Assignment, Transmission and Licensing of Copyright — Intellectual Property Rights II Notes

Assignment, Transmission and Licensing of Copyright

Because copyright is property (topic 1), it can change hands. When A.R. Rahman composes for a film, he does not personally market the songs — the rights move, by contract, to the producer and then to a music label. The law channels those transfers through three routes, and confuses candidates who mix them up. Keep them apart: assignment (sale of the right), transmission (passing on death/operation of law) and licence (permission to use).

The three modes of transfer

A. Assignment — ss.18–19

An assignment is a transfer of ownership of the copyright (wholly or partly) from the owner (assignor) to another (assignee). After assignment the assignee becomes the owner of the rights assigned.

Requirements under s.19:

In writing and signed by the assignor (or his agent). An oral assignment is void.
Identify the work, the rights, the duration and the territorial extent assigned.
State the royalty or consideration payable to the author.
If duration is not stated, it is deemed 5 years; if territorial extent is not stated, it is deemed to extend within India (s.19(5)–(6)).
2012 safeguards — an assignment of a right that does not yet exist (future medium) is subject to the author’s continuing royalty; authors of literary/musical works in films/sound recordings cannot assign away their right to an equal share of royalties.

Disputes over assignment go to the Appellate Board (now the Commercial Court) under s.19A, which may revoke an assignment if the assignee fails to exercise the rights.

B. Transmission by operation of law

Copyright, being movable property, passes on the owner’s death to his legal heirs or under his will (s.18 read with the Succession laws). This needs no writing — it happens automatically. Testamentary transfer of a manuscript is dealt with in s.20.

C. Licence — ss.30, 30A

A licence is mere permission to use the work; ownership stays with the licensor. A voluntary licence (s.30) must also be in writing and signed. A licence may be exclusive (only the licensee may use it) or non-exclusive.

Section 18(1): “The owner of the copyright in an existing work … may assign to any person the copyright either wholly or partially and either generally or subject to limitations and either for the whole term of the copyright or any part thereof.”

In Simple Terms: Assignment = selling the right (ownership moves). Licence = lending the right (ownership stays, permission given). Transmission = inheriting the right on death.

D. Assignment vs licence — the distinction that scores

Feature	Assignment (s.18–19)	Licence (s.30)
What passes	Ownership of the right	Only permission to use
Assignee/licensee becomes	The owner	A user, not owner
Right to sue infringers	Yes (as owner)	Only an exclusive licensee, jointly
Form	Writing, signed, with s.19 particulars	Writing, signed

🧩 WORKED EXAMPLE — co-owner assigns without consent

Facts. X and Y jointly own copyright in a literary work. Y assigns the whole copyright to Z without X’s assent. X challenges the assignment.

Rule. Joint owners hold the copyright in common; one co-owner cannot deal with the whole copyright without the other’s consent. An assignment must satisfy s.19 and cannot defeat the other co-owner’s share.

Apply. Y could assign only his own share, not X’s. Purporting to assign the entire copyright without X’s consent is not binding on X.

Conclusion. X succeeds; the assignment is ineffective as to his share. Z gets at most Y’s undivided share, subject to X’s rights.

flowchart TD
    ROOT["Dealing with copyright"]:::root
    ROOT --> A["Assignment (s.18-19): ownership transferred; writing + s.19 terms"]:::leaf
    ROOT --> B["Transmission: passes on death / operation of law"]:::leaf
    ROOT --> C["Licence (s.30): permission only; owner keeps title"]:::leaf
    classDef root fill:#FFF8DC,stroke:#000,stroke-width:1px,color:#000;
    classDef leaf fill:#E6F3FF,stroke:#1E3A8A,color:#000;
    linkStyle default stroke:#888,stroke-width:1px;

Case Laws

IPRS v Eastern India Motion Pictures Association (1977) — assignment of rights in film music between composer, lyricist and producer.
Saregama India Ltd. v Suresh Jindal (2007) — an assignment of copyright in a future work operates when the work comes into existence.

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