Authorship vs Ownership Of Work Under The Copyright Act; What Is The Difference?

The Copyright Act, 1957 uses two different terms for a work- 'Authorship' and 'Ownership'. Is there a difference between the two? Can these two terms be used interchangeably? If you are a dialogue writer and are approached by a producer to write dialogues for his/her upcoming film, in exchange of a fee, will you be considered as an author or the owner of those dialogues?

Let us dive into the Copyright Act, 1957 ("Act, 1957") to find out what is the fine line of difference between the two concepts.

A. The concept of 'authorship' Under The Copyright Act, 1957

Whenever a work, copyrightable under the law, is created, the author of such work is the first owner of such work (ref. Section 17 of the Act, 1957). Having seen that the law gives an author the recognition as the first owner of a copyrightable work, a crucial aspect to be considered is – who all are included under the term 'author'.