Rights of the copyright owner
In India, the Indian Copyright Act 1957 handles matters related to copyright. It protects the economic, legal, and social interests of the copyright owner. The Act confers exclusive rights on the owner on the following aspects-
Right of Reproduction
The Copyright Act mandates that no individual can make copies of or reproduce a protected work, in part or whole, without permission from the copyright owner. Thus, it restricts copying a song, any sound, or any form of video recording in a recording device.
Right of Adaptation
The Copyright Act gives exclusive rights to the creator to use his piece of work the way he wants. He can create any derivatives of his original work. He can also prepare a new work in a different format, based on his existing creation. The Copyright Act defines the following actions as “adaptation”.
Right of Communication To The Public
The Act gives exclusive rights to the copyright owners to broadcast their original work to the public. They can do this by wireless diffusion in any form of visual images or signs.
Right of Public Performance
The Act gives exclusive rights to the owners of artistic and musical work to perform their works in public. An actor can make a public performance in any of his plays. A musician can play his piece of original music for the masses. Similarly, artists can broadcast their performances in public on any platform they want.
Right of Paternity And Integrity
The right of integrity provides a different kind of protection to the copyright holder. If any individual mutilates, modifies, or distorts the original work of the copyright holder, he can claim damages from the individual. This is done on the pretext that such an act has caused the loss of reputation to the creator and his original creation.
Right of Distribution
The Copyright Act provides exclusive rights on the copyright holder to distribute his work in whatever form he likes (through selling, reproducing, leasing, lending or renting). If he wishes, he can also transfer certain rights to another person to use the copyright in part or whole, subject-specific limitations.