Section 23 Copyright Act 1957 - Term of Copyright in Anonymous and Pseudonymous Works
Section 23 of the Copyright Act, 1957 governs the duration of copyright in certain literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works that are first published anonymously or under a pseudonym. The provision also explains how the term is determined when the author's identity is later disclosed and how the rule operates for joint authorship.
Meaning and scope of Section 23
An anonymous work is, in ordinary usage, a work published without identifying its author. A pseudonymous work is published under an assumed name or pseudonym rather than the author's disclosed identity. Section 23 applies to literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, subject to the wording and exceptions contained in the Act.
The provision is important because the usual life-of-the-author method of calculating copyright duration cannot readily operate where the author is unknown. Section 23 therefore uses the year of first publication as the starting reference unless the author's identity is disclosed within the statutory period.
Section 23 - statutory provision
(1) In the case of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work (other than a photograph), which is published anonymously or pseudonymously, copyright shall subsist until sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the work is first published.
Provided that where the identity of the author is disclosed before the expiry of the said period, copyright shall subsist until sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the author dies.
(2) For an anonymous work of joint authorship, references to the author are construed by reference to the disclosed author; where the identity of more than one author is disclosed, the relevant reference is to the author who dies last among those authors.
(3) For a pseudonymous work of joint authorship, the section contains detailed rules depending on which authors use pseudonyms and which identities have been disclosed. Where more than one relevant author is identified, the statutory calculation may depend on the author who dies last among the authors specified by the provision.
Explanation: For Section 23, an author's identity is treated as disclosed where it is disclosed publicly by both the author and publisher, or is otherwise established to the satisfaction of the Commercial Court by that author.
How the copyright term is calculated
1. Identity remains undisclosed
If the work remains anonymous or pseudonymous for the relevant period, the term runs for sixty years beginning with the calendar year following the year in which the work was first published.
2. Identity is disclosed before expiry
If the author's identity is disclosed before the publication-based term expires, Section 23 switches to a death-based calculation: sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year following the year in which the author dies, subject to the joint-authorship rules.
3. Joint authorship
Sub-sections (2) and (3) identify which author is relevant for calculating the term where an anonymous or pseudonymous work has joint authors. The precise result depends on whose identity is known or disclosed and, in specified cases, which relevant author dies last.
Commercial Court and disclosure of identity
The Explanation now refers to the Commercial Court. The Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 amended the Copyright Act and replaced the earlier tribunal-based reference. Under the Copyright Act, "Commercial Court" is tied to the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 and includes the relevant Commercial Court or Commercial Division of a High Court, as applicable.
Amendment note
The copyright period in Section 23 was increased from fifty years to sixty years by the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1992, with effect from 28 October 1991. The reference relevant to establishing an author's identity was subsequently changed to the Commercial Court through the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021.
Related provisions
Section 23 should be read with the surrounding provisions in Chapter V of the Copyright Act, 1957, particularly Section 22 on published literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and Section 24 on posthumous works. The applicable provision depends on the nature of the work and the circumstances of publication.
Official legal resources
For the current statutory text and official copyright information, refer to the Government of India's India Code and Copyright Office resources linked in the sidebar. Users should verify the latest statutory text and amendments before relying on the provision in a legal proceeding.