Guide on Copyright and Trademark Policies
                     Copyright and 
trademark 
policies
About copyright
 Copyright protects tangible original works, such as 
photos on an online store.
 Copyright laws vary by country or region, but 
generally copyright applies from the time the work is 
created. In many countries or regions, copyrights can 
also be registered with the government’s copyright 
office.
Source: help.shopify.com
What does a copyright protect?
Copyright protects literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic 
works, including:
 Poetry
 Novels
 Other forms of original writing
 Art
 Research
 Movies
 Songs
 Other forms of audio and video materials
 Computer software
Source: help.shopify.com
Indian perspective on copyright protection
The Copyright Act, 1957 provides copyright protection in 
India. It confers copyright protection in the following two 
forms:
 Economic rights of the author
 Moral Rights of the author
Source: www.legalserviceindia.com
Economic Rights
The copyright subsists in original literary, dramatic, 
musical and artistic works; cinematographs films and 
sound recordings. The authors of copyright in the 
aforesaid works enjoy economic rights u/s 14 of the Act.
Source: www.legalserviceindia.com
Moral Rights
Section 57 of the Act defines the two basic 'moral rights of 
an author. These are:
 Right of paternity
 Right of integrity
Source: www.legalserviceindia.com
Ownership of copyright
 The ownership in copyright may vest in different 
persons under different circumstances.
 In Eastern Book company v Navin J.Desai, the question 
involved was whether there is any copyright in the 
reporting of the judgment of a court. 
 The Delhi High court observed: It is not denied that 
under section 2(k) of the Copyright Act, a work which 
is made or published under the direction or control of 
any Court, tribunal or other judicial authority in India 
is a Government work
Source: www.legalserviceindia.com
Jurisdictional aspect
 The question of territorial jurisdiction of the court to 
deal with copyright infringement was considered by 
the courts on several occasions.
 In Caterpillar Inc v Kailash Nichani, the plaintiff, a 
foreign company, was carrying on business in several 
places in India including Delhi, through its Indian 
distributors and collaborators. The plaintiff claimed the 
relief of ad-interim injunction for preventing 
infringement of its copyright by the defendant, though 
the defendant was dealing in different goods. 
 The Delhi high Court held that it was not necessary to 
show that the business being carried on by the plaintiff 
in Delhi should necessarily be in respect of footwear 
and articles of clothing as well.
Source: www.legalserviceindia.com
About trademarks
 Trademarks protect unique symbols or words that 
identify and distinguish a business or product from 
other businesses or products.
Source: help.shopify.com
Trademark law
 The Trademark law was replaced with the Trademark 
and Merchandise Act, 1958. It provides better 
protection of trademark and prevents misuse or 
fraudulent use of marks on merchandise. 
Source: blog.ipleaders.in
Trademark law
 The Trademark Act, 1999 gives the right to the police 
to arrest in cases of infringement of the trademark. 
The Act gives a complete definition for the term 
infringement which is frequently used. 
 In Trademark Act, it provides punishments and 
penalties for the offenders. It also increases the time 
duration of registration and also registration of a non-
traditional trademark.
Source: blog.ipleaders.in