According to the Copyright Act, a work of joint authorship is one generated by the collaboration and cooperation of more than one author whereby each author’s effort is equal to the other author’s contribution. In India, a copyright law stipulates that an author is a person who creates a work that can be authored and is the only proprietor of the work, in the first instance. Although the author may have exclusivity over the nature of the content at first, there are additional ways for a publisher to acquire ownership rights to the author’s work. The two most common approaches are the Work Made For Hire doctrine (in which the publisher claims ownership and “all” rights in the creative work) and a “assignment” of rights from the author to the publisher (in which the author assigns “all or some” of the rights associated with the work to the publisher).
Since more than one person is involved in the authoring process, the idea of Joint Authorship entails a sharing of rights. If the publisher is a co-author, then, it is an intentional pooling of rights rather than an unintended loss of the publisher’s total ownership of rights in authorship work. In the case where more than one author creates work with the goal of their contributions being combined into inseparable or interdependent elements of a unitary whole, the Copyright Act recognizes joint authorship. As a result, if there is joint authorship, the work produced will be deemed joint work rather than merely the product of a single author, and the writers will be recognized co-owners of the material.
The Indian courts have yet to provide a proper definition of the term “joint authorship.” was ruled by the Court in Angath Arts Private Limited v. Century Communications Ltd. and Anr, that the “joint owner of a copyright could not, without the consent of the other joint owner, grant a licence or interest in the copyright to a third party.” It also stated that where there is a partnership to collaborate and produce content that should be copyrighted, i.e., where there is joint authorship, each of the writers must meet the fundamental requirements of copyright in work independently. The co-authors have the same rights as any other author. They are entitled to injunctions, damages, and an account of earnings. Each co-creator will have an equal ownership stake in the project. This will occur regardless of whether one of the co-creators has contributed a greater percentage of the effort than the others. Every co-creator will have a “common” stake in the final product. Without the assent of their co-creators, no creator may award an exclusive right to any third party for their work. Any gains derived from the utilization of the protected content by other co-owner should be recorded by each co-creator. A co-creator has the option of delegating his or her proprietorship share in the work to an outsider or passing it on to his or her descendants. When the work is distributed or published, each co-creator will be given equivalent credit. In addition, the copyright duration for a piece of joint authorship is determined for the author who dies last.
“Work of joint authorship” is defined as “work produced by the collaboration of two or more authors in which the contribution of one author is not distinct from the contribution of the other author or authors” under Section 2(z) of the Indian Copyright Act. As can be seen from the preceding explanation, a co-owner does not have exclusive rights to utilise a copyrighted work without the approval of the other co-owners.
It was held by the Hon’ble Allahabad high Court in the case of Nav Sahitya Prakash And Ors. vs. Anand Kumar And Ors. , that, “One joint author cannot reproduce the work himself, or grant a licence to others to reproduce it, without the consent of other author or authors, but may take proceedings for infringement against the third party by himself.”
The statute’s definition of joint ownership has been interpreted to mean that one proprietor cannot exercise any privilege in the copyrighted work without the approval of the other proprietors. As a result, Indian law does not grant ownership rights in a derivative to a joint creator of an underlying work who did not commit to doing the work, and the creation of a derivative still requires the approval of all joint creators of the underlying work.
Although the notion of joint authorship may only apply to authors, it also impacts publishers, and the publisher is the author of a work generated as a work for hire. As a result, if the publisher is not the “sole” author of a work created as a work made for hire, the joint authorship theory will apply to the publisher.
Publisher commissions are a work done for hire when the publisher is not the sole author of the piece. Despite this, the publisher fails to meet the requirements of the work-for-hire concept. Unless the publisher and the author(s) have a legal agreement, a transfer of rights, the work’s rights would be solely owned by the author(s).
We can conclude from the previous explanation that joint proprietors of literary or creative work, i.e. work that involves the efforts of more than one person, have equal rights to exploit the work if neither of them waives their right. No one can benefit solely from a work that involves the labour of two people; all decisions regarding the copyrighted work must be made jointly by the joint owners.
