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Home / KSLU Solved Papers / B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) / Sem 10 / Intellectual Property Rights II / 2022 Oct / Solutions

B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 10 Intellectual Property Rights II 2022 Oct Question Paper with Solutions

KSLU Solved Question Papers

Intellectual Property Rights II

Previous Year Question Paper with Solution

B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 10

2022 Oct Examination

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Mumbai

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First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.

Published by munotes.in, Mumbai.

Model answers written and edited by the munotes.in editorial desk.

Passages from this volume may be quoted, in print, online or by an AI system, with credit: name munotes.in and link to this volume's page. The volume may not be reproduced as a whole. Full terms at munotes.in/content-license.

munotes.in is an independent study resource for students of Karnataka State Law University. It is not affiliated with Karnataka State Law University, and is not endorsed by it.

The University does not publish an official answer key for this paper. The answers in this volume are model answers, written to show how a full-mark answer is built. They are a study aid, not an authority on what an examiner marked.

The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2022 Oct examination.

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Contents

The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2022 Oct examination, in the order it was set.

MarksPage

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MarksPage

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The Paper as Set

The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2022 Oct 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 80  ·  20 questions answered

Instructions printed on the paper

  • N.B. (1) Answer all five units. (2) One essay type question and one short note/problem is compulsory from each unit. (3) Figures to the right indicate marks. (4) Answers should be written either in English or Kannada completely.

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.

Read the original question paper

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Q1

Unit I

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(a)When can compulsory licence be issued in copyright ? Who will grant the compulsory license and when it can be revoked ?[10]

Answer

For full marks, cover: what a compulsory licence is and why the law allows it (Berne articles 11bis(2) and 13 and the Appendix); when it can be issued: works withheld from the public (section 31), orphan and unpublished works (section 31A), works for the disabled (section 31B), translations (section 32) and reproductions for instruction (section 32A), each with its conditions; who grants it (the Copyright Board until 2017, the Appellate Board until 2021, now the Commercial Court directing the Registrar of Copyrights); the procedure and royalty (Copyright Rules, 2013, rules 6 to 8); when it can be revoked or ends (cancellation under rules 10, 14, 21, 37 and 42; termination under section 32B; expiry); Entertainment Network and Super Cassettes Industries.

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Meaning and purpose

A compulsory licence is permission to use a copyright work granted by a public authority without the owner's consent. The user pays compensation or royalty fixed by that authority. Copyright is a statutory monopoly. The licence prevents the owner from using it to keep a work away from the public. International law allows it. The Berne Convention lets members condition broadcasting rights (article 11bis(2)) and the recording of music (article 13). Its Appendix permits translation and reproduction licences in developing countries.

When can a compulsory licence be issued?

1. Works withheld from the public (section 31). During the term of copyright in a work already published or performed in public, a complaint may be made that the owner:

  1. has refused to republish it, or to allow its republication or public performance, so that it is withheld from the public; or
  2. has refused to allow its broadcast, or that of a sound recording, on terms the complainant considers reasonable.

The licence issues only if the authority finds the grounds of refusal unreasonable, after hearing the owner.

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2. Orphan, unpublished and withheld works (section 31A). The author is dead, unknown or cannot be traced, or the owner cannot be found. Any person may apply for a licence to publish or communicate the work, or a translation of it. He must first advertise the proposal in an English daily, and in a daily of the language concerned.

3. Works for persons with disabilities (section 31B). A person working for the disabled on a profit basis or for business may apply where the free exception in section 52(1)(zb) does not apply. The application must be decided within two months. The licence states the format, the period, the number of copies and the royalty.

4. Translations (section 32). A licence to translate a literary or dramatic work may be sought:

  1. after seven years from first publication, into any language; or
  2. for teaching, scholarship or research, after three years, into a language in general use in India. It is one year for a language not in general use in any developed country.
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The applicant must show that no authorised translation was published, or that it is out of print. He must also show he asked the owner and was refused, or could not find him. The licence is non-exclusive and royalties are payable.

