Economic, Commercial and Intellectual Property Laws · Law relating to Copyright

Term of Copyright and Rights of the Owner in India

Updated 11 October 2026 · Fact-checked

For a published literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, copyright lasts until sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year after the author dies (Section 22). Besides economic rights, the author has special (moral) rights under Section 57: to claim authorship and to restrain distortion that harms honour or reputation.

Understand Term of Copyright and Rights of the Owner

Copyright does not last forever. The Copyright Act, 1957 gives each class of work a fixed term. After the term ends, the work enters the public domain and anyone can use it freely.

The basic rule is in Section 22. For a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work published in the author's lifetime, copyright runs until sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the author dies. So you count from 1 January of the year after death. For joint authorship, the reference is to the author who dies last.

Section 23 deals with anonymous and pseudonymous works. Here the sixty years run from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year of first publication. If the author's identity is disclosed before that period expires, the term switches to sixty years from the year after the author's death. Identity is deemed disclosed if both the author and the publisher disclose it publicly, or if the author establishes it to the satisfaction of the Commercial Court.

The owner's rights fall in two groups. Economic rights let the owner exploit the work and earn from it, and they can be assigned or licensed. Moral rights protect the author's personal link with the work. Under Section 57, these exist independently of the copyright and even after the copyright is assigned, wholly or partly.

Performers have a similar moral right under Section 38B. Foreign works can get protection in India through orders of the Central Government under Section 40, and Section 42 allows the Government to restrict rights of foreign authors if their country gives inadequate protection to Indian authors. A copyright society (Section 34) can administer owners' rights by issuing licences and collecting fees.

Key rules to remember

Term for published works (Section 22): Term ends = 60 years from the beginning of the calendar year after the author's death; Applies to literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works published in the author's lifetime. For joint authors, use the author who dies last.
Anonymous and pseudonymous works (Section 23): Term ends = 60 years from the beginning of the calendar year after first publication; If the author's identity is disclosed before the period expires, the term becomes 60 years from the year after the author's death.
Author's special rights (Section 57(1)): (a) right to claim authorship; (b) right to restrain or claim damages for distortion, mutilation, modification or other act prejudicial to honour or reputation; Available independently of copyright and even after assignment. The Explanation says failure to display a work, or to display it to the author's satisfaction, is not infringement.
Who exercises the rights (Section 57(2)): Rights under Section 57(1) may be exercised by the author's legal representatives; Since the 2012 amendment, this includes the right to claim authorship.
Performer's moral rights (Section 38B): (a) right to be identified as performer; (b) right to restrain or claim damages for distortion, mutilation or modification prejudicial to reputation; Mere editing, shortening to fit a duration, or technical modification is not prejudicial to reputation.
Statutory licence for broadcasting (Section 31D): Prior notice + royalty fixed by the Commercial Court + announce authors/principal performers + keep records; Applies to published literary or musical works and sound recordings. Radio and television rates are fixed separately.

How to solve Term of Copyright and Rights of the Owner questions

Use this method for any question on term of copyright or the rights of the owner and author.

1Identify the type of work: literary, dramatic, musical or artistic, and whether it is published, anonymous or pseudonymous.
2Pick the section: Section 22 for ordinary published works, Section 23 for anonymous or pseudonymous works.
3Find the trigger year: the author's death year (last surviving author if joint) or the year of first publication.
4Add one year to start from the next calendar year, then add sixty years. State the last year of protection.
5If the question is about rights, separate economic rights from moral rights, and check whether Section 57 or Section 38B applies.
6Test the facts against the exact wording, such as 'prejudicial to honour or reputation'.
7Close with a clear conclusion stating the expiry date or whether the right can be enforced.

Quickest way: Year-counting shortcut for the term

When to use it: Use for date-based questions on the term of copyright when time is short.

Note the trigger year, T (death year or year of first publication).
Add 1 to get the starting year: T + 1. The sixty years run from 1 January of that year.
The sixty-year period ends on 31 December of T + 60.
So protection lasts through 31 December of T + 60, and the work is free (public domain) from 1 January of T + 61. For example, if T = 2005, the term runs from 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2065, and the work is free from 1 January 2066.
Write the section number and one line of reasoning.

