KSLU Solved Question Papers
Intellectual Property Rights II
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 10
2024 Aug Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 10 Intellectual Property Rights II 2024 Aug 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 2024 Aug examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2024 Aug 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)Discuss the salient features of Copyright Act 1957.[10]
Answer
For full marks, cover: the Act's background and structure (fifteen chapters); its salient features: works protected and the originality rule (sections 2, 13); automatic protection and voluntary registration (sections 44 to 50A); authorship and first ownership (sections 2(d), 17); the owner's rights (section 14); assignment and licences (sections 18 to 31D); term (sections 22 to 29); neighbouring rights (sections 37 to 39A); copyright societies (sections 33 to 36A); moral rights and the resale share (sections 57, 53A); exceptions (section 52); remedies (sections 51 to 70); international copyright (sections 40 to 43); the bodies (Copyright Office; the Board's history); R. Madhavan, R.G. Anand, Eastern Book Company.
Background and structure
The Copyright Act, 1957 replaced the Indian Copyright Act, 1914 and came into force on 21 January 1958. It has been amended many times, notably in 1983, 1984, 1992, 1994, 1999 and 2012. The Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 and the Jan Vishwas Acts of 2023 and 2026 changed it further. It has fifteen chapters, from definitions to offences and international copyright.
Salient features
1. Works protected (section 13). Copyright subsists in original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, cinematograph films and sound recordings. Literary works include computer programmes, tables and compilations (section 2(o)). Artistic works need no artistic quality (section 2(c)).
2. Originality, not novelty. A work must originate from its author, involving skill and judgment. Ideas are not protected, only their expression.
3. Automatic protection. Copyright arises when the work is created. Registration with the Registrar of Copyrights is optional (section 45). The register is only prima facie evidence (section 48).
4. Authors and first owners (sections 2(d), 17). The author is the writer, composer, artist, photographer, or the producer of a film or sound recording. He is normally the first owner. But an employer, a commissioning party in some cases, or the Government may be first owner.
5. A bundle of rights (section 14). The owner may reproduce, issue copies, perform, communicate to the public, make films and sound recordings, translate and adapt, as the type of work allows. Computer programmes and films carry a rental right.
6. Dealing with copyright (sections 18 to 31D). Copyright may be assigned or licensed, in writing. Since 2012 authors keep an unassignable share of royalties from films and sound recordings. Compulsory and statutory licences cover withheld works, orphan works, the disabled, cover versions and broadcasting.
7. Term (sections 22 to 29). Generally the author's life plus sixty years. Films, sound recordings, anonymous works, government works and works of public undertakings get sixty years from publication.
8. Neighbouring rights (sections 37 to 39A). Broadcasters get a broadcast reproduction right for twenty-five years. Performers get rights for fifty years, and moral rights since 2012.
9. Copyright societies (sections 33 to 36A). Registered societies license works collectively and share fees among members.
10. Moral rights (section 57). The author keeps rights of paternity and integrity even after assignment. An artist may also claim a resale share (section 53A).
11. Exceptions (section 52). Fair dealing for private use, research, criticism, review and news, and many other exceptions for education, libraries, the disabled and public art.
12. Remedies (sections 51 to 70). Civil remedies of injunction, damages and accounts (section 55), criminal penalties (section 63), seizure by police (section 64), and border measures (section 53). Technological protection measures and rights information are protected (sections 65A and 65B).
13. International copyright (sections 40 to 43). Through the International Copyright Order, 1999, works from Berne and other treaty countries get the same protection as Indian works.
14. The bodies. The Copyright Office under the Registrar of Copyrights keeps the register (sections 9 and 10). The Copyright Board was merged into the Appellate Board in 2017. That Board was abolished in 2021, and its work went to the Commercial Courts and High Courts.
The cases
R. Madhavan v. S.K. Nayar, AIR 1988 Ker 39. A defendant argued that the plaintiff could not sue because his work was not registered.
Held. Registration is not compulsory and is not a condition for suing. Sections 44 and 45 are enabling provisions only.
R.G. Anand v. Delux Films, AIR 1978 SC 1613. A playwright said a film copied his play.
Held. Copyright protects expression, not ideas. Infringement needs substantial copying of the form of expression, judged by the impression on an ordinary viewer.
Eastern Book Company v. D.B. Modak, AIR 2008 SC 809. A publisher claimed copyright in its edited judgments.
Held. Originality needs skill and judgment, not mere labour. The editor's additions were protected; the judgments themselves were not.
Conclusion. The Copyright Act, 1957 protects original works and films and recordings automatically, for long terms, with a bundle of economic rights and lasting moral rights. It balances them with wide exceptions, collective licensing and compulsory licences, and backs them with civil, criminal and border remedies. Amended to meet TRIPS and the internet treaties, it now works through the Copyright Office and the courts.
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