We at Patracode have a great team of Attorneys who assist our clients from various industries to enforce their IP rights. Our experienced and highly skilled Copyright Attorneys take care of the various copyright enforcement mechanisms to ensure protection of Copyrights. Though registration of Copyright is not mandatory but it is advisable as registration substantially increases the degree of protection and success rate increases while the rights are being enforced.
The copyright rights can be protected broadly under three and they are explained below:
1. Civil:-
- Civil Remedies involves grant of interlocutory injunction, damages- actual and conversion and accounts of profits, delivery up of infringing copies and material.
The interlocutory/ Temporary/Ad-interim injunction is generally given to prohibit an infringer’s action till the law suit is disposed. The principles on which interlocutory injunctions should be granted should be a Prima facie case, a balance of convenience should prevail and some irreparable injury should have been caused to the copyright owner. - Under the Indian law there are the Pecuniary remedies; however, a copyright owner has the power to seek for the recovery of all the three remedies which are: (a) the account of the profits, (b) compensatory damages, and (c) conversion damages which are assessed on the basis of value of the article.
- Mareva Injunction is to protect the interest of the copyright owner during the pendency of the law suit and is granted to temporarily freeze the assets to stop disposing until the judgment is passed.
- The Anton Piller Order is an injunction restraining the infringer from dealing in the infringing goods or destroying them. This order allows the attorney of the copyright owner to enter the premises of the infringer to search the premises and take inspection of relevant documents and articles and take copies thereof or take them to safe custody.
- John Doe Orders is an order issued by the court of law to search and seize against unknown and unnamed infringer.
- Permanent/Perpetual Injunction: The final order of the court which will refrain the person or entity from doing any activity is known as the Permanent or the Perpetual Injunction.
- Damages or Accounts of Profits is another remedy provided to the copyright owner, damages is the amount that is compensated to the owner for the loss he incurred and the accounts of profit is the actual profit made by the infringer which is paid to the owner.
- Delivery up and destruction: in this remedy the infringing goods are delivered to the plaintiff or destroyed.
2. Criminal:-
Criminal Punishment through imprisonment, Fines, Search and Seizure of the infringing goods and Delivery up of infringing copies are the various criminal remedies. Search and seizure of the infringing goods including plates which are defined as including blocks, moulds, transfers, negatives, duplicating equipment or any other device or object that is currently used or is intended to be used for reproducing the copies or printing the copies of the work.
3. Administrative:-
Piracy or importing copies which are subject to infringement is not allowed in India and the Custom department provides an administrative support to block the infringing copies to enter the Indian ports.
We at Patracode have attorneys with vast experience of handling copyright cases and assisting our clients in various civil, criminal and administrative enforcement.
