registration of circuit design in India can be done in India by making an application to

registrar of SICLDL, New Delhi.
 Web link- http://mit.gov.in/content/sicldr
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Term

10 years from date of filing or known date of commercialization, whichever is earlier

The following layout designs are not registrable

 Not original
 Already commercial exploited
 Not distinctive
 Not capable of being distinguishable from any other registered layout design.

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