Copyright in a work shall be deemed to be infringed--
(a) when any person, without a licence granted by the owner of the copyright or the Registrar of Copyrights under this Act or in contravention of the conditions of a licence so granted or of any condition imposed by a competent authority under this Act--
(i) does anything, the exclusive right to do which is by this Act conferred upon the owner of the copyright, or
1[(ii) permits for profit any place to be used for the communication of the work to the public where such communication constitutes an infringement of the copyright in the work, unless he was not aware and had no reasonable ground for believing that such communication to the public would be an infringement of copyright; or]
(b) when any person--
(i) makes for sale or hire, or sells or lets for hire, or by way of trade displays or offers for sale or hire, or
(ii) distributes either for the purpose of trade or to such an extent as to affect prejudicially the owner of the copyright, or
(iii) by way of trade exhibits in public, or
(iv) imports 2*** into India, any infringing copies of the work:
3[Provided that nothing in sub-clause (iv) shall apply to the import of one copy of any work for the private and domestic use of the importer.]
Explanation.-- For the purposes of this section, the reproduction of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work in the form of a cinematograph film shall be deemed to be an "infringing copy".
(a) when any person, without a licence granted by the owner of the copyright or the Registrar of Copyrights under this Act or in contravention of the conditions of a licence so granted or of any condition imposed by a competent authority under this Act--
(i) does anything, the exclusive right to do which is by this Act conferred upon the owner of the copyright, or
1[(ii) permits for profit any place to be used for the communication of the work to the public where such communication constitutes an infringement of the copyright in the work, unless he was not aware and had no reasonable ground for believing that such communication to the public would be an infringement of copyright; or]
(b) when any person--
(i) makes for sale or hire, or sells or lets for hire, or by way of trade displays or offers for sale or hire, or
(ii) distributes either for the purpose of trade or to such an extent as to affect prejudicially the owner of the copyright, or
(iii) by way of trade exhibits in public, or
(iv) imports 2*** into India, any infringing copies of the work:
3[Provided that nothing in sub-clause (iv) shall apply to the import of one copy of any work for the private and domestic use of the importer.]
Explanation.-- For the purposes of this section, the reproduction of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work in the form of a cinematograph film shall be deemed to be an "infringing copy".
Source footnotes
1. Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 16, for sub-clause (ii) (w.e.f. 10-5-1995).2. The brackets and words "(except for the private and domestic use of the importer)" omitted by Act 65 of 1984, s. 3 (w.e.f. 8-10-1985).
3. Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 16, for the proviso (w.e.f. 10-5-1995).
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Section 1 · Short title, extent and commencement.Section 2 · Interpretation.Section 3 · Meaning of publication.Section 4 · When work not deemed to be published or performed in public.Section 5 · When work deemed to be first published in India.Section 6 · Certain disputes to be decided by Commercial Court.Section 7 · Nationality of author where the making of unpublished work is extended over considerable period.Section 8 · Domicile of Corporations.India Code, Government of India. Text fetched 10 Oct 2026. Check the linked official text and subsequent notifications when applying a provision.