There was no Copy Right Act in India till 1914, as the question of infringement of Copy Right did not arise till then. In the recent decades due to advancement of modern means of communications like Broadcasting, Television, Lithography etc., the question of infringement of Copy Right has been on rise. Hence, the Copy Right Act was brought into existence in 1956 completely revising the Copy Right Act of 1914. Thereafter the Act underwent amendments in the year 1983, 1984, 1992 & 1994. The Copy Right is a man’s inherent right over his Intellectual Property. The object of Copy Right is to protect the writer and the artist from the unlawful reproduction of his material by somebody else. The motto of the Copy Right is to protect one's expression of thoughts and ideas. Copy Right subsists in the following classes of works i.e., original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, cinematograph films, sound recording.

The Copy Right in a cinematograph film or a sound recording shall not affect the separate Copy Right in any work in respect of which or a substantial part of which, the film or as the case may be, the sound recording is made. In the case of work of architecture, copy right shall subsist only in the artistic character and design and shall not extend to process or methods of construction.

Copy Right protects literary and artistic works and includes every production in literary, scientific and artistic domain. Copy Right is a special right which any person is entitled to enjoy printing, publishing or otherwise utilizing every original composition, compilation or drawing. The principle is that no one is permitted to profit from the labor of another person by merely copying his work.

Term of Copy Right: In India the term of a Copy Right is 60 years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the author dies. Different terms are prescribed for protection of Copy Rights in different countries.

Power to extend Copy Right to foreign works: The Central Government may, by order, published in the official gazette, direct that all or any provisions of this Act shall apply a) To work first published in any territory outside India to which the order relates in like manner as if they were first published within India. b) To unpublished works, or any class thereof, the authors whereof were at the time of making of the work, subjects or citizens of a foreign country to which the order relates, in like manner as if the authors were the citizens of India. c) In respect of domicile in any territory outside India to which the order relates in like manner as if such domicile were in India. d) To any work of which the author was on the date of the first publication thereof, or, in a case where the author was dead on that date, was on the time of his death, a subject or a citizen of a foreign country to which the order relates in like manner as if the author was a citizen of India on that date or time.

An application for registration of a Copy Right has to be filed under Sec 16 of the Act where under every application for registration of a Copy Right shall be made in accordance with Form IV and every application for registration of changes in the particulars of Copy Right entered in the register of Copy Rights shall be made in accordance with Form V. Every application shall be in respect of one work only and shall be made in triplicate.

No court inferior to that of a metropolitan magistrate or a judicial magistrate of the 1st class shall try any offence under this Act.

Civil remedies for the infringement of Copy Rights: Where a Copy Right in any work has been infringed, the owner of the Copy Right is entitled to the remedies by way of injunction, damages etc.