Section 19 of the Copyright Act 1957 - Mode of Assignment

Section 19 of the Copyright Act, 1957 lays down the formal and substantive requirements for a valid assignment of copyright in India. In practical terms, a copyright assignment should clearly record the work, the rights transferred, the duration, territorial extent, royalty or other consideration, and the parties' agreed terms.

Current legal position: Section 19 continues to govern the mode of assignment under the Copyright Act, 1957. The official text should be read together with Section 18 on assignment of copyright and, where a dispute arises, Section 19A on disputes concerning assignment.

What is an assignment of copyright?

An assignment is a transfer by the copyright owner of all or specified rights comprised in the copyright. Under Section 18 of the Copyright Act, copyright may be assigned wholly or partially, generally or subject to limitations, and for the whole term of copyright or a part of that term. Section 19 prescribes how that assignment must be documented and what it must contain.

Essential requirements under Section 19

The assignment must be in writing and signed by the assignor or the assignor's duly authorised agent.
The work being assigned must be identified.
The rights assigned must be specified.
The duration and territorial extent of the assignment must be specified.
The royalty and any other consideration payable to the author or legal heirs during the assignment must be stated.
If assigned rights are not exercised within one year, they ordinarily lapse unless the assignment provides otherwise.
If no duration is stated, the statutory default is five years.
If no territory is stated, the statutory presumption is that the assignment extends within India.

Section 19 - Mode of assignment

Section 19(1): No assignment of the copyright in any work shall be valid unless it is in writing signed by the assignor or by the assignor's duly authorised agent.

Section 19(2): The assignment must identify the work and specify the rights assigned, the duration of the assignment and its territorial extent.

Section 19(3): The assignment must specify the amount of royalty and any other consideration payable to the author or the author's legal heirs during the currency of the assignment. It is also subject to revision, extension or termination on terms mutually agreed by the parties.

Section 19(4): If the assignee does not exercise the assigned rights within one year from the date of assignment, the assignment in respect of those rights is deemed to lapse after that period unless the assignment specifies otherwise.

Section 19(5): If the period of assignment is not stated, it is deemed to be five years from the date of assignment.

Section 19(6): If the territorial extent is not specified, the assignment is presumed to extend within India.

Section 19(7): Sub-sections (2) to (6) do not apply to assignments made before the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1994 came into force.

Section 19(8): An assignment contrary to the terms and conditions of rights already assigned to a copyright society in which the author is a member is void.

Section 19(9): An assignment of copyright in a work for making a cinematograph film cannot affect the author's statutory right to an equal share of royalties and consideration payable for utilisation of the work in a form other than communication to the public of the work along with the cinematograph film in a cinema hall.

Section 19(10): An assignment of copyright in a work for making a sound recording that does not form part of a cinematograph film cannot affect the author's right to an equal share of royalties and consideration payable for utilisation of that work in any form.

Practical effect of Section 19

Requirement	Legal effect or default rule
Written instrument	An assignment is not valid unless it is in writing and signed by the assignor or duly authorised agent.
Identification of work	The agreement should clearly identify the copyright work covered by the transfer.
Rights assigned	The particular copyright rights being transferred should be stated rather than left uncertain.
Duration	If omitted, the statutory default is five years from the date of assignment.
Territory	If omitted, the assignment is presumed to extend within India.
Royalty and consideration	The agreement must specify royalty and any other consideration payable as required by Section 19(3).
Non-exercise of rights	Assigned rights ordinarily lapse after one year of non-exercise unless the agreement provides otherwise.

Relationship with licences under Section 30A

Section 30A provides that Section 19 applies, with necessary adaptations and modifications, to a licence granted under Section 30 in the same manner as it applies to an assignment of copyright. This makes the drafting requirements of Section 19 relevant beyond outright assignments.

Amendment history relevant to Section 19

Section 19 was re-numbered as sub-section (1) by Act 23 of 1983 with effect from 9 August 1984. The provision was substantially substituted by Act 38 of 1994 with effect from 10 May 1995. The Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012 further amended Section 19, including the reference to royalty and other consideration and the insertion of sub-sections (8), (9) and (10), with effect from 21 June 2012.

Official legal sources

For authoritative verification, refer to the Copyright Act, 1957 on India Code and the Copyright Office text of Chapter IV. These official sources should be preferred when checking the latest statutory text.

Note: This page is a general legal information resource. The validity and effect of a particular assignment depend on the wording of the instrument, the rights involved and the applicable facts.