Government notifies “Copyright (Amendment) Rules 2021”

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The Government of India notifies Copyright (Amendment) Rules,2021.

About Copyright (Amendment) Rules,2021:

• In India, the copyright regime is governed by the Copyright Act, 1957 and the Copyright Rules, 2013. Last amendment of the Copyright Rules, 2013 happened in the year 2016.
• 2021 rules aims at adopting electronic means as a primary mode of communication and working in the Copyright Office. It is to match with the technological advancement in the digital era.
• Objective of the amendments: Further, It will bring the existing rules in parity with other relevant legislations.

Key Provisions of the Amendments:

• Firstly, Publication of Copyrights Journal: Amendment eliminates the requirement of publication of a copyrights journal in the Official Gazette. The said journal would be available at the website of the Copyright Office.
• Secondly, Annual Transparency Report: The copyright societies will require making an Annual Transparency Report public, for each financial year.
• Thirdly, Merging of Boards: The amendments harmonised the Copyright Rules with the provisions of Finance Act, 2017 whereby the Copyright Board has been merged with Appellate Board.
• Fourthly, Registration of Software Works: There has been large reduction in compliance requirements for registration of software works. Now the applicant has the liberty to file the first 10 and last 10 pages of source code or the entire source code if less than 20 pages.
• Fifthly, Registration as Copyright Society: The time limit for the response to an application for registration as a copyright society is now 180 days. Now the Central government can examine the application more comprehensively.

Source: PIB