Are Creators Of Graphical And Fictional Characters Protected?

The general trend with respect to copyright protection by Indian courts must be categorised as one of restrictive protection rather than an all-encompassing scope of protection.

With the recent wave of films, television series, media, and merchandise around the world incorporating a slew of characters from story books, video games, comic strips, toys, and even mascots, it is imperative to identify the laws in India that would protect the owner/creator of such characters from any wrongful exploitation.

The primary difference between a fictional and graphic character is that the physical appearance and characterisation of the fictional character (also known as a literary character) resides in the imagination of the reader as per the author's description. This is in contrast to the graphic character where the physical appearance and characterisation are visually apparent for the reader. So, while Scooby Doo and Tom & Jerry are graphic characters, James Bond and