B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 10 Intellectual Property Rights II 2014 Dec Question Paper with Solutions

For full marks, cover: Part A, copyright: the definition in section 14, why it is a bundle that can be split (Video Master), and why owners deal in it through others; Part B, assignment: what may be assigned (section 18(1)), its effect (section 18(2)), its form and contents (section 19(1) to (3)), the default rules (section 19(4) to (6)), the 2012 safeguards for authors (provisos to section 18(1); section 19(8) to (10)), moral rights that survive (section 57; Mannu Bhandari), disputes before the Commercial Court (section 19A); Part C, licensing: voluntary licences (sections 30, 30A), exclusive and non-exclusive licences (sections 2(j), 54, 61), licensing through copyright societies (section 33; Novex, Azure Hospitality), licences imposed by law (sections 31 to 32A; Super Cassettes); a novel's journey as an illustration; assignment and licence compared; conclusion.

Most authors cannot print, film, translate or broadcast their own works. They earn by passing rights to publishers, producers and broadcasters. The Act offers two tools: assignment, which transfers ownership, and licence, which gives permission.

Part B: assignment

1. What may be assigned (section 18(1)). The owner of an existing work, or the prospective owner of a future one, may assign the copyright:

1. wholly or partially;
2. generally or subject to limitations; and
3. for the whole term or any part of it.

An assignment of a future work takes effect only when the work exists.

2. Effect (section 18(2)). For the rights assigned, the assignee becomes the owner. For the rights kept, the assignor remains owner. So after assigning only film rights, a novelist still owns the print rights.

2. Lyricists and composers whose works are used in films or sound recordings keep an equal share of royalties. It covers uses other than screening the film in a cinema hall. They cannot assign or waive this share, except to heirs or a collecting society (further provisos to section 18(1); section 19(9), (10)).
3. An assignment contrary to rights already assigned to a copyright society of which the author is a member is void (section 19(8)).

6. Moral rights stay with the author. The right to claim authorship, and to object to distortion harming his honour, survives assignment (section 57).

Mannu Bhandari v. Kala Vikas Pictures Pvt. Ltd., AIR 1987 Del 13. A novelist assigned the film rights in her novel "Aap Ka Bunty". The film distorted it, and she sued.

Held. Section 57 is independent of copyright, and an assignment contract must be read subject to it. Distortion harming the author's reputation is actionable even after assignment.

7. Disputes (section 19A). If an assignee fails to exercise the rights, or royalty is not paid, the assignor may complain. The Commercial Court, which has done this work since 2021, may revoke the assignment or settle royalty.

Held. The suit for infringement was maintainable. The court confined its ruling to the plaintiff's claim as owner of the recordings.

Azure Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. v. Phonographic Performance Ltd., Delhi High Court, Division Bench, 15 April 2025. PPL, then not a registered society, licensed sound recordings to hotels as their owner by assignment.

Held. Prima facie, the bar in section 33(1) is absolute. Anyone carrying on the business of licensing must be registered, whatever his ownership. The point is pending before the Supreme Court, and PPL was re-registered as a society in 2026.

4. Licences imposed by law. Some licences are granted without the owner's consent, on payment.

1. Compulsory licences: for works withheld from the public, orphan or untraceable works, and accessible formats for the disabled (sections 31, 31A, 31B).
2. Statutory licences: for cover versions and for radio and television broadcasting (sections 31C, 31D).
3. Translation and reproduction licences: for works not made available in India in set periods (sections 32, 32A).

Assignment and licence compared