When do copyrighted works enter the Public Domain?
Copyright provides rights to the person who has done the work for its use and distribution, preventing their work from any unauthorized usage, rework, or commercial utilization. But as it is said, nothing lasts forever. The same goes for copyrights as well. After some time, every work having a copyright move into the public domain after the copyright period is over, where all work can be used freely by the general public. The public domain has its major importance in promoting new ideas, educational advancement, and promoting innovation, and creativity, but due to legal ambiguities, international differences, and increasing copyright laws, it is becoming much more difficult to determine when the works become truly free for the general public. This blog encompasses the aspects of the legal frameworks of public domain, International Copyright laws, landmark cases, and the ongoing challenges in managing and maintaining a good balance between intellectual property rights and public access.
When an idea is given an expression, it has copyright protection for a specific period of time. After the expiry of the time limit, if the creator fails to adhere to the formalities required for renewal of the protection, the creator can no longer claim copyright protection, and hence the work enters the public domain, where anyone can refer and use the work without any restrictions. The term “public domain” implies works that are not complied and are protected by any intellectual property laws like copyright, trademarks, and patent laws. The work is used by the public rather than owned by an author or an individual. An important aspect of understanding the public domain material is that, while each work belongs to the public, collections of public domain works may come under copyright.
Delving into the concept of the Public Domain: A Legal Perspective under The Indian Copyright Act, 1957
The public domain consists of all the works which are not covered by any copyright, and that are free to study, use, distribute, and modify. Following are the ways how a work falls into the public domain:
1. Copyright Expiration - After the period of copyright is over, the work is set free to use.
2. Failed to Meet the Copyright Formalities - Copyright holders had to register copyrights and renew copyrights after a certain period and not doing so results in premature entry of the work into the public domain.
3. Government Works – Every work generated by the government itself for example; judgments, case reports, and laws falls into the public domain by failing to honour.
4. Voluntary Dedication - Authors can intentionally put their work into the public domain by using a free access license for everyone in general to use such as Creative Commons (CC).
Legal Framework: The Indian Copyright Act, 1957
India’s copyright authorities are governed by the Copyright Act, of 1957, which incorporates international obligations under treaties such as the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works including artwork, art pieces, creations, artistic productions, or the art objects and the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Essential clauses governing copyright terms and duration of time and public domain applicability include:
1. Duration of Copyright Protection (Section 22-25)
Literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works like artwork, art pieces, creations, artistic productions, or art objects are protected for the lifetime of the author and 60 years of his/her life. Cinematographic films, short movies, sound recordings, pictures, and photographs: Protection extends 60 years from the date of publication.
2. Government Works and Public Access (Section 28)
In the case of Government work, the Government is the first owner of the copyright which subsists until sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year following the year in which the work is first published. Government-authored works, including statutes, judicial decisions, and public reports, are usually in the public domain to ensure unrestricted dissemination of legal and administrative information.
3. Compulsory Licensing in the Public Interest (Section 31)
If the work has been published or performed in public during the term of copyright, and the owner has refused to allow the performance in public, can make a complaint to the Commercial Court. The Commercial Court, after providing the owner a reasonable opportunity of being heard, and if satisfied that the grounds for such refusal are not reasonable, direct the Registrar of Copyrights to grant to the complainant a license to republish the work in public or communicate it by broadcast. The Copyright Board is empowered to issue compulsory licenses for copyrighted works when deemed necessary for public benefit, particularly in cases concerning access to educational materials and essential cultural works.
4. Fair Use Doctrine (Section 52)
Copyright infringement has certain restrictions which include reproduction of work for academic, research, journalistic, and non-commercial purposes. It upholds the principle of reasonable public access while maintaining the economic rights of copyright holders.
Public Domain: Advantages and Disadvantages
The public domain acts as a vital tool in legal and cultural contexts by stimulating creativity, facilitating the availability of historical and educational content, and lowering entry hindrances for the dissemination of information. Let’s delve into the benefits and limitations of public domain works in detail.
Benefits:
- Promotes innovation and creativity of earlier works to fit in present era - Authors, filmmakers, and artists can use, transform, and build upon the earlier works.
- Educational enhancement – Works in the public domain and contents of some research are freely available for study.
- Encourages commercial reuse - Companies can use, remake or even change the contents of public domain works without paying any licensing costs as per their use.
