Protect your original work, software, content, music, art, and film. Copyright registration in India under the Copyright Act, 1957, plus global advisory on ownership, assignment, licensing, and enforcement across Berne Convention countries.
Describe the work, software, content, music, artwork, a film, and what you are trying to do: register it, assign it, license it, or stop someone copying it. An IP professional from our team will recommend the right step and respond with a clear scope and quote.
Everything you share is strictly confidential. If your work was created by freelancers, contractors, or co-founders, mention that, ownership often does not sit where people assume, and it is best sorted early.
Here is the thing most people get wrong about copyright: it exists automatically. The moment you create an original work, write the code, record the track, draw the artwork, you own the copyright, in India and across the 180-plus countries of the Berne Convention. You do not have to register to own it.
So why register? Because owning a right and being able to prove it are different things. In India, a copyright registration is prima facie evidence of ownership, an official, dated record that is accepted by courts and very hard for an infringer to dispute. When someone copies your work, or when an investor or acquirer asks you to prove you own your own software, that certificate is the difference between a clear answer and an expensive argument.
My Legal Pal handles copyright registration in India under the Copyright Act, 1957, and advises globally on ownership, assignment, licensing, and enforcement. We also fix the quieter problem that sinks more businesses than infringement does: copyright that the company assumes it owns but legally does not, because it was created by a freelancer or co-founder and never properly assigned.
We will be straight with you: registration is not legally required for copyright to exist. But in practice it does real work, especially in India.
A registration certificate is prima facie evidence that you own the work, accepted in court. Without it, you can still claim copyright, but you have to prove authorship and date the hard way, often with weaker evidence.
When you act against an infringer, a registration shifts the ground in your favour: the burden moves to the other side to disprove your ownership. It makes cease-and-desist letters land harder and litigation cleaner.
Investors, acquirers, and licensees want to see that you own your core creative assets. For a software or content business, registered copyright (plus clean assignments) is part of what diligence checks. Its absence raises questions.
Registration creates an official, dateable record of the work and its owner, useful years later when memories fade and the freelancer who built it is long gone.
The honest summary: copyright is automatic, but registration is the cheap insurance that turns a right you have into a right you can use.
Select the closest match. We will tell you what it involves and the right step to take.
Copyright protects original works of authorship, the expression of an idea, not the idea itself. Under India’s Copyright Act, 1957, the protected categories are:
Books, articles, scripts, website and marketing copy, manuals, and, importantly, computer programmes and source code, which are protected as literary works.
Paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, architecture, and graphic and logo artwork. (A logo can be both an artistic work for copyright and a trademark as a brand identifier, the two protections complement each other.)
The musical composition and the sound recording are separate copyrights, often with different owners (composer, lyricist, producer). Getting the ownership split right matters.
Plays and choreography, and films and audiovisual works, the latter bundling underlying scripts, music, and footage that carry their own rights.
What copyright does not protect: ideas, facts, methods, or systems (those may be a patent question); names, titles, and slogans (usually trademark territory); and the functional shape of a product (a design question). We help you put the right protection on the right asset.
From application to certificate, handled end to end.
We confirm the correct category (literary, artistic, software, music, film) and who the rightful owner is.
If freelancers or co-founders were involved, we put an assignment in place first, so you register as the true owner.
We complete the application and assemble the copies of the work and supporting documents the Copyright Office requires.
Filed with the Copyright Office. After filing there is a mandatory waiting period during which objections can be raised.
If objections or discrepancies arise, we respond and resolve them with the Office.
The work is entered in the Register of Copyrights and you receive the certificate, your prima facie proof of ownership.
Copyright is the legal right of the creator of an original work, writing, software, music, art, film, to control how it is copied, distributed, performed, and adapted. It protects the original expression of an idea, not the idea itself. It arises automatically when the work is created and fixed in a tangible form; you do not have to register or publish to own it.
Both are true. Copyright is automatic, you own it the moment you create the work, in India and across all Berne Convention countries. But registration is strongly worth it: in India a registration certificate is prima facie evidence of ownership, accepted by courts and hard for an infringer to dispute. Automatic ownership gives you the right; registration gives you the proof that makes the right enforceable in practice.
They protect different things. Copyright protects original creative works, writing, code, music, art, film. A trademark protects brand identifiers, names, logos, slogans. A patent protects inventions, how something works. A single product can involve all three: copyright in its content and code, a trademark on its brand, and a patent on its technology. They are complementary, not alternatives.
Yes. Under India’s Copyright Act, computer programmes and source code are protected as literary works, and registering them is one of the most useful things a software business can do. Copyright protects the code as written (the expression); it does not protect the underlying functional idea or algorithm, that may be a patent question. Many software companies register copyright in the code and consider a patent for any genuinely novel technical method.
