Author: Vishnu S Warrier
A rare political consensus, despite reservations expressed by some Members of Parliament over certain omissions in the Bill, marked the passage of the Copyright (Amendment) Bill, 2012, in Parliament in May. Almost all the speakers in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha underlined the need to protect the copyright of authors. The Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012, seeks to make its relevant provisions conform with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Copyright Treaty, or WCT, 1996, and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT), 1996, “to the extent considered necessary and desirable”.
WCT and WPPT addresses the challenges posed by digital technology to the protection of copyright and related rights, particularly with regard to the dissemination of protected material over digital networks such as the Internet and deals with copyright protection for the authors of literary and artistic works such as writings, computer programs, original databases, musical works, audio-visual works, works of fine art and photographs.
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