- Prevention of cultural heritage – The works related to our history, culture, and heritage are made accessible to future generation which acts as preservation of historical works.
- Promotion of Creative Work by unlimited access to existing works which encourages creative reinterpretation and innovation.
Challenges:
- Legal Uncertainty - Different countries have different copyright durations, thus the confirmation to the public domain is not the same for all.
- Commercial Exploitation - For their greed businesses reassert the work of the public domain by making slight changes and filing new copyrights.
- Digital Barriers - Digital Rights Management (DRM) limits access to the works of public domain online.
- Trademark Overlap – Brands and characters still can be trademarked which restricts their use for free to the public even if the work was originally in the public domain.
Judicial Interpretation of Public Domain in India
Several landmark cases have influenced the interpretation of copyright and public domain principles in India's legal system.
- R.G. Anand v. Deluxe Films (1978)
Citation:(AIR 1978 SC 1613)
Issue: Whether the adaptation of a copyrighted work infringes on it.
Held: R.G. Anand, a playwright claimed the film "New Delhi", produced by Mohan Sehgal constituted copyright infringement of his play "Hum Hindustani". The Suprieme Court of India stated that while ideas, themes, and plots are part of the public domain and can’t be granted copyright protection, the expression of those ideas is protected under copyright law. The principle of the "idea-expression dichotomy," states that the ideas are free for anyone to use and can overlap in any person’s mind, but the specific way in which an idea is expressed can be protected by copyright under the Copyright Act, 1957.
- Eastern Book Company v. D.B. Modak (2008)
Citation: 2008 (36) PTC 1 (SC)
Issue: Whether Supreme Court judgments are capable of being copyrighted.
Held: The Supreme Court in the case of the Eastern Book Company v. D.B. Modak ruled that while the judgments of the court are in the public domain, the copyright protection includes how the work is expressed including the labour, skill, and capital invested in editing, arranging, and formatting these judgments, as well as the headnotes prepared by Eastern Book Company
3. Saregama India Ltd. v. Next Radio Ltd. (2022)[1]
Issue: Is it necessary to obtain a license for old sound recordings, even if they are not new?
Held: The Supreme Court of India held that even old recordings of sounds are essential to be licensed, highlighting the intricacy of copyright expiration under intellectual property rights in India.
Comparative Analysis: Public Domain in International Copyright Regimes
Jurisdictions of different nations vary in their copyright policies and public domain policies:
- The United States of America - In the US the duration of the copyright is the lifetime of the author + 70 years. All the works published on or before 1929 entered the public domain on January 1st.
- The United Kingdom & European Union – In the UK and EU the default term of a copyright is the author’s life + 70 years, with some variations regarding the perpetual and moral rights in some EU countries.
- Japan: Japan recently increased the copyright term from the author’s life + 50 years to the author’s life + 70 years, in line with international norms.
However, due to differences in national laws of different nations, the use and adaptation of work across borders is much more difficult.
What Happens Next?
International organizations such as WIPO and UNESCO need to emphasize on:
- To streamline public domain law to prevent conflicts between national laws and jurisdictions.
- Also make fix and clear dates of copyright expiration.
- Enhancing digital public domain records to easy access in general.
As technology is substituted and copyright is getting expanded, the government will have to focus on the following questions:
- Is there any possibility that the expansion of copyright continues and keeps within the bounds of cultural heritage?
- Or perhaps maybe more action should be taken to protect and expand the public domain for everyone?
The public domain is crucial and one of the most important aspect of intellectual property laws, to act as equilibrium to the protection of creators' rights, authors' rights, and social well-being. Although laws of copyright raise the morale of creativity, protracted protection time threatens to limit culture and admission to education. Policymakers need to keep laws clear, harmonize international copyright rules, and encourage accessibility in digital public domain repositories. In the process of changing copyright legislation, the question is still available of whether international frameworks will favour the growth of public domain access or going on intellectual property limitations.
References
- Indian Copyright Act, 1957
- Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works
- https://pitt.libguides.com/copyright/publicdomain?fbclid=PAY2xjawJNBD5leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABpivK8SlxJ0OT2WzLy4MyPtRlvagVioVNIeRd2Dbf6ZIvzzAPDzUF8ulxaw_aem_Fr4TKLZ3JpWVyaFJtHOMLg
- WIPO Reports on Public Domain Protection
- Supreme Court of India Judgments on Copyright
- Creative Commons – CC0 and Open Licensing