Intellectual property

Copyright

Copyright arises the moment a work is created. Whether you own it is a different question, and usually a contractual one.

Ownership, registration, assignments, licensing and enforcement for software, publishing, music, film, art and digital content.

Copyright protects original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works (software is a literary work), as well as films and sound recordings. It needs no registration. The difficult questions are almost always about ownership and scope.

Who owns the work

The author is the first owner. The main exception is a work made by an employee in the course of employment under a contract of service, which belongs to the employer (section 17). Work made by freelancers, agencies and consultants does not belong to the client unless it is assigned in writing. That surprises many businesses, usually when an investor asks who owns the code or the brand artwork.

Assignments and licences that hold up

An assignment must be in writing and signed, and should identify the work, the rights, the duration and the territory (section 19).
If it does not state a duration, it is treated as five years. If it does not state a territory, it is treated as India only.
If the assignee does not exercise the rights within a year, the assignment can be deemed to have lapsed, unless the document says otherwise.
Licences, too, must be in writing (section 30).

Artificial intelligence

Whether training AI models on copyright works is lawful, and who, if anyone, owns AI-generated output, are now live questions before Indian courts and policymakers. We advise developers, publishers and businesses deploying AI on how to manage the risk in contracts and processes while the law settles. Personality rights, the related problem of AI deepfakes, are covered in Who Owns Your Face?

How we help

Ownership audits and chain-of-title fixes
Assignments, licences and commissioning agreements
Registration, including software
Takedowns, John Doe and dynamic injunctions
Publishing, music and film rights
AI training data and output risk

Key laws

Copyright Act, 1957
Copyright Rules, 2013
Information Technology Act, 2000

Frequently asked questions

Do I own the website or code an agency or freelancer created for me?

Not automatically. Unless the creator is your employee acting in the course of employment, the creator owns the copyright until it is assigned to you in a written document signed by them (sections 17 and 19 of the Copyright Act). Without an assignment you usually have, at most, an implied licence to use the work for the purpose it was made for.

Is copyright registration necessary in India?

No. Copyright exists without registration. A registration certificate is, however, prima facie evidence of the particulars entered in the Register of Copyrights (section 48), which helps in disputes and with platforms and customs.

How long does copyright last in India?

For literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, including software and photographs, copyright lasts for the author’s lifetime plus 60 years. For films and sound recordings, it lasts 60 years from the beginning of the calendar year after publication.