Section 10 of the Copyright Act, 1957 - Registrar and Deputy Registrars of Copyrights

Section 10 of the Copyright Act, 1957 deals with the appointment of the Registrar of Copyrights and Deputy Registrars of Copyrights and explains how Deputy Registrars may perform functions assigned by the Registrar.

What does Section 10 provide?

Section 10(1): The Central Government shall appoint a Registrar of Copyrights and may appoint one or more Deputy Registrars of Copyrights.

Section 10(2): A Deputy Registrar of Copyrights discharges, under the superintendence and direction of the Registrar of Copyrights, such functions of the Registrar under the Act as the Registrar may assign from time to time. When a Deputy Registrar is discharging such assigned functions, a reference in the Act to the Registrar of Copyrights includes that Deputy Registrar.

Meaning and scope of Section 10

The provision creates the statutory offices through which the administrative functions assigned to the Registrar of Copyrights under the Copyright Act are carried out. The Central Government is required to appoint the Registrar, while the appointment of one or more Deputy Registrars is permitted according to administrative requirements.

A Deputy Registrar does not exercise every power of the Registrar automatically. Under sub-section (2), the Deputy Registrar acts under the Registrar's superintendence and direction and performs the functions that the Registrar assigns. For those assigned functions, statutory references to the Registrar also extend to the Deputy Registrar.

Section 10 and the Copyright Office

Section 10 should be read with Section 9 of the Copyright Act, 1957. Section 9 establishes the Copyright Office and places it under the immediate control of the Registrar of Copyrights. Together, Sections 9 and 10 provide the basic statutory framework for the Copyright Office and its principal officers.

Provision	Section 10, Copyright Act, 1957
Subject	Registrar and Deputy Registrars of Copyrights
Registrar appointed by	Central Government
Deputy Registrars	One or more may be appointed by the Central Government
Deputy Registrar's authority	Functions assigned by the Registrar, exercised under the Registrar's superintendence and direction

Practical significance

The section enables statutory work to be distributed between the Registrar and duly appointed Deputy Registrars. This is important for the functioning of the Copyright Office because the Act entrusts the Registrar with several administrative and statutory responsibilities. An assigned function performed by a Deputy Registrar is treated, for the purposes of the Act, as a function performed within the authority contemplated by Section 10.

Current official reference: The Copyright Office is administered under the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry. For the current Act, rules, forms, notices and online copyright services, use the official Copyright Office resources linked in the sidebar.

Related provisions

For the institutional framework immediately preceding Section 10, see Section 9 - Copyright Office. Definitions relevant throughout the Act are available in Section 2 - Interpretation.

This page is intended as a general legal information resource. For an official and updated statutory text, refer to the Government of India sources.