KSLU Solved Question Papers
Intellectual Property Rights II
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 10
2016 Jun Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 10 Intellectual Property Rights II 2016 Jun Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2016 Jun examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2016 Jun examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 3 hours · Total marks 100 · 13 questions answered
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1Copyright is a 'Bundle of Rights'. Describe various rights enjoyed by an owner of copyright.[16]
Answer
For full marks, cover: why copyright is called a "bundle of rights" (section 14: separate exclusive rights, each of which can be used, licensed or infringed on its own; Video Master); the rights grouped by what they let the owner do, across all classes of work: (1) the reproduction right, (2) the distribution right, with exhaustion and commercial rental (John Wiley, Tips Industries), (3) the performance and communication right (section 2(ff)), (4) the derivative rights (translation, adaptation, films and recordings; section 2(a)), (5) the right to authorise, and liability for permitting a place (section 51(a)(ii)); the rights to deal (sections 18 to 20, 30, 33); the rights that protect the bundle: importation (sections 51(b)(iv), 53; Gramophone), technological measures and rights information (sections 65A, 65B), online blocking (UTV Software), suit and forum (sections 54, 55, 62; Sanjay Dalia); rights to payment under statutory and compulsory licences (sections 31 to 31D); limits (section 52); a table by class.
Why a "bundle of rights"
Section 14 of the Copyright Act, 1957 does not give one right. It gives a set of exclusive rights for each class of work, each a separate "stick" in the bundle. The owner may keep some sticks and give away others. He may license one right to one person and another right to someone else. He may sue for infringement of any one of them.
Video Master v. Nishi Productions, 1998 (3) Bom CR 782. A film producer gave one company the video and cable rights, and later gave another company the satellite broadcasting rights.
Held. The first company's suit failed. Each mode of exploiting a film is a distinct right, capable of separate assignment. The satellite broadcast did not infringe the video right. That is the bundle at work.
The rights grouped by function
1. The reproduction right. For every class of work, the owner may make copies.
- A literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work may be reproduced in any material form, including electronic storage (section 14(a)(i), (c)(i)).
- An artistic work may be turned from two dimensions into three, or the reverse (section 14(c)(i)).
- A film may be copied, including a photograph of any frame (section 14(d)(i)), and a sound recording re-recorded (section 14(e)(i)).
2. The distribution right. The owner may issue copies to the public, but not copies already in circulation (sections 14(a)(ii), (c)(iii)). Once a copy has been sold, its resale cannot be controlled (Explanation to section 14). For computer programmes, films and sound recordings, the owner also controls sale and commercial rental of every copy (section 14(b)(ii), (d)(ii), (e)(ii)).
John Wiley & Sons Inc. v. Prabhat Chander Kumar Jain, Delhi High Court, 17 May 2010. Cheap editions of textbooks licensed for sale only in India and nearby countries were sold online to buyers abroad.
Held. A temporary injunction was granted. Selling outside the licensed territory went beyond the licence, and the first sale did not authorise it. The distribution right can be divided by territory.
Tips Industries Ltd. v. Wynk Music Ltd., AIRONLINE 2019 BOM 1452. A music streaming app continued to offer a label's songs after licence talks failed, claiming a statutory broadcast licence.
Held. An injunction was granted. Downloads infringed the right to sell copies of sound recordings, and on-demand streaming infringed the right to communicate them. The statutory licence for broadcasting in section 31D did not cover internet services.
3. The performance and communication right. The owner may perform a literary, dramatic or musical work in public, and communicate any work to the public (section 14(a)(iii), (c)(ii), (d)(iii), (e)(iii)). Communication to the public means making the work available to be seen or heard by the public (section 2(ff)). Any means of display or diffusion counts. It covers broadcasting, cable, streaming and making available online, whether people watch together or at times they choose.
4. The derivative rights. The owner of a literary, dramatic or musical work alone may:
- make a translation (section 14(a)(v));
- make an adaptation, such as a play from a novel, an abridgement, a comic version, or an arrangement of music (sections 14(a)(vi), 2(a)); and
- make a film or sound recording of the work (section 14(a)(iv)).
