Section 21 of the Copyright Act, 1957 - Right of Author to Relinquish Copyright
Section 21 of the Copyright Act, 1957 allows the author of a work to voluntarily give up all or any of the rights comprised in the copyright. The provision also protects rights that had already accrued in favour of another person before the relinquishment notice.
Section 21: Right of author to relinquish copyright
Sub-section (1). The author of a work may relinquish all or any of the rights comprised in the copyright in the work by giving notice in the prescribed form to the Registrar of Copyrights or by way of public notice. Subject to sub-section (3), the rights so relinquished cease to exist from the date of the notice.
Sub-section (2). On receiving a notice under sub-section (1), the Registrar of Copyrights is required to cause it to be published in the Official Gazette and may publish it in such other manner as considered appropriate.
Sub-section (2A). Within fourteen days from publication of the notice in the Official Gazette, the Registrar is required to post the notice on the official website of the Copyright Office, where it is to remain in the public domain for not less than three years.
Sub-section (3). Relinquishment does not affect any rights subsisting in favour of another person on the date of the notice under sub-section (1).
The 2012 amendment expanded sub-section (1) to permit relinquishment by public notice and inserted sub-section (2A), with effect from 21 June 2012.
What does relinquishment of copyright mean?
Relinquishment under Section 21 is a statutory method by which an author may surrender all copyright rights in a work or only selected rights. Copyright is a bundle of exclusive rights, and the particular rights depend on the category of work. Section 21 therefore permits a limited relinquishment as well as a complete relinquishment.
The legal effect is prospective from the date of the relevant notice. A relinquishment should not be treated as a device for cancelling rights that had already vested in another person, because sub-section (3) expressly preserves such subsisting rights.
Procedure under the Copyright Rules, 2013
Chapter III of the Copyright Rules, 2013 deals specifically with relinquishment. Rule 4 provides that an author wishing to relinquish all or any copyright rights under Section 21 may give notice to the Registrar of Copyrights in Form I or give a public notice in accordance with Rule 5.
Rule 5 specifies particulars for a public notice, including the class and title of the work, details of the author and publisher where applicable, the registration number if the work is registered, the right or rights being relinquished, and the date of relinquishment. It also describes recognised modes of public notice and permits a copy, with proof of identity, to be forwarded to the Registrar for posting on the Copyright Office website.
Protection of existing third-party rights
Section 21(3) is an important limitation on relinquishment. If a right in favour of another person is already subsisting when the author gives the Section 21 notice, the author's relinquishment does not extinguish that existing right. This protects legal interests created before the notice.
Section 21 in context
Section 21 appears in Chapter IV of the Copyright Act, 1957, which deals with ownership of copyright and rights of the owner. It follows provisions dealing with the first owner of copyright, assignment, mode of assignment, and testamentary transmission, and is followed by provisions governing the term of copyright.
Official copyright resources
For the current statutory and procedural material, refer to the Copyright Office, Government of India, the Copyright Act, 1957, and the Copyright Rules, 2013 and prescribed forms.
This page is intended as a general legal information resource. For a transaction or dispute involving relinquishment, assignment, licensing, or third-party rights, the facts and operative documents should be examined separately.