The Indian Copyright Act, by virtue of Section 13, grants
protection to the following works:
1. Original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic
works.
2. Cinematographic films.
3. Sound recording
However, the question that arises here is, by granting
copyright, what exactly is being protected?
Copyright is protection in Form and not in Idea
Copyright is a right given to or derived from works and it is
not a right in novelty only of ideas. Copyright essentially
protects the works of an author or creator and prevents others from
copying such original work. It does not, however, bar others from
coming to the same result through an independent process.
There exists no copyright in ideas. Copyright subsists only in
the material form to which the ideas are translated. Two authors
may have the same idea for a book. However the way they express
themselves i.e., the way they put down their idea in a tangible
form is what that makes a difference. It is the
