Nothing in Indian copyright is layered like music and film. A single track played in a café engages the lyricist, the composer, the record label and the singer, each with a separate right, and a film adds the producer and everyone whose work went into it. Getting a licence from the wrong one, or from only one, is the commonest mistake in the sector.
Quick reference
| Layer | Work | Author and first owner | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lyrics | Literary work | The lyricist | Life plus 60 years |
| Composition | Musical work | The composer | Life plus 60 years |
| Recording | Sound recording | The producer of the recording | 60 years from publication |
| Performance | Performer’s right | The singer or musician | 50 years from performance |
| Film | Cinematograph film | The producer | 60 years from publication |
A song
The lyrics are a literary work, owned by the lyricist. The composition is a musical work, owned by the composer — and a musical work is the music alone, excluding the words and any action. The recording of a particular performance of that song is a sound recording, a separate work whose author is the producer — the person who took the initiative and responsibility for making it, usually the label. And the performers — the singer, the session musicians — have performers’ rights in their performance: to record it, reproduce the recording, broadcast it and communicate it to the public.
A new recording of the same song needs the lyricist’s and composer’s permission, not the first label’s. Playing the first label’s recording in public needs the label’s permission and the authors’. Sampling a recording needs everyone’s.
A film
A cinematograph film is a work in its own right, and its author is the producer. Where a film is made for valuable consideration at the instance of another person, that person is the first owner. The film copyright covers the film — the recorded moving images and the sound — and gives the producer the rights to copy it, sell or rent copies, and communicate it to the public.
The film sits on top of the works incorporated in it: the screenplay, the dialogue, the score, the songs, the artwork. Each is a separate work with its own author, and since 2012 the Act says that nothing in the ownership exceptions affects the rights of the author of a work incorporated in a film. The producer gets the film; the authors of what went into it keep what the Act gives them, unless they have assigned it — and there is one thing they cannot assign.
The 2012 guarantee
The 2012 amendment gave authors of literary and musical works included in films and sound recordings a right that cannot be signed away: an equal share of royalties from every use of the work other than communicating the film to the public in a cinema hall. An assignment or licence that purports to waive it is void to that extent. Lyricists and composers who assigned everything to the producer for a fee, as the industry had done for decades, are entitled to royalties when the songs are played on radio, streamed, used in advertisements or performed live. The royalties are collected through the registered copyright society for authors, which has been the mechanism for enforcing the right.
Licensing public performance
Playing recorded music in a shop, restaurant, hotel, gym, event or office is communication to the public and needs a licence covering the sound recording and the underlying works. In practice that has meant licences from more than one body, and the question of who is entitled to grant them — a registered copyright society, or a company holding assignments from labels — has been intensively litigated in the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court since 2024, with positions shifting between hearings. Any business paying for, or refusing to pay for, a public performance licence should confirm the current position rather than rely on a demand letter or an old ruling.
The one settled exception is the religious ceremony, which the Act says includes a marriage and its associated festivities. The government’s 2023 public notice told licensing bodies not to demand fees for wedding functions. The Delhi High Court has since held that the exception is a defence to be established on the facts rather than a right that can be declared in advance, and that a commercial event attached to a wedding may not qualify.
Statutory licences
Cover versions. Anyone may make a new sound recording of a literary, dramatic or musical work five years after the first recording, on notice, paying royalties at the rate fixed, and without altering the work or misleading the public as to the original.
Broadcasting. Radio and television broadcasters may broadcast published literary and musical works and sound recordings under a statutory licence at royalty rates fixed by the authorities, on notice. The Bombay High Court held in 2019 that the licence is for radio and television and does not extend to internet streaming, which must be licensed voluntarily. That remains the position.
Titles, remakes and dubbing
A film’s title is not protected by copyright; it may be protected as a trademark or by passing off if it has acquired a reputation. Remake, sequel, dubbing and adaptation rights are rights in the underlying works — the script, the story — not in the film, and a producer who did not take an assignment of them from the writer does not have them. Contracts in the industry increasingly say so expressly.
Terms
Lyrics and compositions last for the author’s life plus sixty years. Sound recordings and films last sixty years from the year of publication. Performers’ rights last fifty years from the performance. The layers expire at different times: a 1950s film may be in the public domain while its songs, whose composer died in the 1990s, are not.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns the copyright in a song in India? The lyricist owns the lyrics, the composer owns the composition, and the producer of the recording — usually the label — owns the sound recording. The performers have separate performers’ rights. Each layer is licensed separately.
Who owns the copyright in a film? The producer, or the person at whose instance and for whose payment the film was made. The works incorporated in the film — script, score, songs — remain separate works with their own authors.
Can a lyricist or composer waive royalties in India? Not for uses of a work in a film or sound recording other than exhibition of the film in a cinema hall. Since 2012, authors are entitled to an equal share of royalties from those uses and any agreement to the contrary is void to that extent.
Do I need a licence to play music in my restaurant or shop? Yes. Playing recorded music to the public requires a licence covering the recording and the underlying works. Who is entitled to grant it has been litigated intensively since 2024; check the current position before paying or refusing.
Can a streaming service use the statutory broadcast licence? No. The Bombay High Court held that the statutory licence for broadcasting covers radio and television only, not internet streaming, which must be licensed voluntarily.
How long does copyright in a sound recording last? Sixty years from the year of publication. The lyrics and composition recorded last for their authors’ lives plus sixty years, and performers’ rights for fifty years from the performance.
Useful official resources
- Copyright Office, India — the Act and the register of copyright societies
- Indian Performing Right Society — the registered society for authors and composers
See our related notes on copyright societies, copyright licensing and copyright assignment.
A music or film deal that needs every layer licensed, or a licensing demand you are not sure is valid? Talk to us.