"Fair Dealing" In Copyrights : Is The Indian Law Competent Enough To Meet The Current Challenges?

Fair dealing is a limitation and exception to the exclusive right granted by copyright law to the author of a creative work. It permits reproduction or use of copyrighted work in a manner, which, but for the exception carved out would have amounted to infringement of copyright. It has thus been kept out of the mischief of copyright law.¹ The defense of "fair dealing" initially originated and emanated as a doctrine of equity which allows the use of certain copyrightable works, which would otherwise have been prohibited and would have amounted to infringement of copyright. The main idea behind this doctrine is to prevent the stagnation of the growth of creativity for whose progress the law has been designed.