Copyright Societies & Registration

A copyright society is a society usually encompassing of authors and other owners of copyright of works where there is a collective administration of copyrights along with proper management and protection of copyrights. One of the primary functions of a copyright society is to oversee and regulate the issuance of licenses and collection of royalties in respect of works, on behalf of the owner. No person or group shall perform the aforesaid function without being registered as a society under the provisions of the Indian Copyright Act while the same does not preclude the owner, in his capacity from doing the same. The registered copyright societies in India are the Indian Performing Rights Society, Indian Reprographic Rights Organization and Indian Singers Rights Association.

As the name suggests, a copyright society is a collective society which is formed under Section 33 of the Copyright Act, 1957 and is, as mentioned above, formed by authors/creators and other owners of such copyrights and is registered under the Central Government. To form a society, the minimum membership requirement is seven (7). Typically, a copyright society is registered to carry on business in respect of a particular class of work.

Registration of Copyright Society in India

The following is the procedure to register a copyright society:

Any group of persons, consisting of seven or more authors or owners of copyright (hereinafter referred to as ‘Applicant’) formed for the purpose of carrying of business of issuing or granting licenses in respect of any class of works for which it is registered may file an application with the Registrar of Copyrights on Form VIII.

Every application shall be accompanied with:

1. A true copy of the application by which the Applicant is established or incorporated.
2. Consent of all the members included in the application to act as members of the Governing Body of the Application.
3. A declaration containing the objectives of the Applicant, the bodies through which it will function and arrangements for accounting and auditing.
4. An undertaking to the effect that the instrument is established or incorporated provides for conforming the same to the provisions of the Act and these Rules.

The registration duration for a copyright society is for a period of five (5) years which may be renewed from time to time before the end of five years by filing an application with Registrar of Copyrights under Form IX. However, discretion rests upon the Central Government to renew the registration which is done after considering the report of Registrar of Copyrights on the working of the copyright society under Section 36.