INDIA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Arvind Sharma, Ajoy Roy, Sanjiv Malhotra, Shahana Chatterji and J.V. Abhay, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co.
New Income Tax Bill, 2025 The new Bill aims to simplify and rationalise tax legislation without policy changes. India’s tax regime offers various incentives to promote business growth, innovation and invest - ment, especially for start-ups and R&D. Fiscal incentives and subsidies are being offered to various industries to enhance domestic produc - tion. Income tax authorities and the GST Council are following a consultative approach in policy making. These measures enhance India’s com - petitiveness as a global investment destination. Copyright law in India Copyright protection and enforcement in India is governed by the Copyright Act, 1957 and the rules thereunder. There have been subsequent amendments to the law as well, most notably the Copyright protects the expression of ideas (and not the ideas themselves) in the following cat - egories: • literary works (books, articles and software code); • dramatic and musical works (plays, choreo - graphic works compositions); • artistic works (paintings, photographs and sculptures); • cinematograph films (movies and documenta - ries); and • sound recordings (music albums, songs and audio podcasts). Rights granted to copyright owners The owner of a copyrighted work enjoys exclu - sive rights, including: Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012. What is protected under copyright?
• reproduction right – to make copies of the work; • distribution right – to sell or distribute copies; • public performance/display right – to perform or display the work publicly; • adaptation right – to create derivative works (transcriptions, abridgement and remixes); • translation right- to translate a work in other languages; and • moral rights – the owner/author can claim authorship and prevent distortion of the work. Copyright registration and term of protection While copyright protection is automatic upon creation, registration with the Copyright Office is advisable. Registration of copyright involves filing of an appropriate application along with requisite documents and fees. Once filed, the application is reviewed by the Copyright Office. Following the review and approval, a registration certificate is issued. A certified copy of the registration certifi - cate is admissible in evidence in all courts without further proof or production of the original. The term of copyright in a work in India depends on the nature of the work. For literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works the duration is the life - time of the author plus 60 years. For cinemato - graph films, sound recordings, photographs it is 60 years from publication. The term of copyright in anonymous/pseudonymous works (except photographs) is 60 years from publication. Once the term of copyright expires, the copyrighted work enters the public domain and can be used by anyone without permission or payment of royalties to the owner. Assignment and licensing The owner or prospective owner of copyright in an existing or future work can assign and license the copyright (either in entirety or in part) either wholly or partially and either generally or subject
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