#50 Can Copyright Safeguard Your Work?
In 2021, India ranked third globally for consuming pirated content. This World Book and Copyright Day, we look at what copyright looks like for authors in India.
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Welcome to The Book People, a weekly newsletter on the business of media and storytelling.
Tuesday, April 23rd, was World Book and Copyright Day. As creators, the creative process and copyright awareness are two sides of the same coin. Copyright grants creators exclusive rights over their work, ensuring full control and ownership. Through copyrights, creators can monetize their work, be it books, software, films, photos, music, art, etc. A violation of copyright can range anywhere between duplicating to distributing the work without permission.
With piracy rates on the rise, knowing your intellectual property rights can help you receive proper remedies in case of copyright infringement.
For example, did you know that you can safeguard your content without copyright?
Many authors worry that the proposals or pitches they send to publishers, if rejected, might be modified and used without their consent. But here’s the deal - while proposals themselves are not subject to copyright, creators can seek remedy under breach of confidentiality or breach of promise, if their work is used without permission. However, it’s important to note that this applies only to expressions of ideas and not ideas themselves, which means, if you have a groundbreaking new idea, now is a good time to pen it and get copyrights.
The term of copyright differs from country to country. In India, the period of copyright for books is the lifetime of the author, with an additional 60 years following their death. For anonymous works or books published under pseudonyms, the copyright period lasts for 60 years following the publication year. If you want to know more about copyright law in India, check out this handbook for the basics and this document for full details.
Additionally, we were in conversation with IP lawyer Sushrut Desai on The Book People podcast to know more about copyright laws in India, ranging from finding out if your idea is unique to red flags in NDAs and contracts.
When do you need an IP lawyer? How does copyright work for music, videos, and theatre? With AI in the mix, what does it mean for IP and how will it affect copyright? Check out Part 1 and Part 2 of the copyright episode, where we cover all of these and more!
What other questions do you have about copyright? Tell us in the comments!
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