According to the Copyright Act, a work of joint authorship is one generated by the collaboration and cooperation of more than one author whereby each author’s effort is equal to the other author’s contribution. In India, a copyright law stipulates that an author is a person who creates a work that can be authored and is the only proprietor of the work, in the first instance. Although the author may have exclusivity over the nature of the content at first, there are additional ways for a publisher to acquire ownership rights to the author’s work. The two most common approaches are the Work Made For Hire doctrine (in which the publisher claims ownership and “all” rights in the creative work) and a “assignment” of rights from the author to the publisher (in which the author assigns “all or some” of the rights associated with the work to the publisher).
Since more than one person is involved in the authoring process, the idea of Joint Authorship entails a sharing of rights. If the publisher is a co-author, then, it is an intentional pooling of rights rather than an unintended loss of the publisher’s total ownership of rights in authorship work. In the case where more than one author creates work with the goal of their contributions being combined into inseparable or interdependent elements of a unitary whole, the Copyright Act recognizes joint authorship. As a result, if there is joint authorship, the work produced will be deemed joint work rather than merely the product of a single author, and the writers will be recognized co-owners of the material.
The Indian courts have yet to provide a proper definition of the term “joint authorship.” was ruled by the Court in Angath Arts Private Limited v. Century Communications Ltd. and Anr, that the “joint owner of a copyright could not, without the consent of the other joint owner, grant a licence or interest in the copyright to a third party.” It also stated that where there is a partnership to collaborate and produce content that should be copyrighted, i.e., where there is joint authorship, each of the writers must meet the fundamental requirements of copyright in work independently. The co-authors have the same rights as any other author. They are entitled to injunctions, damages, and an account of earnings. Each co-creator will have an equal ownership stake in the project. This will occur regardless of whether one of the co-creators has contributed a greater percentage of the effort than the others. Every co-creator will have a “common” stake in the final product. Without the assent of their co-creators, no creator may award an exclusive right to any third party for their work. Any gains derived from the utilization of the protected content by other co-owner should be recorded by each co-creator. A co-creator has the option of delegating his or her proprietorship share in the work to an outsider or passing it on to his or her descendants. When the work is distributed or published, each co-creator will be given equivalent credit. In addition, the copyright duration for a piece of joint authorship is determined for the author who dies last.
“Work of joint authorship” is defined as “work produced by the collaboration of two or more authors in which the contribution of one author is not distinct from the contribution of the other author or authors” under Section 2(z) of the Indian Copyright Act. As can be seen from the preceding explanation, a co-owner does not have exclusive rights to utilise a copyrighted work without the approval of the other co-owners.
It was held by the Hon’ble Allahabad high Court in the case of Nav Sahitya Prakash And Ors. vs. Anand Kumar And Ors. , that, “One joint author cannot reproduce the work himself, or grant a licence to others to reproduce it, without the consent of other author or authors, but may take proceedings for infringement against the third party by himself.”
The statute’s definition of joint ownership has been interpreted to mean that one proprietor cannot exercise any privilege in the copyrighted work without the approval of the other proprietors. As a result, Indian law does not grant ownership rights in a derivative to a joint creator of an underlying work who did not commit to doing the work, and the creation of a derivative still requires the approval of all joint creators of the underlying work.
Although the notion of joint authorship may only apply to authors, it also impacts publishers, and the publisher is the author of a work generated as a work for hire. As a result, if the publisher is not the “sole” author of a work created as a work made for hire, the joint authorship theory will apply to the publisher.
Publisher commissions are a work done for hire when the publisher is not the sole author of the piece. Despite this, the publisher fails to meet the requirements of the work-for-hire concept. Unless the publisher and the author(s) have a legal agreement, a transfer of rights, the work’s rights would be solely owned by the author(s).
We can conclude from the previous explanation that joint proprietors of literary or creative work, i.e. work that involves the efforts of more than one person, have equal rights to exploit the work if neither of them waives their right. No one can benefit solely from a work that involves the labour of two people; all decisions regarding the copyrighted work must be made jointly by the joint owners.
The Copyright Act recognises not only the composer of the artistic work, but also the others who assisted in its creation. Simply put, everyone who lends a helping hand to the project should be recognised for their contributions.
Author: Snehal Bhatia, research intern at IPTSE Academy & fourth-Year, Symbiosis Law School, NOIDA
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