KSLU Solved Question Papers
Intellectual Property Rights II
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 10
2026 Jan Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 10 Intellectual Property Rights II 2026 Jan Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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Model answers written and edited by the munotes.in editorial desk.
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The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2026 Jan examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2026 Jan examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2026 Jan 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 composition, powers and functions of copyright board.[10]
Answer
For full marks, cover: why a Board existed; its composition under section 11 and the terms in rule 3 of the Copyright Rules, 2013; its powers and procedure under section 12; its functions, section by section; the 2017 merger into the Appellate Board and the 2021 abolition; who does the work now; Entertainment Network and Super Cassettes.
Why the Act created a Copyright Board
Many copyright questions are not ordinary lawsuits. Is a work being withheld from the public? What royalty should a radio station pay? Is a society's tariff fair? Each calls for an inquiry and a fair figure. The Copyright Act, 1957 therefore set up a specialised, quasi-judicial body, the Copyright Board. Quasi-judicial means it decided disputes like a court, though it was not a regular court.
Note on the present law. The Board no longer exists. It was merged into the Intellectual Property Appellate Board in 2017, and that Board was abolished in 2021. An answer must describe the Board in the past tense and then say who does its work today.
Composition: section 11 and rule 3
Before 2017, section 11 empowered the Central Government to constitute the Board. As amended in 2012, it consisted of a Chairman and two other members.
- The Chairman had to be a person who is or has been a Judge of a High Court, or who is qualified to be one.
- Members came from the Indian Legal Service, judicial officers of ten years' standing, and senior civil servants or tribunal members with copyright experience. Advocates of ten years' standing with copyright practice also qualified (rule 3 of the Copyright Rules, 2013).
- Appointment was by the Central Government. The Chairman was appointed only after consulting the Chief Justice of India.
- A member held office for up to five years and could be re-appointed. The age limits were sixty-five for the Chairman and sixty-two for members.
- A member could be removed only for proved misbehaviour or incapacity, after an inquiry by a Judge of the Supreme Court.
Powers and procedure: section 12
- The Board regulated its own procedure, including the places and times of its sittings.
- It ordinarily heard a matter in the zone where the applicant lived or worked.
- It sat in Benches formed by the Chairman, with a special Bench of five for important matters.
- Differences were decided by the majority; if there was none, the Chairman's view prevailed.
- No member could sit in a matter in which he had a personal interest.
- It was deemed a civil court for certain purposes of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and its proceedings were judicial proceedings.
- Under section 74 it had the powers of a civil court to summon witnesses, compel documents and take evidence on affidavit. Under section 75 its orders for payment of money were executable as decrees.
Functions of the Board
| Function | Section | Who decides it now |
|---|---|---|
| Whether and when a work was published | s.6 | Commercial Court |
| Disputes about assignments | s.19A | Commercial Court |
| Function | Section | Who decides it now |
|---|---|---|
| Compulsory licences for withheld, orphan and unpublished works | ss.31, 31A | Commercial Court |
| Licences for persons with disabilities | s.31B | Commercial Court |
| Royalties for cover versions and broadcasting | ss.31C, 31D | Commercial Court |
| Translation and reproduction licences | ss.32, 32A | Commercial Court |
| Appeals against a copyright society's tariff | s.33A | Commercial Court |
| Rectification of the Register of Copyrights | s.50 | High Court |
| Appeals against the Registrar's orders | s.72 | High Court |
The cases
Entertainment Network (India) Ltd. v. Super Cassettes Industries Ltd., (2008) 13 SCC 30. Radio Mirchi broadcast songs owned by Super Cassettes without a licence. When talks for a licence failed, it applied to the Board for a compulsory licence under section 31.
Held. The Supreme Court held that refusing a licence on unreasonable terms, including an unreasonable royalty, can amount to withholding a work from the public. The Board then had jurisdiction to grant a compulsory licence, after hearing evidence. The case shows what the Board was for: balancing the owner's monopoly against public access.
Super Cassettes Industries Ltd. v. Music Broadcast Pvt. Ltd., (2012) 5 SCC 488. While compulsory licence applications were pending, the Board granted FM broadcasters interim licences.
Held. The Supreme Court held that the Board had no power to grant an interim compulsory licence. Section 31 allows a licence only after the inquiry it prescribes. An ad hoc licence granted first would make that inquiry pointless. The case fixes the limits of the Board's power.
What happened to the Board
- 2017. Section 160 of the Finance Act, 2017 transferred the Board's work to the Appellate Board under the Trade Marks Act, 1999. This took effect on 26 May 2017. "Copyright Board" was replaced by "Appellate Board" throughout the Act.
- 2021. The Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021, in force from 4 April 2021, abolished the Appellate Board and omitted sections 11 and 12. Licensing, royalty, assignment and tariff matters went to the Commercial Court (a Commercial Court or Commercial Division under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015). Rectification of the Register (section 50) and appeals from the Registrar (section 72, within three months) went to the High Court.
- 2026. The Tribunals Reforms Act, 2026 created no intellectual property tribunal, so the position after 2021 continues.
Conclusion. The Copyright Board was a quasi-judicial body under sections 11 and 12. It had a Chairman qualified to be a High Court judge and two members. It settled licences, royalties, assignment disputes, tariffs and rectification. Entertainment Network shows its role and Super Cassettes its limits. Since 4 April 2021 it no longer exists: the Commercial Courts and High Courts now exercise its powers.
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