Copyright Act

CHAPTER I

PRELIMINARY

1.Short title, extent and commencement:-(1) This Act may be called the Copyright Act, 1957.

(2) It extends to the whole of India.

(3) It shall come into force on such date{ 21st January,1958, vide Notification No.269 dated 21-1-58 Gazette of India, Extraordinary Part II Section 3 page 167} as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.

2.Interpretation:- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) "adapatation" 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 per` iodical; and

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

(b) "architectural work of art" 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 architectural work of art; 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;

( v ) in relation to a cinematograph film, the owner of the film at the time of its completion; and

( vi ) in relation to a record, the owner of the original plate from which the record is made, at the time of the making of the plate;

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

(f) "cinematograph film" includes the sound track, if any, and "cinematograph" shall be construed as including any work produced by any mechanical instrument or by radio-diffusion;