This catches businesses out constantly. The default rules differ by relationship and jurisdiction. In many cases, work by an employee in the course of employment vests in the employer, but work by an independent freelancer or contractor often remains owned by the freelancer unless there is a written assignment. So the agency that built your site, or the contractor who wrote your code, may legally still own it. The fix is a written copyright assignment, which we put in place. This is essential before any fundraise or acquisition.
In India, for most works it lasts the lifetime of the author plus 60 years. Different categories (films, sound recordings, photographs, anonymous works) have their own terms. Other countries differ, the term is the life of the author plus 70 years in the US, the UK, and the EU, for example. After the term expires, the work enters the public domain.
Largely, yes. India is a member of the Berne Convention, so works are automatically protected in all 180-plus member countries without separate registration in each. However, the practical value of local registration and the enforcement process differ by country. The United States, in particular, strongly incentivises registration with the US Copyright Office, registering a US work is generally a prerequisite to suing for infringement there and unlocks statutory damages. We advise on where local registration is worth it for your work and markets.
You can act, and registration makes acting far easier. Typical steps are a cease-and-desist or takedown notice, a DMCA-style notice for online infringement, negotiation, and, if needed, court action for an injunction and damages. With a registration in hand, your ownership is presumed and the infringer carries the burden of disproving it, which strengthens every step. We assess the position and pursue the route that fits.
The government fee is modest and depends on the category of work and the number of works. On top of that is our professional fee for identifying the right category, sorting ownership and assignments, preparing the application, and handling any objections. Copyright is one of the most cost-effective protections relative to the value of what it secures. We quote your matter specifically.
The legal right of the creator of an original work, writing, software, music, art, film, to control how it is copied, distributed, performed, and adapted. It protects the original expression of an idea, not the idea itself, and arises automatically when the work is created and fixed in tangible form.
Both. Copyright is automatic, you own it the moment you create the work, in India and across all Berne Convention countries. But registration is strongly worth it: in India a certificate is prima facie evidence of ownership, accepted by courts and hard for an infringer to dispute. Automatic ownership gives the right; registration gives the proof that makes it enforceable.
Copyright protects original creative works (writing, code, music, art, film). A trademark protects brand identifiers (names, logos, slogans). A patent protects inventions (how something works). A single product can involve all three; they are complementary, not alternatives.
Yes. Under India’s Copyright Act, computer programmes and source code are protected as literary works, and registering them is one of the most useful things a software business can do. Copyright protects the code as written, not the underlying functional idea, which may be a patent question.
It catches businesses out. Employee work in the course of employment often vests in the employer, but a freelancer or contractor usually retains ownership unless there is a written assignment. So your agency or contractor may legally still own what they built. The fix is a written copyright assignment, essential before any fundraise or acquisition.
In India, for most works it lasts the author’s lifetime plus 60 years; different categories (films, sound recordings, photographs) have their own terms. Other countries differ, life plus 70 years in the US, UK, and EU, for example. After the term, the work enters the public domain.
Largely yes. India is a Berne Convention member, so works are automatically protected in 180-plus member countries without separate registration. But the value of local registration and the enforcement process differ, the US in particular incentivises registration heavily (it is generally a prerequisite to suing for infringement of a US work and unlocks statutory damages). We advise on where local registration is worth it.
Act, and registration makes acting easier. Typical steps: a cease-and-desist or takedown notice, a DMCA-style notice for online infringement, negotiation, and if needed court action for an injunction and damages. With a registration, your ownership is presumed and the infringer must disprove it, strengthening every step.
The government fee is modest and depends on the category and number of works, plus our professional fee for sorting category, ownership and assignments, the application, and any objections. Copyright is one of the most cost-effective protections relative to the value it secures. We quote your matter specifically.
Prakhar Rai is an advocate enrolled with the Bar Council of India and the founder of My Legal Pal. An alumnus of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore, with a Master of Business Laws, Prakhar has 10+ years of experience advising startups, content businesses, software companies, and creators on intellectual property, contracts, and corporate matters across India and internationally.
His practice covers the full IP toolkit, copyright, trademarks, designs, and patents, with particular attention to the ownership and assignment issues that decide who really controls a business’s creative and software assets. My Legal Pal’s copyright service is led by Prakhar and delivered by a team experienced across registration, licensing, and enforcement.
Copyright registration in India under the Copyright Act, 1957, plus global advisory on ownership, assignment, licensing, and enforcement. Sort out who owns what, register it, and have the proof when you need it.
Confidential · +91 8004800100 · contact@mylegalpal.com