Is Your Original Work Automatically Protected By Copyright?

One of the first questions that comes to the mind of an artist or a creator, as soon as a work is created, is how can the work be protected. Is protection available only if the work is "registered", or does protection follow automatically from the time of its creation? The issue of whether copyright registration is compulsory or not is a long standing one; and due to various conflicting judgements in India, artists and creators have always been uncertain about this matter. Under Indian law, copyright comes into existence as soon as a work is created and no formality needs to be completed for acquiring copyright. However, a certificate of registration of copyright serves as prima facie evidence in a court in a dispute on copyright ownership. Despite what the statute contains, Indian courts have not always provided reliefs where copyright registration was not produced by the owners.