When copyright infringed
Section 51 of the Copyright Act, 1957 deals with when copyright infringed. Copyright in a work shall be deemed to be infringed-- (a) when any person, without a licence granted by the owner of the copyright or the Registrar of Copyrights under this Act or in contravention of the conditions of a licence so granted or of any condition imposed by a competent authority under th The Act came into force on 21 Jan 1958.
Copyright in a work shall be deemed to be infringed--
(a) when any person, without a licence granted by the owner of the copyright or the Registrar of Copyrights under this Act or in contravention of the conditions of a licence so granted or of any condition imposed by a competent authority under this Act--
(i) does anything, the exclusive right to do which is by this Act conferred upon the owner of the copyright, or
1[(ii) permits for profit any place to be used for the communication of the work to the public where such communication constitutes an infringement of the copyright in the work, unless he was not aware and had no reasonable ground for believing that such communication to the public would be an infringement of copyright; or]
(b) when any person--
(i) makes for sale or hire, or sells or lets for hire, or by way of trade displays or offers for sale or hire, or
(ii) distributes either for the purpose of trade or to such an extent as to affect prejudicially the owner of the copyright, or
(iii) by way of trade exhibits in public, or
(iv) imports 2*** into India, any infringing copies of the work:
3[Provided that nothing in sub-clause (iv) shall apply to the import of one copy of any work for the private and domestic use of the importer.]
Explanation.-- For the purposes of this section, the reproduction of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work in the form of a cinematograph film shall be deemed to be an "infringing copy".
Section 51, 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.
Referred to by 1
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Inst. of Chartered Accountants of India vs Shaunak H Sayta
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Intellectual property exemption under Section 8(1)(d) of RTI Act is temporal in nature and applies only to information the disclosure of which would competitively harm third parties at the time of disclosure. Once an examination is held, evaluated, and results declared, examination instructions, solutions, and model answers no longer harm the competitive position of any third party and therefore cease to be exempted. Information held by a person in fiduciary capacity is exempted under Section 8(1)(e), but this exemption is conditional and subject to larger public interest override. Examining bodies must disclose standards and criteria for mark moderation to maintain accountability and fairness, but need not compile data not maintained in their records. Administrative workload and burden do not justify denial of RTI requests; public authorities must adapt to transparency obligations.
On this section: Definition of infringement of copyright
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Myspace Inc. v. Super Cassettes Industries Ltd.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
IT Act s.79 safe harbour is not ousted by the s.81 proviso in copyright claims. Copyright Act s.51(a)(ii) for intermediaries requires actual knowledge of specific infringing URLs, not general awareness. Intermediaries need not pre-screen UGC; they must take down specified content within 36 hours of notice. Reverses the 2012 single-judge approach.
On this section: s.51(a)(ii) secondary infringement by an internet intermediary requires actual knowledge of the specific work, not general awareness.
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Questions about Section 51
What have the courts held on Section 51 of the Copyright Act?
Inst. of Chartered Accountants of India vs Shaunak H Sayta (02 Sep 2011) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Definition of infringement of copyright. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below, 1 of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2011 to 2016.
How do I find court cases under Section 51 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 51, section 51 Copyright Act, section 51 of the Copyright Act. People searching for it also type copyright act 51 63 and copyright act 1957 51. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 2 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Inst. of Chartered Accountants of India vs Shaunak H Sayta (02 Sep 2011).
What should I read with Section 51 of the Copyright Act, and has it changed?
1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it.
When did Section 51 of the Copyright Act come into force?
Section 51 of the Copyright Act, cited as Copyright Act 51, 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.