KSLU Solved Question Papers
Intellectual Property Rights II
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 10
2023 Mar Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 10 Intellectual Property Rights II 2023 Mar Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2023 Mar examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2023 Mar examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2023 Mar 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 Short note/Problems is compulsory from each Unit. (3) Figures to the right indicate marks. (4) Answer 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.
Q1
Unit I
(a)Explain the works in which copyright subsists.[10]
Answer
For full marks, cover: section 13(1) and the meaning of "work" (section 2(y)); each class taken in turn with its definition, examples and a case: literary (section 2(o)), dramatic (section 2(h)), musical (section 2(p)), artistic and architecture (sections 2(c), 2(b)), cinematograph films (section 2(f)), sound recordings (section 2(xx)); the originality requirement for the first four classes; the connection with India (section 13(2)) and foreign works (section 40); what falls outside (section 13(3) to (5), sections 15 and 16; titles, techniques, performances); University of London Press, Burlington Home Shopping, Indian Performing Right Society, Krishika Lulla, Fortune Films.
The rule
Copyright is not a natural right in India. It exists only in the works the Act names (section 16). Section 13(1) of the Copyright Act, 1957 says copyright subsists, throughout India, in three groups:
- original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works;
- cinematograph films; and
- sound recordings.
Section 2(y) gathers these into the single word "work". Each class is taken below.
1. Literary works
Meaning. Section 2(o) says a literary work includes computer programmes, tables and compilations, including computer databases. The word covers anything written or printed, whatever its literary merit: textbooks, letters, exam papers, catalogues, timetables and source code.
University of London Press Ltd. v. University Tutorial Press Ltd., [1916] 2 Ch 601. Examiners set matriculation papers, and a rival published them.
Held. The papers were original literary works. "Literary" means only written or printed matter, and "original" means not copied but originating from the author. Setting the papers needed knowledge and judgment.
Burlington Home Shopping Pvt. Ltd. v. Rajnish Chibber, 61 (1995) DLT 6. A former employee took a mail-order firm's customer list to a rival business.
Held. A compilation of addresses built with time, money, labour and skill is a literary work. The identical order and spelling errors showed copying, and an injunction issued.
2. Dramatic works
Meaning. Under section 2(h), a dramatic work includes a piece for recitation, choreography and entertainment in dumb show. It also covers a scenic arrangement or acting form fixed in writing or otherwise. Plays, screenplays, ballets and mime qualify. A film is expressly excluded, because it has its own class.
3. Musical works
Meaning. A musical work is music, including any graphical notation of it. It excludes words or action meant to be sung or performed with it (section 2(p)). So in a film song, the tune is a musical work and the lyrics are a separate literary work.
Indian Performing Right Society Ltd. v. Eastern India Motion Pictures Association, AIR 1977 SC 1443. IPRS claimed fees for public performance of film songs; producers said the music belonged to them.
Held. A composer commissioned by a producer for valuable consideration gives the producer first ownership as part of the film. But the musical work survives as a separate work, which the composer may exploit outside the film.
4. Artistic works, including architecture
Meaning. Section 2(c) covers:
- a painting, sculpture, drawing (including a diagram, map, chart or plan), engraving or photograph, whether or not of artistic quality;
- a work of architecture; and
- any other work of artistic craftsmanship.
A work of architecture is a building or structure with an artistic character or design, or a model of one (section 2(b)). Logos, cartoons, labels, maps and architects' plans all qualify.
5. Cinematograph films
Meaning. Any work of visual recording made by any process, including a sound recording that goes with it (section 2(f)). Feature films, television serials and short online videos fall here. The producer is the author (section 2(d)(v)). No originality is demanded, but a film that infringes another work gets no copyright.
6. Sound recordings
Meaning. A recording of sounds from which sounds can be produced, whatever the medium (section 2(xx)). Records, tapes, CDs and digital audio files qualify. The producer is the author.
The originality requirement
Only the first four classes must be original. The test is skill and judgment, not novelty. A film or sound recording needs no originality, but it must not be made by infringing another work (section 13(3)).
The connection with India
Section 13(2) asks for a link with India. A published work must be first published here, or have an Indian citizen as author. An unpublished work needs an author who is a citizen of, or domiciled in, India. A work of architecture must stand in India. Works from Berne, UCC and WTO countries are protected through section 40 and the International Copyright Order, 1999.
What falls outside
- A film or recording made by infringing another work (section 13(3)).
- Construction methods in architecture (section 13(5)).
- A design registered under the Designs Act, 2000 (section 15).
- Ideas, facts, titles, slogans and techniques, which are not "works".
- Live performances and broadcasts, which have separate neighbouring rights (sections 37 to 39A).
Krishika Lulla v. Shyam Vithalrao Devkatta, Supreme Court, 15 October 2015. A writer said the film title Desi Boyz copied his synopsis title.
Held. A title alone is not a literary work, so no copyright subsisted and the criminal case was quashed.
Fortune Films International v. Dev Anand, AIR 1979 Bom 17. An actor claimed copyright in his film performance.
Held. A performance was not a "work" under the Act as it then stood. Performers now have a separate right under section 38.
Conclusion. Copyright subsists only in the six classes of section 13(1): original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, cinematograph films and sound recordings. The first four need originality; all need a connection with India or a treaty. Titles, ideas, techniques, registered designs and infringing films and recordings fall outside.
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