He may also do the other reserved acts in relation to any translation or adaptation (section 14(a)(vii)).
5. The right to authorise. Each right is a right "to do or authorise the doing of" the act (section 14). A person who, without licence, authorises another to infringe is himself liable. So is a person who, for profit, permits a place to be used for an infringing communication (section 51(a)(ii)). He escapes only if he did not know it would infringe.
The rights to deal with the bundle
- Assignment. The owner may assign the copyright wholly or partially, generally or subject to limits, for the whole term or part of it (section 18). The assignment must be in writing and state the rights, term and territory (section 19).
- Licence. He may grant a written licence of any interest in the copyright (section 30).
- Transmission. Copyright passes on death, and a bequest of an unpublished manuscript carries its copyright (section 20).
- Collective management. He may authorise a registered copyright society to license his works and collect fees (sections 33 to 35).
The rights that protect the bundle
1. Control of imports. Importing infringing copies infringes (section 51(b)(iv)), except one copy for private use. The owner may ask customs to treat infringing copies as prohibited goods (section 53).
Gramophone Company of India Ltd. v. Birendra Bahadur Pandey, AIR 1984 SC 667. Cassettes said to be pirated arrived at Calcutta in transit to Nepal.
Held. Goods brought into India, even in transit, are "imported". The border remedy under section 53 as it then stood could apply to them. Section 53 was later substituted in 2012 and now works through the Commissioner of Customs. It expressly excludes goods in transit (section 53(2)).
2. Technological measures and rights information. Circumventing an effective technological protection measure with intent to infringe is an offence (section 65A). So is removing rights management information without authority (section 65B).
3. Online enforcement. Courts now order internet providers to block infringing websites.
UTV Software Communication Ltd. v. 1337X.to, AIRONLINE 2019 DEL 773. Film studios sued websites that existed mainly to stream pirated films.
Held. The websites were permanently restrained, and providers were directed to block them. The studios could add mirror sites later through a dynamic injunction.
4. Suit and forum. The owner, or an exclusive licensee, may sue for injunction, damages and accounts (sections 54, 55). He may sue where he resides or carries on business (section 62(2)).
Indian Performing Rights Society Ltd. v. Sanjay Dalia, AIR 2015 SC 3479. A copyright society with its main office in Mumbai sued in Delhi, though the cause of action arose in Mumbai.
Held. Section 62 gives the owner an extra forum at his own place of business. But where the cause of action arose where he has his principal office, he must sue there.
Rights to payment
Where the law lets others use the work without consent, the owner keeps a right to be paid. This covers compulsory licences for withheld and orphan works and works for the disabled (sections 31 to 31B). It also covers statutory licences for cover versions and broadcasting (sections 31C, 31D).
The limits on the bundle
Every right is subject to the exceptions in section 52. They include fair dealing for private use, research, criticism, review and reporting, and use in education. It is also limited in time: generally the author's life plus sixty years (section 22).
The bundle by class of work
| Class | Rights in the bundle |
|---|---|
| Literary, dramatic, musical | Reproduce; issue copies; perform and communicate; film or record; translate; adapt |
| Computer programme | All the above, plus sale and commercial rental of copies |
| Artistic | Reproduce, including 2D to 3D; communicate; issue copies; include in a film; adapt |
| Class | Rights in the bundle |
|---|---|
| Film | Copy; sell or rent copies; communicate |
| Sound recording | Re-record; sell or rent copies; communicate |
Conclusion. Copyright is a bundle of separate exclusive rights, which differ by class of work. Each can be used, assigned, licensed or enforced on its own. The owner holds rights to reproduce, distribute and rent, perform and communicate, translate, adapt, and authorise others. He may assign, license, bequeath or entrust them to a copyright society. He is protected against imports, circumvention, online piracy and infringement by civil and criminal remedies. The bundle is limited by exceptions, licences and its term.
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