IP & Business
Copyright Registration & Infringement Lawyer in India
At Soni And Soni we act for creators: writers, musicians, film and recording companies, artists and software authors, from registration through to enforcement, under the Copyright Act, 1957.
The ground
What you are actually dealing with
What copyright protects?
Copyright protects the expression of an idea, not the idea itself. Under the Copyright Act, 1957, a Copyright can be registered for original literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works. For example, computer programs are protected as literary works. The right is established automatically when the work is created or fixed, or both, in some manner. Nothing is required to be filed for it to exist.
Then why register?
A copyright proves your ownership over your work, usually years later, and usually to someone who disputes it. The entry in the Register of Copyrights serves as admissible evidence of the particulars it records, to answer a contested question of who made what and when into a documentary one. It is also what most platforms, licensees, investors, and enforcement authorities ask to see.
Ownership is not always the author
Work made by an employee in the course of employment generally belongs to the employer while a work commissioned to a freelancer or a independent contractor depends on the terms both parties agreed on in the contract/agreement. This is where most disputes we see actually begin: a logo, a website or a codebase paid for in full, with the copyright still sitting with the person who made it. An assignment must be in writing and signed to be effective.
Our part
How Soni And Soni handles creative rights
Copyright matters are rarely only about registration. They are about who owns what, on what terms, and what happens when someone uses it without asking.
- 01
Chains of title checked and repaired before they are needed, not after.
- 02
Assignments and licences drafted to say what the parties actually agreed.
- 03
Infringement pursued through notice, takedown and, where it is warranted, suit.
- 04
Software and digital works handled by people who understand what is being copied.
Scope
What this engagement covers
- Registration of literary, artistic, musical, dramatic, film and sound recording works
- Software and database registration
- Assignment, licensing and royalty arrangements
- Objections and hearings before the Copyright Office
- Infringement notices, takedowns and civil action
How it runs
The process, stage by stage
No stage carries a promised date. The Registry's queue and the court's list are not ours to commit on your behalf. What we commit to is doing our part of each stage without delay.
- 01
Establish ownership
Authorship, employment and commissioning arrangements are checked, and any assignment needed to put title where it belongs is executed first.
- 02
File
The application is filed with the Copyright Office with the work, the statement of particulars and any no-objection certificates required.
- 03
Scrutiny and objections
The application is examined and any objection or third-party dispute answered, with a hearing attended where one is fixed.
- 04
Registration
Once the application clears the applicable examination and objection process, the work may be entered in the Register of Copyrights and a registration certificate issued.
- 05
Copyright infringement
Licences and assignments drafted so the work earns, and infringement pursued where it does not.
Common questions
Questions we are asked most often
No. Copyright exists from creation. Registration does not create the right; it gives you an official record that makes proving it straightforward.