5. Reproductions for instruction (section 32A). Copies of an edition of a literary, scientific or artistic work may be unavailable in India at a reasonable price after the relevant period. A licence to reproduce it for systematic instructional activities may then be granted. Conditions similar to those for translations apply, and copies may not be exported.

Who grants the licence?

  1. 1958 to 2017: the Copyright Board, a quasi-judicial body under section 11.
  2. 2017 to 2021: the Appellate Board, after the Finance Act, 2017 merged the Copyright Board into it.
  3. Since 4 April 2021: the Commercial Court. The Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 put "Commercial Court" in place of "Appellate Board" in sections 31 to 32A. Under sections 31, 31A and 31B the Court directs the Registrar of Copyrights to grant the licence on its terms. Under sections 32 and 32A it grants the licence itself.
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Procedure

  1. An application under section 31 is made in Form II with the fee, for one work only (rule 6 of the Copyright Rules, 2013). It must carry evidence of the owner's refusal and its reasons.
  2. A copy is served on the owner; the owner, the applicant and other interested persons are heard (rule 7).
  3. The licence states its period, the compensation or royalty, and other terms. Where several apply, it goes to the applicant who best serves the public (rule 7(3) and (4)).
  4. Royalty is fixed with regard to the retail price, prevailing royalty standards and, for broadcasts, time slots and classes of works (rule 8).
  5. The grant is published in the journal and on the Copyright Office's website (rule 7(5), as amended in 2021).

When can it be revoked, or does it end?

1. Cancellation by the licensing authority. After hearing the licensee, the licence may be cancelled if:

  1. the licensee fails to use it within the time allowed or extended;
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  1. it was obtained by fraud or misrepresentation of an essential fact; or
  2. the licensee breaks its terms.

These grounds appear in rules 10, 14, 21, 37 and 42 for licences under sections 31, 31A, 31B, 32 and 32A. The rules still speak of "the Board"; that power now lies with the Commercial Court.

2. Licences for the disabled. A licence under section 31B may also be cancelled once the owner meets the need himself (rule 21(d)). He must publish in the same format at the same or a lower price. He must serve notice of termination in Form IV (rule 22).

3. Termination by statute (section 32B). This covers a translation licence for teaching or research, and a reproduction licence under section 32A. The licence terminates if the owner later publishes a substantially similar version at a reasonable Indian price. Termination takes effect three months after he serves notice in Form IV on the licensee (rules 15 and 43). Copies already made may be sold until exhausted.

4. Expiry. A licence ends when the period stated in it runs out, unless extended for sufficient reason (rules 9, 13, 20, 36 and 41).

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The cases

Entertainment Network (India) Ltd. v. Super Cassettes Industries Ltd., (2008) 13 SCC 30. A radio station applied for a compulsory licence to broadcast songs after the owner's royalty terms broke down.

Held. An owner's refusal on unreasonable terms, including an excessive royalty, can amount to withholding the work. The licensing authority must then inquire, hear evidence and decide judicially. The fact that the applicant had broadcast without licence was relevant but not a bar.

Super Cassettes Industries Ltd. v. Music Broadcast Pvt. Ltd., (2012) 5 SCC 488. Broadcasters were granted interim compulsory licences while their applications were pending.

Held. There is no power to grant an interim compulsory licence. A licence may issue only at the end of the inquiry section 31 requires. Otherwise the inquiry would be pointless.

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Conclusion. A compulsory licence in copyright may be issued where a published work is withheld or a broadcast refused on unreasonable terms. It is also available where the owner cannot be traced, for the disabled, and for translations and reproductions needed in India. It is granted today by the Commercial Court, through the Registrar of Copyrights, on fixed royalty after hearing the owner. It may be cancelled for non-use, fraud or breach of terms. Certain licences also terminate when the owner himself supplies the work at a reasonable price.

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