Common mistakes in Term of Copyright and Rights of the Owner

Counting sixty years from the date of death instead of from the beginning of the next calendar year.
Students remember '60 years after death' and skip the exact wording.
Fix: Always say 'from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year of death'. Then protection lasts through 31 December of the year that is 60 years after the death year.
Applying Section 22 to an anonymous work.
Students do not read whether the author is known.
Fix: Check for anonymity or a pseudonym first. If present, use Section 23 and count from first publication, unless identity is disclosed.
Saying moral rights end when the author assigns the copyright.
Students confuse ownership of copyright with the author's personal rights.
Fix: Section 57 says the rights exist independently of copyright and even after assignment.
Claiming any modification of a work breaches Section 57.
Students ignore the qualifier in clause (b).
Fix: The act must be prejudicial to the author's honour or reputation. State this test and apply it to the facts.
Forgetting who can exercise the right after the author's death.
Students think moral rights die with the author.
Fix: Section 57(2) lets the legal representatives exercise them.
Treating Section 38B performer's rights as the same as Section 57.
The two are similar, so details blur.
Fix: Section 38B protects performers and has its own Explanation on editing and technical changes. Section 57 protects authors of works.

Worked examples

Example 1

Rohan, a Hindi novelist, published his novel in 1990 and died on 14 March 2005. How long does copyright subsist in the novel? Answer with reference to the Copyright Act, 1957.

Show the solution

Provision: Section 22 covers a literary work published within the author's lifetime. Copyright lasts until sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year of the author's death.
Facts: The novel is a literary work, published in 1990 in Rohan's lifetime. He died in 2005.
Analysis: The calendar year next following the death year is 2006. The period runs for sixty years from the beginning of 2006, that is from 1 January 2006.
Sixty years from 1 January 2006 ends at the close of 31 December 2065. This matches the shortcut: trigger year 2005 + 60 = 2065.

Answer: Copyright in the novel subsists until 31 December 2065 under Section 22, and the work enters the public domain from 1 January 2066.

Example 2

Meera, a sculptor, sold the entire copyright in her artwork to a company. The company later publishes advertisements that reproduce her sculpture after distorting and modifying it, so that the work looks vulgar and her honour and reputation as an artist suffer. Can Meera object?

Show the solution

Provision: Section 57(1) gives an author, independently of copyright and even after assignment of the copyright wholly or partially, the right to claim authorship and to restrain or claim damages for distortion, mutilation, modification or other act in relation to the work that would be prejudicial to her honour or reputation.
Facts: Meera assigned the whole copyright. The company then distorted and modified her work in its advertisements, making it look vulgar and harming her reputation.
Analysis: Assignment of copyright does not take away her special rights. The company's act is a distortion or modification of the work, and on the facts it is prejudicial to her honour or reputation, which is the test under clause (b).
The Explanation to Section 57 does not help the company, because the issue is distortion of the work, not failure to display it.

Answer: Yes. Meera can restrain the company and claim damages under Section 57(1)(b), since the distortion and modification of her work is prejudicial to her honour or reputation, even though she assigned the copyright.

Exam tips

Write the year-counting step explicitly. Examiners award marks for showing that you start from the next calendar year.
Learn the difference between Section 22 and Section 23 and state which one you apply and why.
For moral rights, quote the test 'prejudicial to honour or reputation' and apply it to the facts.
Mention Section 57(2) and Section 38B where the question involves legal representatives or performers.
Use the ICSI answer pattern: provision, facts, analysis, conclusion.

Practice questions from Law relating to Copyright

Term of Copyright and Rights of the Owner: frequently asked questions

How long does copyright last in India for literary works?

For a published literary work, copyright lasts until sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year after the author dies (Section 22). For joint authors, count from the death of the last surviving author.

What are the author's special rights under Section 57?

The author can claim authorship and can restrain or claim damages for distortion, mutilation, modification or other acts prejudicial to honour or reputation. These rights exist even after the copyright is assigned.

What is the term of copyright for anonymous works?

Under Section 23, it is sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year after first publication. If the author's identity is disclosed before that period expires, the term becomes sixty years from the year after the author's death.

Can legal representatives exercise the author's special rights?

Yes. Section 57(2) allows the legal representatives of the author to exercise the rights given by Section 57(1).