Section 2 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.
This third article covers every remaining clause of section 2: the clauses on licences, societies, Government works, producers and composers, the new Commercial Court clause, the amended "prescribed" clause, and the former Appellate Board clause that the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 omitted. If you are granting or taking a licence, our copyright assignment team can draft it. Part 1 is on author, work and kinds of works; part 2 on adaptation, communication to the public and infringing copy.
An exclusive licence shuts out everyone else, including the owner, as to the rights it covers. A Government work is one made or published by or under the direction or control of the Government, a Legislature, or a court, tribunal or judicial authority in India. The Appellate Board clause (aa) is omitted by the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021, and a new clause (fa) defines Commercial Court.
The clause letters covered here
| Clause | Term defined | Status after 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| (aa) | Appellate Board | Omitted |
| (e) | calendar year | Unchanged |
| (fa) (new) | Commercial Court | Inserted |
| (ffa) | composer | Unchanged |
| (ffd) | copyright society | Unchanged |
| (g) | delivery (of a lecture) | Unchanged |
| (j) | exclusive licence | Unchanged |
| (k) | Government work | Unchanged |
| (l) | Indian work | Unchanged |
| (n) | lecture | Unchanged |
| (u) | prescribed | