Interpretation

Section 2 of the Copyright Act, 1957 deals with interpretation. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- (a) adaptation means,-- (i) in relation to a dramatic work, the conversion of the work into a non-dramatic work; The Act came into force on 21 Jan 1958.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,--

(a) adaptation means,--

(i) in relation to a dramatic work, the conversion of the work into a non-dramatic work;

(ii) in relation to a literary work or an artistic work, the conversion of the work into a dramatic work by way of performance in public or otherwise;

(iii) in relation to a literary or dramatic work, any abridgement of the work or any version of the work in which the story or action is conveyed wholly or mainly by means of pictures in a form suitable for reproduction in a book, or in a newspaper, magazine or similar periodical; ¹***

(iv) in relation to a musical work, any arrangement or transcription of the work; ²[and]

²[(v) in relation to any work, any use of such work involving its re-arrangement or alteration;]

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(b) ⁴[work of architecture] means any building or structure having an artistic character or design, or any model for such building or structure;

(c) artistic work means,--

(i) a painting, a sculpture, a drawing (including a diagram, map, chart or plan), an engraving or a photograph, whether or not any such work possesses artistic quality;

(ii) an ⁴[work of architectural]; and

(iii) any other work of artistic craftsmanship;

(d) author means,--

(i) in relation to literary or dramatic work, the author of the work;

(ii) in relation to a musical work, the composer;

(iii) in relation to an artistic work other than a photograph, the artist;

(iv) in relation to a photograph, the person taking the photograph;

⁵[(v) in relation to a cinematograph film or sound recording, the producer; and

(vi) in relation to any literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work which is computer-generated, the person who causes the work to be created;]

⁶[(dd) broadcast means communication to the public--

(i) by any means of wireless diffusion, whether in any one or more of the forms of signs, sounds or visual images; or

(ii) by wire,

and includes a re-broadcast;]

(e) calendar year means the year commencing on the 1st day of January;

⁷[(f) cinematograph film means any work of visual recording ⁸*** and includes a sound recording accompanying such visual recording and cinematograph shall be construed as including any work produced by any process analogous to cinematography including video films;]

⁹ [(fa) commercial rental does not include the rental, lease or lending of a lawfully acquired copy of a computer programme, sound recording, visual recording or cinematograph film for non-profit purposes by a non-profit library or non-profit educational institution.

Explanation.--For the purposes of this clause, a non-profit library or non-profit educational institution means a library or educational institution which receives grants from the Government or exempted from payment of tax under the Income-tax Act, 1961(43 of 1961).]

¹⁰[(ff) communication to the public means making any work or performance available for being seen or heard or otherwise enjoyed by the public directly or by any means of display or diffusion other than by issuing physical copies of it, whether a simultaneously or at places and times chosen individually, regardless of whether any member of the public actually sees, hears or otherwise enjoys the work or performance so made available.

Explanation.--For the purposes of this clause, communication through satellite or cable or any other means of simultaneous communication to more than one household or place of residence including residential rooms of any hotel or hostel shall be deemed to be communication to the public;]

(g) delivery, in relation to a lecture, includes delivery by means of any mechanical instrument or by ¹¹[broadcast];

(h) dramatic work includes any piece for recitation, choreographic work or entertainment in dumb show, the scenic arrangement or acting, form of which is fixed in writing or otherwise but does not include a cinematograph film;

¹² [(hh) duplicating equipment means any mechanical contrivance or device used or intended to be used for making copies of any work;]

(i) engravings include etchings, lithographs, wood-cuts, prints and other similar works, not being photographs;

(j) exclusive licence means a licence which confers on the licensee or on the licenses and persons authorised by him, to the exclusion of all other persons (including the owner of the copyright), any right comprised in the copyright in a work, and exclusive licensee shall be construed accordingly;

(k) Government work means a work which is made or published by or under the direction or control of--

(i) the Government or any department of the Government;

(ii) any Legislature in India;

(iii) any court, tribunal or other judicial authority in India;

¹³[(I) Indian work means a literary, dramatic or musical work,--

(i) the author of which is a citizen of India; or

(ii) which is first published in India; or

(iii) the author of which, in the case of an unpublished work, is, at the time of the making of the work, a citizen of India;]

¹⁴[(m) infringing copy means--

(i) in relation to a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, a reproduction thereof otherwise than in the form of a cinematograph film;

(ii) in relation to a cinematographic film, a copy of the film made on any medium by any means;

(iii) in relation to a sound recording, any other recording embodying the same sound recording, made by any means;

(iv) in relation to a programme or performance in which such a broadcast reproduction right or a performer's right subsists under the provisions of this Act, the sound recording or a cinematographic film of such programme or performance,;

if such reproduction, copy or sound recording is made or imported in contravention of the provisions of this Act;]

(n) lecture includes address, speech and sermon;

¹⁵[(o) literary work includes computer programmes, tables and compilations including computer ¹⁶[databases];]

¹⁷[(p) musical work means a work consisting of music and includes any graphical notation of such work but does not include any words or any action intended to be sung, spoken or performed with the music;]

¹⁸[(q) performance, in relation to performer's right, means any visual or acoustic presentation made live by one or more performers;]

¹⁹[(qq) performer includes an actor, singer, musician, dancer, acrobat, juggler, conjurer, snake charmer, a person delivering a lecture or any other person who makes a performance;]

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(s) photograph includes photo-lithograph and any work produced by any process analogous to photography but does not include any part of a cinematograph film;

(t) plate includes any stereotype or other plate, stone, block, mould, matrix, transfer, negative, ²¹[duplicating equipment] or other device used or intended to be used for printing or reproducing copies of any work, and any matrix or other appliance by which ²²[sound recording] for the acoustic presentation of the work are or are intended to be made;

²³[(u) “prescribed” means,—

(i) in relation to proceedings before a High Court, prescribed by rules made by the High Court; and

(ii) in other cases, prescribed by rules made under this Act;]

²⁴[(uu) producer, in relation to a cinematograph film or sound recording, means a person who takes the initiative and responsibility for making the work;]

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²⁷[(x) reprography means the making of copies of a work, by photocopying or similar means;

²⁸[(xa) Right Management Information means,--

(a) the title or other information identifying the work or performance;

(b) the name of the author or performer;

(c) the name and address of the owner of rights;

(d) terms and conditions regarding the use of the rights; and

(e) any number or code that represents the information referred to in sub-clauses (a) to (d), but does not include any device or procedure intended to identify the user.

(xx) sound recording means a recording of sounds from which such sounds may be produced regardless of the medium on which such recording is made or the method by which the sounds are produced;]

²⁹(xxa) visual recording means the recording in any medium, by any method including the storing of it by any electronic means, or moving images or of the representations thereof, from which they can be perceived, reproduced or communicated by any method.]

(y) work means any of the following works, namely:--

(i) a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work;

(ii) a cinematograph film;

(iii) ²²[sound recording];

(z) work of joint authorship means a work produced by the collaboration of two or more authors in which the contribution of one author is not distinct from the contribution of the other author or authors;

(za) work of sculpture includes casts and models.

Section 2, The Copyright Act, 1957 (Act 14 of 1957).