Copyright explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Part 4 of the Artistic Works Manual is a set of 22 numbered questions that the Office meets again and again. Each answers a point on which an examiner would otherwise write a discrepancy letter. The wider law on designs sits in sections 15 and 16, explained in our post on sections 15 and 16.
Status. The Manual was published by the Copyright Office in 2018 after public comments on a draft. It is the Copyright Office's guidance and does not have the force of law; the Copyright Act, 1957 and the Copyright Rules, 2013 as now in force prevail. The Office may revise its practice, so check the current position on copyright.gov.in.
The Manual sorts artistic works into those used or capable of being used in relation to goods or services, which need a search certificate, and those that are not. A photograph of a person needs that person's NOC, a map needs a Survey of India or source NOC, a Government logo needs the authority's NOC, and a design-registrable work needs an affidavit. Titles and certificates are not protected. If you receive a letter, our objection reply service can help.
The recurring questions, regrouped
Our table follows the Manual's answers but groups them by what the applicant has to do.
| Question | The Manual's answer | What to file |
|---|---|---|
| Works neither used nor capable of being used on goods or services (paintings, photographs, sculpture, drawings, maps, charts) | Registrable | Standard application; no search certificate |
| Labels, symbols, marks, logos of a brand or business | Used or capable of being used in relation to goods or services | Search certificate from the Trade Marks Registry |
| How to tell the two apart | A work with potential to become a trade mark or outwardly tied to a brand identity is in the first group; paintings, drawings, sculptures and lithographs are not | Fee and certificate follow the group |
| A photo of a person appears on the work | NOC from the model; if fictitious, bought or downloaded, an affidavit, consent letter or purchase agreement may be asked | NOC or the alternative proof |
| Cartoons and animated characters | Can be applied on goods, sold, used in games or as mascots; treated as the first group | Search certificate and the higher fee head |
| Board and card games | Registrable in artistic and literary categories only to the extent of their artistic or literal expression; idea and methods of play are not covered; one work per application | Graphics under artistic, rules and characters under literary |
| Search certificate for board games | Needed if a logo or label appears and the game may be commercial; may not be needed for non-commercial or purely educational use | An affidavit may be asked |
| Government logos, labels, symbols, emblems | Not eligible unless the concerned authority's NOC is filed and the applicant explains how the work is his own skill and labour; must not conflict with any Act or Rule | NOC and explanation |
| Certificates | No copyright; basic generic format, no original artistic skill | Do not file |
| Photograph or portrait of a person | Registrable with the person's NOC; no NOC needed for portraits of public figures if not objectionable; NOC from any trust or organisation holding the rights | The NOC |
| Collage | Registrable; NOC from persons appearing in it | The NOC |
| Language column | Show every language visible; if none, the language of the title; "NIL" if none at all | Complete Column 6 |
| Design-registrable work | Needs an affidavit that it is not applied for under the Designs Act and not reproduced more than 50 times; one work per application | Affidavit |
| Architectural drawings | In entirety copyrightable | Standard application |
| Photographs of stage arrangements | Registrable; each photograph is a separate work | One application each |
| Compilation of artistic works | No provision; each work filed separately | Separate applications |
| Title of the work | Not protected, per Krishika Lulla v. Shyam Vithalrao Devkatta (as cited in the Manual) | Do not file the title alone |
| Maps | Registrable if a NOC from the source or the Survey of India proves authentication | The NOC |
| Pamphlets and posters | Artistic only for the artistic content; the literary content goes in the literary class | Two applications |
| Sculptures, moulds, 3-D models | Registrable; state that you seek protection for the sculpture, not just its photograph | Statement in the form |
| Painting | Original, on a surface of some kind | Standard application |
| Drawing | Any drawing, including mechanical or engineering, if original | Standard application |
The fee for the first group, INR 2,000 in the Manual, matches the head in our post on rule 83 and the Second Schedule as notified in 2013; check the current Schedule. For the certificate itself, see our article on the artistic works prerequisites.
Why the letters come, and how to answer
People in the picture. The examiner asks for a NOC where a face appears. Reply with the NOC, or with the affidavit or purchase agreement if the picture is bought or downloaded.
Board games. A letter often questions whether the whole game is claimed. Reply that you claim only the graphics under the artistic class and the text of rules and character attributes under the literary class, and file them separately.
Government emblems. Reply with the authority's NOC and a statement of your own skill and labour.
Maps. Reply with the NOC from the source or from the Survey of India.
Collection of drawings. Reply by filing each drawing separately; the Manual says there is no provision for registering a compilation of artistic works.
Keep replies short, specific to the question the Manual associates with the matter, and accompanied by the original document.
A worked example
Farah Siddiqui draws a fox mascot and a treasure-hunt board game for a toy company, Little Orchard Games. She files the mascot as an artistic work in the first group with a search certificate, since a mascot could be applied on goods. For the board game, she files the board graphics as one artistic work, the rulebook as a literary work, and, because the company logo is on the box and the game is sold commercially, adds a search certificate for the artistic filing. The examiner writes only on one point: the model photographed on the box lid has not given a NOC. Farah files it and the application moves on.
Need help with a letter on an artistic work?
If your application has drawn a letter about a logo, a cartoon, a map or a person in the picture, we can read it against the Manual and draft the reply through our copyright objection reply service.
Key takeaways
- Brand-linked works, including cartoons, need a search certificate.
- People shown in a work need a NOC; maps and Government emblems need an authority's NOC.
- Board games protect expression only and are filed in two classes.
- Titles, certificates and compilations of artistic works are not registered as such.
- Design-registrable work needs an affidavit.
Read next
- The five Copyright Office manuals and how an application is examined
- Artistic Works Manual: what is an artistic work
- Literary Works Manual: non-copyrightable subject matter
- Trade mark, copyright and patent: which protection do you need
Disclaimer: Based on the Practice and Procedure Manuals published by the Copyright Office in 2018 for literary, artistic, musical, cinematograph film and sound recording works, as consulted on 4 October 2026. The manuals are guidance and do not have the force of law; the Copyright Act, 1957 and the Copyright Rules, 2013 as now in force prevail, and current fees, forms and practice should be checked on copyright.gov.in. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.