Posted by All Information Here on Sunday, October 19, 2014
The Copyright Rules, 2013 was
notified by the Ministry of Human Resources and Development on 14th March 2013. These new rules are pursuant to the amendments and new provisions introduced to the Copyright Act, 1958 through The Copyright Act (Amendment) Bill, 2012. The Draft Copyright Rules were released in August by the Copyright Office inviting comments of stakeholders and experts. In October, the Ministry of HRD also conducted a meeting with stakeholders and experts regarding the Rules. We have reason to believe that while the Rules was finalised by the HRD ministry months ago, the Ministry of Law and Justice delayed in approving the Rules.
The
press release states that the minimum and maximum fee for licences and registration of copyright has been enhanced. For licences, minimum fee has been raised to Rs 2000 from Rs 200, and maximum has been raised to Rs 40,000 from Rs. 400. For registration of copyright, the minimum fee has been raised to Rs 500 from Rs 50 and, the maximum fee has been raised to Rs. 5000 from Rs. 600. The new fee structure provided under the Second Schedule to the Rules is applicable from 14th March 2013.
The Copyright Rules, 2013 provide new rules for:
1. Statutory licence for cover versions and broadcasting of literary and musical works and sound recording;
2. Compulsory licences for works withheld from public, unpublished and published works, for benefit of disabled;
3. Registration of Copyright Societies and Performer’s Right Societies;
4. Storage of transient or incidental copies of woks;
5. Making or adapting the work by organisations working for the benefit of persons with disabilities;
6. Importation of infringing copies and technological protection measures.
In September 2012, we presented an
overview of the Draft Copyright Rules, 2012. Readers can expect a comprehensive post on the Copyright Rules, 2013 once it is made available on the
Copyright Office website.