Abstract
Behind every success, there is an untold story. Some are told and some are not. What if someone comes to break it. This blog goes dive into the copyright act, which protects the authors and other literary and art workers arts. How copying affects the author, is discussed in this blog. Copying is easy, but creating it is hard. This blog also discusses the story of Harry Potter, which highlights the importance of copyrights.
Introduction
“It cannot be stolen by thieves, nor can it be taken away by kings.
It cannot be divided among brothers; it does not cause a load on your shoulders.
If spent, it indeed always keeps growing.
The wealth of knowledge is the most superior wealth of all!”
Today, it’s the era of artificial intelligence and deep fakes. Day by day, people create new inventions, try new patterns, new cultures and new styles of writing from a high traditional form to very new modernistic ideas. The 18th and 19th centuries are often referred to as the period of enlightenment and reason. From Romanticism and Realism to the Modernistic Fragmented and symbolic era, the literature and it’s supplements has changed a lot. As things changed, law started evolving and emerging with time.
What are Copyrights?
Let me ask you one thing, what if you have a sibling and he or she takes all the credits and advantages of your artistic works, can you bear it? Likely, what if, some unique art literature works get copied? Copyrights are actually some protection given to some kind of categories for protecting it’s integrity, and uniqueness. This protection includes the protection from unauthorized publishing to pirating. Sometimes, even copycat activities can be an infringement of copyright! Have you ever thought of ‘Why people like to make good out of one’s bad?’, I don’t understand it yet. Introduction of every law has a reason, and implementing it too has a reason!
Why copyrights?
Copyrights are actually working, when we are working. Yeah!, you may think like, eh, what? And here comes the importance of copyright act and other intellectual property rights. For literary and other kinds of works, which includes the expressions of ideas, that means, the literary works, dramatic works, artistic and cinematographic works, anything which includes a mental element.
Any Harry Potter fans?
Have you ever wondered with the stories of Harry Potter? The magic, that swag, that energy and the entertainment? I was always curious to read the next part, I was like , Oh, what will he do next, what would be the outcome and all. Once a Harry Potter fan, always a fan. Her way of writing and presentation attracted readers worldwide, and she made billions through it. But, think of it, what if I or you copy her entire work and sell it in the market for making profit, is that fair? In the case of Rowling v. City Publication(Delhi High Court, 2010), an Indian publisher printed and published books in the name of Harry Potter, and introduced exact Harry and team, with the same design, but with entirely a different plot inside. The court ruled in favor of Rowling, under sections 51 and 58 of The Copyright Act, 1957, understanding her notable works and efforts. Section 51 says about ‘When the copyright infringed’ and section 56 says the ‘protection of separate rights’.
Sometimes it is not!
Do you get a question of whether everything will count as a copyright infringement?, but, actually it’s not. Not every copying amount to the infringement of copyright. Under section 52 of The Copyright Act, 1957, if something is referred from a book or an article for the fair purpose of researching, for criticizing, making reviews or reporting any current events and current affairs including lectures delivered in the public, done in good faith, is fair use. The thing is, if you do something in good faith, and without any malicious intention to harm others long thought processes and ideas, it won’t amount to copyright infringement. If you want to become rich, make a way through your own creativity, don’t try to get rich through shortcuts, because, not every shortcuts are safe.
Conclusion
When we were 3 or 4 years of age, our parents and grandparents used to tell us knowledge and ideas are precious things, which cannot be stolen by others, even one of the renowned writer in Malayalam Shri Ezhuthacchan wrote it so, ‘Knowledge cannot be stolen’, but, it is not the same today, everyone likes to be in their own cocoons and try to make profit and become rich as easy as possible. So, as time passes and people change, laws emerge and the laws and acts like the copyrights and other intellectual property rights are introduced for the benefit and protection of works of the writers.
References
Manupatra, ‘Intellectual Property Protection and IPL’ , [https://manupatra.com/roundup/336/Articles/Intellectual%20Property%20Protection.pdf]
CLRN, ‘How has literature changed over time?’, (2 July 2025), [How has literature changed over time? – California Learning Resource Network ]
The Copyright Act, 1957
2010 SCC Online Del 113
Bytescareblogs, ’31 Notable Copyright Infringement Cases’, (11 October 2024), [31 Notable Copyright Infringement Cases // Bytescare]
LawBhoomi, ‘Intellectual Property Rights Notes’, (11 April 2026), [Intellectual Property Rights Notes]
