Copyright protection in literary and artistic works

Copyright law protects the interests of creators by giving them property rights over their creations against those who copy, reproduce or otherwise take or use the form in which the original work was expressed. According to Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author. For governing copyright, an international agreement namely, 'the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works' was adopted in 1886 which formally mandated several aspects of modern copyright law. The convention introduced the concept that a copyright exists the moment a work is 'fixed'.

According to the Berne Convention, copyright protection is obtained automatically without the need for registration or other formalities. According to section 15 of the Copyright Act (the Act), 2000 copyright subsists in original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works; cinematograph films; and sound recordings. Copyright registration under the Act is not mandatory in Bangladesh. Registration of any work under this Act establishes only a prima facie evidence of ownership in case of disputes. Copyright is an automatic right which exists the moment a work is fixed, first published or recorded and no formalities are required for acquiring such exclusive right under the Act.

Copyright subsists in any literary or artistic work published within the lifetime of the author until sixty years after the author dies. To qualify for copyright protection, a work must be original. Anything done like others do or with others' direction cannot be treated as an original work. . In the case of Donoghue v. Allied Newspapers Ltd [1938] Ch. 106, the UK High Court held that a mere amanuensis does not, by taking down word for word the language of the author, become in any sense the owner of the copyright.

According to section 17 of the Act, the author of a work shall be the first owner of the copyright. However, if any author works as an employee of a publisher, according to section 17(a) of the Act, the publisher shall be the first owner of the copyright in the work in so far as the copyright relates to the publication of the work or to the reproduction of the work. But in all other respects the author shall be the first owner of the copyright of the work unless there is any agreement to the contrary.

The author or publisher of, or the owner of, or other person interested in the copyright in any work may file application to the Registrar of the Copyright Office for registration of the work. There is no limitation period for filing such application of copyright registration under the Act.

There are two types of rights that derive from copyrights such as— economic rights, which allow the owner of rights to derive financial benefit from the use of his works by others, and moral rights which allow the author to take certain actions to preserve the personal link between himself and the work.

It is pertinent to mention here that the moral rights can never be transferred in any way and always remain with the original author of the work. However, economic rights can be transferred or assigned to others usually for a sum of money or royalties depending on the proposed usage of the work. If the period of the assignment is not stated in the deed of assignment, according to section 19(5) of the Act, the duration of assignment shall be deemed to be five years from the date of assignment.

The owner of the copyright shall have the right to claim legal remedy against any infringement or offence occurred from the date of publication of the work under the Act. According to section 81 of the Act, the owner of the copyright can institute civil suit claiming compensation for infringement of copyright in the court of District Judge within the local limits of whose jurisdiction he actually and voluntarily resides or carries on business or personally works for gain. As per section 92 of the Act, the copyright owner can file complaint to a Court of Sessions regarding offences, as mentioned in the Act, if occurred.

Though we have strong legal framework for copyright protection in Bangladesh, due to lack of awareness about copyright protection, many authors lose their first ownership of copyright working under employment and, on the other hand, many publishers lose their rights failing to establish employment relationship — as they neither execute written agreement nor issue appointment letter.

The writer is corporate legal practitioner.