Section 53A of the Copyright Act, 1957 - Resale Share Right in Original Copies
Section 53A creates a statutory resale share right for an author, or the author's legal heirs, when specified original works or manuscripts are resold for more than Rs. 10,000. The provision applies where the author was the first owner of copyright under Section 17, and the right operates notwithstanding an assignment of copyright.
What Section 53A covers
The section applies to resale of the original copy of a painting, sculpture or drawing, and to the original manuscript of a literary, dramatic or musical work. The resale price must exceed Rs. 10,000. The author must have been the first owner of rights under Section 17, or the claim may be made by the author's legal heirs. The right continues only during the subsistence of copyright.
Section 53A - statutory provision
(1) In the case of resale for a price exceeding ten thousand rupees, of the original copy of a painting, sculpture or drawing, or of the original manuscript of a literary or dramatic work or musical work, the author of such work if he was the first owner of rights under section 17 or his legal heirs shall, notwithstanding any assignment of copyright in such work, have a right to share in the resale price of such original copy or manuscript in accordance with the provisions of this section:
Provided that such right shall cease to exist on the expiration of the term of copyright in the work.
(2) The share referred to in sub-section (1) shall be such as the Commercial Court may fix:
Provided that the Commercial Court may fix different shares for different classes of work:
Provided further that in no case shall the share exceed ten per cent of the resale price.
(3) If any dispute arises regarding the right conferred by this section, it shall be referred to the Commercial Court whose decision shall be final.
Key requirements of the resale share right
- Qualifying transaction: there must be a resale, and the resale price must exceed Rs. 10,000.
- Qualifying subject matter: the provision is confined to the specified original artistic copies and original manuscripts mentioned in Section 53A.
- Eligible claimant: the author who was the first owner under Section 17, or the author's legal heirs.
- Assignment does not extinguish the right: Section 53A expressly operates notwithstanding an assignment of copyright.
- Duration: the resale share right ceases when the copyright term expires.
- Amount: the Commercial Court fixes the share and may prescribe different shares for different classes of work, but the share cannot exceed 10 per cent of the resale price.
Role of the Commercial Court
The Commercial Court now performs the function previously assigned to the Appellate Board for fixing the resale share under sub-section (2). A dispute concerning the right created by Section 53A is also referred to the Commercial Court under sub-section (3). The 2021 amendment is therefore important when reading older versions of the Copyright Act that still refer to the Appellate Board.
Legislative history
Section 53A was inserted by the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1994 and came into force on 10 May 1995. The Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 substituted "Commercial Court" for "Appellate Board" in Section 53A and omitted the former words concerning finality of the Appellate Board's decision in sub-section (2), with effect from 4 April 2021.
Related copyright provisions
Section 53A should be read with Section 17 on first ownership of copyright because eligibility under Section 53A expressly depends on the author having been the first owner of the relevant rights. For adjacent remedies and definitions, see Section 54, Section 55 and Section 57.
Official legal resources
For the official text and current copyright administration material, refer to the Copyright Office, Government of India. The amendment replacing the Appellate Board with the Commercial Court is contained in the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 materials published by the Legislative Department.
Note: This page is a general legal information resource. For a dispute involving a particular resale, ownership history, limitation issue or computation of a share, the facts and the current statutory text should be examined separately.