Literary, Dramatic, Musical and Artistic Works — Intellectual Property Rights II Notes

Literary, Dramatic, Musical and Artistic Works

Is a railway timetable “literature”? In law, yes. Copyright’s idea of a “literary work” has nothing to do with literary merit — a shopping list, a computer programme and a mathematical table are all “literary works”. The categories in s.2 are technical boxes, and knowing which box a thing falls into decides who owns it and how long it lasts.

The four original-work classes — s.2

Under s.13(1)(a) copyright subsists in four classes of original work. Learn each definition, because short notes ask them individually.

A. Literary work — s.2(o)

Section 2(o): “literary work includes computer programmes, tables and compilations including computer databases.”

A literary work is anything expressed in print or writing, irrespective of quality or style — novels, articles, letters, question papers, and (importantly) computer programmes and databases. Merit is irrelevant; originality (skill and judgment) is everything.

B. Dramatic work — s.2(h)

Section 2(h): “dramatic work includes any piece for recitation, choreographic work or entertainment in dumb show, the scenic arrangement or acting form of which is fixed in writing or otherwise, but does not include a cinematograph film.”

A dramatic work is a play, a screenplay, a mime or a choreographed dance — it must be fixed (written down or otherwise recorded). A film is expressly excluded (a film is its own category).

C. Musical work — s.2(p)

Section 2(p): “musical work means a work consisting of music and includes any graphical notation of such work but does not include any words or any action intended to be sung, spoken or performed with the music.”

The musical work is the melody and composition only. The lyrics are a separate literary work, and a recorded performance is a separate sound recording. So a single song can contain three copyrights: music (composer), lyrics (lyricist) and the recording (producer).

D. Artistic work — s.2(c)

Section 2(c): “artistic work means (i) a painting, sculpture, drawing (including a diagram, map, chart or plan), an engraving or a photograph, whether or not any such work possesses artistic quality; (ii) a work of architecture; and (iii) any other work of artistic craftsmanship.”

Again — artistic quality is irrelevant. A child’s sketch and a rough map are “artistic works”. Architecture (buildings and models) is included, which is why an architect’s plan is protected (topic 7, the architect problems).

In Simple Terms: These four boxes are technical, not judgments of taste. Ask only two questions: Which box does it fall in? and Is it original (author’s own skill, not copied)?

Originality is required for all four

Each class must be original — it must originate from the author and show skill and judgment (topic 2). A photograph is original if the photographer chose the angle, lighting, framing and moment; that is why several photographers of the same monument each own a distinct copyright.

🧩 WORKED EXAMPLE — three photographs of the Taj Mahal

Facts. Three photographers photograph the Taj Mahal (or a statue) from three different corners. Each claims copyright over his own photograph.

Rule. A photograph is an artistic work (s.2(c)) and is original if it reflects the photographer’s own skill and judgment — choice of angle, light, framing.

Apply. The monument itself is a common subject that no one owns. But each photographer independently exercised his own judgment; each photograph is a separate original artistic work.

Conclusion. Each photographer owns a distinct copyright in his own photograph. None infringes the others, because none copied the others — they copied only the (unprotected) monument.

💡 EXAM TIP — the “one song, three copyrights” point

The trap. Students treat a song as a single work and give it one owner.

What to write. Separate the three works: the music (musical work, s.2(p), composer), the lyrics (literary work, lyricist) and the recording (sound recording, s.2(xx), producer). Cite IPRS v Eastern India Motion Pictures (1977).

Why it scores. It shows the examiner you understand that “copyright” is a bundle attaching to distinct works, which is the whole logic of s.13 and s.14.

flowchart TD
    ROOT["Original works (s.13(1)(a))"]:::root
    ROOT --> L["Literary — s.2(o): books, software, databases"]:::leaf
    ROOT --> D["Dramatic — s.2(h): plays, choreography (fixed)"]:::leaf
    ROOT --> M["Musical — s.2(p): melody only, not lyrics"]:::leaf
    ROOT --> A["Artistic — s.2(c): painting, photo, architecture"]:::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) — a song embodies separate musical and literary works; once incorporated in a film, the producer holds film rights.
• Camlin Pvt. Ltd. v National Pencil Industries (1985) — mere printed cartons without artistic skill may lack copyright as artistic works.
• Rupendra Kashyap v Jiwan Publishing House (1996) — examination question papers are original literary works.

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