How long does copyright protection last in India under Section 22

Question

I want to know when the copyright in a book, song or photograph expires and enters the public domain. I would rather settle this without going to court if the law allows it, but I need to know my rights before I sign anything. Please tell me what to do first and what document to keep.

MyVakeel Legal Desk · Accepted Answer

Under Indian law, Copyright Act, 1957, Section 22 is the starting point for this intellectual property question. What follows is the position in substance, together with the steps that usually make the difference in practice.

Section 22 of the Copyright Act, 1957 provides that copyright in a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work (other than a photograph) subsists during the lifetime of the author and for sixty years thereafter, counted from the beginning of the calendar year following the author's death.

Section 26 fixes the term for cinematograph films at sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year following the year of publication, and Section 27 applies the same sixty-year term, measured from publication, to sound recordings, since these works do not have a single identifiable individual author in the traditional sense.

For anonymous or pseudonymous works, government works and works of international organisations, Sections 23, 28 and 28A respectively fix the term at sixty years from publication, unless the author's identity is disclosed before expiry, in which case the general author-life-plus-sixty rule under Section 22 may apply instead.

Once the copyright term expires, the work enters the public domain and can be freely copied, adapted, translated or performed by anyone without permission or payment, though moral rights of the author under Section 57, such as the right of paternity and integrity, are argued by some to survive independently in limited respects.

In practice, in this order: 1) Identify the category of work to determine which section's term applies; 2) Calculate the term from the correct trigger date — death or publication; 3) Check whether the author's identity was later disclosed for anonymous works; 4) Confirm public domain status before reproducing an older work commercially.

Timing matters here: Copyright Act, 1957, Section 22 works on limitation periods, so a copyright term india claim that is right on the merits can still fail if it is brought late. You can post the details on the MyVakeel forum for a practising advocate to review, or book a paid consultation with a Bar Council verified lawyer in intellectual property.