The Copyright Act, 1957 (Act No. 14 of 1957), India and related restrictions worldwide
The Copyright Act, 1957 (Act No. 14 of 1957)
Fair dealing vs fair use
Many use the term "fair use" in India, but the fact is that in Indian Copyright Act, there is no such phrase. Instead, the Act uses "fair dealing" for the same purpose.
"Fair dealing" and "fair use" are related concepts pertaining to users' rights under copyright law. It is nevertheless important to understand that fair dealing and fair use are not synonymous terms since their meaning and scope are defined by different legal systems.
Fair dealing is an exception to copyright infringement laid out in the copyright statutes of common law jurisdictions such as Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and India.
[39. Acts not infringing broadcast reproduction right or performer’s right.— No broadcast reproduction right or performer's right shall be deemed to be infringed by—
(a) the making of any sound recording or visual recording for the private use of the person making such recording, or solely for purposes of bona fide teaching or research; or
(b) the use, consistent with fair dealing, of excerpts of a performance or of a broadcast in the reporting of current events or for bona fide review, teaching or research; or
(c) such other acts, with any necessary adaptations and modifications, which do not constitute infringement of copyright under section 52.]
52. Certain acts not to be infringement of copyright.— (1) The following acts shall not constitute an infringement of copyright, namely,—
(a) a fair dealing with any work, not being a computer programme, for the purposes of—
(i) private or personal use, including research;
(ii) criticism or review, whether of that work or of any other work;
(iii) the reporting of current events and current affairs, including the reporting of a lecture delivered in public.
Explanation.— The storing of any work in any electronic medium for the purposes mentioned in this clause, including the incidental storage of any computer programme which is not itself an infringing copy for the said purposes, shall not constitute infringement of copyright.]
Fair use
Fair use is a doctrine in the law of the United States that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. Fair use is one of the limitations to copyright intended to balance the interests of copyright holders with the public interest in the wider distribution and use of creative works by allowing as a defense to copyright infringement claims certain limited uses that might otherwise be considered infringement.
In its most general sense, a fair use is any copying of copyrighted material done for a limited and “transformative” purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize, or parody a copyrighted work. Such uses can be done without permission from the copyright owner. In other words, fair use is a defense against a claim of copyright infringement. If your use qualifies as a fair use, then it would not be considered an infringement.
Clauses in Copyright Act specifically pertaining to libraries
2. Interpretation.— In this Act, unlessthe context otherwise requires,—
6 [(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 nonprofit 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).]
52. Certain acts not to be infringement of copyright.— (1) The following acts shall not constitute an infringement of copyright, namely,—
1 [(n) the storing of a work in any medium by electronic means by a non-commercial public library, for preservation if the library already possesses a non-digital copy of the work;]
(o) the making of not more than three copies of a book (including a pamphlet, sheet of music, map, chart or plan) by or under the direction of the person in charge of a 2 [non-commercial public library] for the use of the library if such book is not available for sale in India;
(p) the reproduction, for the purpose of research or private study or with a view to publication, of an unpublished literary, dramatic or musical work kept in a library, museum or other institution to which the public has access:
Provided that where the identity of the author of any such work or, in the case of a work of joint authorship, of any of the authors is known to the library, museum or other institution, as the case may be, the provisions of this clause shall apply only if such reproduction is made at a time more than 3 [sixty years] from the date of the death of the author or, in the case of a work of joint authorship, from the death of the author whose identity is known or, if the identity of more authors than one is known from the death of such of those authors who dies last;
3 [(zb) the adaptation, reproduction, issue of copies or communication to the public of any work in any accessible format,by—
(i) any person to facilitate persons with disability to access to works including sharing with any person with disability of such accessible format for private or personal use, educational purpose or research; or
(ii) any organisation working for the benefit of the persons with disabilities in case the normal format prevents the enjoyment of such works by such persons:
Provided that the copies of the works in such accessible format are made available to the persons with disabilities on a non-profit basis but to recover only the cost of production:
Provided further that the organisation shall ensure that the copies of works in such accessible format are used only by persons with disabilities and takes reasonable steps to prevent its entry into ordinary channels of business.
Explanation.— For the purposes of this sub-clause, “any organisation” includes an organisation registered under section 12A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961) and working for the benefit of persons with disability or recognised under Chapter X of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and full Participation) Act, 1995 (1 of 1996) or receiving grants from the Government for facilitating access to persons with disabilities or an educational institution or library or archives recognised by the Government;
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