Abiding by the law is key when assigning copyright

Like other forms of intellectual property, copyright can be transferred by an assignment agreement between the author of the original work and an assignee. Assignment agreements create legal and enforceable rights and can be effectively enforced in case of any breach. However it is important to determine the ownership before assigning the copyrighted work, e.g. if it was created by an employee, whether it was created during the course of employment must be determined.

Legal framework

Sections 18 and 19 of India’s Copyright Act, 1957, provide for assignment and mode of assignment of copyrighted work. “Assignment” is not defined in the act and its existence can be inferred from the agreement terms.

The law clearly states that both existing and future works can be assigned, provided that the assignment of future works will come into effect only after the work is created. The Supreme Court in the case of Indian Performing Rights Society v Eastern Indian Motion Picture Association (1977) held that an existing and future right of a music composer and lyricist was capable of assignment, subject to the conditions that the assignment would take effect only when the work came into existence and the assignment had to be in writing, signed by the assignor or his duly authorized agent.

Manisha Singh Nair is a founding partner of LexOrbis, where Zoya Nafis is an associate.