Copyright is a right given by
the law to creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and
producers of cinematography films and sound recordings. In fact, it is a bundle
of rights including, inter alia, rights of reproduction, communication to the
public, adaptation and translation of the work. There could be slight
variations in the composition of the rights depending on the work.
Copyright
ensures certain minimum safeguards of the rights of authors over their
creations, thereby protecting and rewarding creativity. Creativity being the
keystone of progress, no civilized society can afford to ignore the basic
requirement of encouraging the same. Economic and social development of a
society is dependent on creativity. The protection provided by copyright to the
efforts of writers, artists, designers, dramatists, musicians, architects and
producers of sound recordings, cinematography films and computer software,
creates an atmosphere conducive to creativity, which induces them to create
more and motivates others to create.
Advantages:
1. Establishes a public
record of the copyright holder's ownership.
2. Enables copyright holders
to sue infringers in federal court.
3. If made before or within 5
years of publication establishes sufficient evidence in court concerning the
validity of the copyright and the facts stated in the copyright certificate.
4. If registration is made
within 3 months of publication of the work or at any time prior to an
infringement of the work, the copyright owner is entitled to seek statutory
damages and attorney's fees in federal court. Without registration, only an
award of actual damages and profits will be available, and these can be quite
difficult to prove.
5. Allows the copyright owner
to record the registration with U.S. Customs to protect against the importation
of infringing copies into the US.
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