Subject Matter of Copyright and the Idea–Expression Dichotomy — Intellectual Property Rights II Notes

Subject Matter of Copyright and the Idea–Expression Dichotomy

In 1954 a playwright, R.G. Anand, wrote a play Hum Hindustani about provincialism and inter-provincial marriage. A film-maker later released New Delhi, which shared the same broad theme. Anand sued. The Supreme Court, in R.G. Anand v Delux Films (1978), refused relief and laid down the rule that decides most copyright disputes in India: there is no copyright in an idea, theme or plot — only in the particular form in which it is expressed.

The idea–expression dichotomy

Copyright protects original expression — the words, arrangement, images or sounds an author actually created — not the underlying idea, information, method or theme. Two people may write about the same subject; each owns only the particular words and arrangement he chose. This single principle is called the idea–expression dichotomy.

Why does the law draw this line? Because ideas are the common stock of humanity — if the first person to think of a love story between rival families could monopolise it, no one else could ever write one. So the law leaves ideas free and protects only the individual expression, which costs the author his own labour.

Two conditions must be satisfied before copyright subsists in a work:

It must fall within a protected category listed in s.13 — a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, a cinematograph film, or a sound recording. Nothing outside these categories is protected.
It must be original — it must originate from the author (not be copied) and reflect some skill, labour and judgment. Originality does not mean novelty or inventiveness; it means the author did not copy it and put in his own effort.

The subject matter — s.13

Section 13(1): copyright subsists in “(a) original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works; (b) cinematograph films; and (c) sound recordings.”

In Simple Terms: Only these three groups of work attract copyright. Group (a) must be original; groups (b) and (c) — films and recordings — are “derivative” works assembled from other works and need not be “original” in the same sense, but they get no copyright if made by infringing another’s work (s.13(3)).

The originality threshold

Indian law, after Eastern Book Company v D.B. Modak (2008), follows a middle path between two old tests:

The “sweat of the brow” test (labour alone is enough) — rejected as too generous.
The “modicum of creativity” test (some minimal creativity needed) — rejected as too strict.
The “skill and judgment” test — adopted. The work must be the product of the author’s own skill and judgment, not merely mechanical labour and not a trivial exercise.

🧩 WORKED EXAMPLE — copyright in a single word

Facts. A writes one single word and claims copyright, pleading that the word is written in an artistic manner unique to himself.

Rule. Copyright protects an original literary or artistic work (s.13); a single word or a title is too trivial to be a “work” and carries no copyright — Krishika Lulla v Shyam Vithalrao Devkatta (2016).

Apply. A single word conveys no original literary expression. If A has genuinely drawn the word in a distinctive artistic script, the drawing may be an artistic work — but the word itself is not protected, and anyone may use the word.

Decoy. “Written in an artistic manner” tempts you to grant copyright; separate the word (not protected) from any artistic rendering (possibly protected).

Conclusion. A cannot claim copyright in the single word as such.

flowchart TD
    ROOT["A creation"]:::root
    ROOT --> Q{"Is it an IDEA or the EXPRESSION of it?"}:::dec
    Q -->|"Idea / theme / plot / method"| N["NOT protected — free to all"]:::no
    Q -->|"Original expression"| C{"In a s.13 category AND original?"}:::dec
    C -->|"Yes"| Y["Copyright subsists"]:::yes
    C -->|"No"| N
    classDef root fill:#FFF8DC,stroke:#000,stroke-width:1px,color:#000;
    classDef dec fill:#FDECC8,stroke:#B7791F,color:#000;
    classDef yes fill:#E6F3FF,stroke:#1E3A8A,color:#000;
    classDef no fill:#FDE2E2,stroke:#C0392B,color:#000;
    linkStyle default stroke:#888,stroke-width:1px;

💡 EXAM TIP — how to open the “expression not idea” answer

The trap. Candidates recite “copyright protects expression not idea” and stop, never naming the authority or the seven categories.

What to write. State the dichotomy, cite R.G. Anand v Delux Films (1978) for it, then list the s.13 categories and the originality test from Eastern Book Co. v Modak (2008). Give one line on why — ideas are common property.

Why it scores. The examiner is testing whether you can anchor the slogan in the statute (s.13) and two cases, which is what separates a 6-mark answer from a 16-mark answer.

Case Laws

R.G. Anand v Delux Films (1978) — no copyright in idea, theme or plot; test is whether the viewer gets an unmistakable impression that one work is a copy of the other.
Eastern Book Company v D.B. Modak (2008) — originality requires skill and judgment; the “middle path” test.
University of London Press v University Tutorial Press (1916) — “what is worth copying is worth protecting”; original means not copied.
Krishika Lulla v Shyam Vithalrao Devkatta (2016) — no copyright in the title of a work or a single word.

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