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CS Professional · Intellectual Property Rights - Law and Practice · Introduction to Intellectual Property

Arjun buys a paperback novel for Rs 400 from a Chennai bookshop. He then photocopies the whole book and sells 200 copies to classmates, claiming he owns the book. Which principle explains why his claim fails?

Arjun's claim fails because ownership of a physical copy is separate from ownership of the intellectual property in the work. The purchase gives him the book only, while reproduction and sale rights remain with the author or right holder, so mass photocopying infringes those rights.

  1. AOwnership of the physical copy is distinct from ownership of the intellectual property in the work, which stays with the author or right holderCorrect
  2. BBuying a book transfers all copyright to the buyer
  3. CCopyright is lost once a work is sold to the public
  4. DPhotocopying is always permitted if the original was purchased

Explanation

IP rights are separate from the physical object embodying them. Buying a copy gives ownership of that copy only, not the right to reproduce and sell it. Hence Arjun's mass copying infringes the right holder's exclusive right of reproduction.

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