Enacted 1957Intellectual PropertyBrief

The Copyright Act, 1957

Confers copyright in original works, sets duration, exceptions, infringement remedies, criminal penalties, and the Copyright Board / Registrar.

In one line

What this Act says

Gives authors exclusive rights over their original books, music, films, software and art â€” and criminalises piracy.

Penalties

5 headline offences

Copyright infringement (commercial)
Â§63
Imprisonment 6 months â€“ 3 years + fine â‚¹50,000 â€“ â‚¹2 lakh.
Second / subsequent infringement
Â§63A
Imprisonment 1 â€“ 3 years + fine â‚¹1 lakh â€“ â‚¹2 lakh.
Use of infringing copy of computer programme
Â§63B
Imprisonment 7 days â€“ 3 years + fine â‚¹50,000 â€“ â‚¹2 lakh.
Circumvention of technological measures (DRM)
Â§65A
Imprisonment up to 2 years + fine.
Removal / alteration of rights-management information
Â§65B
Imprisonment up to 2 years + fine.

Headline offences only — not exhaustive. For the full text and every section, open the source PDF or the official link below.

Key Sections & Penalties

Showing 5 of 9

Section	Type	Provision	Applicability	Details / Penalty
§13	right	Works in which copyright subsists	-	Administrative / Structural
§14	definition	Meaning of copyright	-	Administrative / Structural
§17	right	First owner of copyright	-	Administrative / Structural
§52	right	Certain acts not to be infringement of copyright (Fair Dealing)	-	Administrative / Structural
§63	criminal	Copyright infringement (commercial)	-	Imprisonment 6 months – 3 years + fine ₹50,000 – ₹2 lakh high RISK

Maximum punishments as prescribed by the Act. Actual sentencing depends on facts, prior convictions and judicial discretion.

Sources

We always show you the local source PDF and at least one verifiable online reference, so you can check anything we say.

Source PDF

Full text · opens in new tab

Reference

Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org · opens in new tab

About this Act