Mode of assignment
Section 19 of the Copyright Act, 1957 deals with mode of assignment. ] No assignment of the copyright in any work shall be valid unless it is in writing signed by the assignor or by his duly authorised agent. The Act came into force on 21 Jan 1958.
1[(1)] No assignment of the copyright in any work shall be valid unless it is in writing signed by the assignor or by his duly authorised agent.
2[(2) The assignment of copyright in any work shall identify such work, and shall specify the rights assigned and the duration and territorial extent of such assignment.
(3) The assignment of copyright in any work shall also specify the amount of 3[ royalty and any other consideration payable], to the author or his legal heirs during the currency of the assignment and the assignment shall be subject to revision, extension or termination on terms mutually agreed upon by the parties.
(4) Where the assignee does not exercise the rights assigned to him under any of the other sub-sections of this section within period of one year from the date of assignment, the assignment in respect of such right shall be deemed to have lapsed after the expiry of the said period unless otherwise specified in the assignment.
(5) If the period of assignment is not stated, it shall be deemed to be five years from the date of assignment.
(6) If the territorial extent of assignment of the rights is not specified, it shall be presumed to extend within India.
(7) Nothing in sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) or sub-section (4) or sub-section (5) or sub-section (6) shall be applicable to assignments made before the coming into force of the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1994.
4[(8) The assignment of copyright in any work contrary to the terms and conditions of the rights already assigned to a copyright society in which the author of the work is a member shall be void.
(9) No assignment of copyright in any work to make a cinematograph film shall affect the right of the author of the work to claim an equal share of royalties and consideration payable in case of utilisation of the work in any form other than for the communication to the public of the work, along with the cinematograph film in a cinema hall.
(10) No assignment of the copyright in any work to make a sound recording which does not form part of any cinematograph film shall affect the right of the author of the work to claim an equal share of royalties and consideration payable for any utilisation of such work in any form.]
Section 19, The Copyright Act, 1957 (Act 14 of 1957).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… per his own affidavit was 17 years in the year 1993 when allegedly the Appellant assigned the artistic work created by him to his brother Manoj Kumar for the purposes of his firm M.M. Marketing Company. Even otherwise, no Assignment Deed has been placed on record by the Appellant and by virtue of the provisions of Section 19 of the Copyright Act, 1957, no assignment of copyright in any work shall be valid unless it is in writing, signed by the assignor or by its duly authorized agent. Sub-Section (5) of Section 19 further provides that in case the period of assignment is not specified in the Assignment Deed, it shall be deemed to be 5 …
Questions about Section 19
What does Section 19 of the Copyright Act deal with?
Section 19 of the Copyright Act is headed "Mode of assignment". ] No assignment of the copyright in any work shall be valid unless it is in writing signed by the assignor or by his duly authorised agent.
How do I find court cases under Section 19 of the Copyright Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Copyright Act 19, section 19 Copyright Act, section 19 of the Copyright Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome.
What should I read with Section 19 of the Copyright Act, and has it changed?
2 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it.
When did Section 19 of the Copyright Act come into force?
Section 19 of the Copyright Act, cited as Copyright Act 19, came into force on 21 Jan 1958, having been enacted on 04 Jun 1957. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 14 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.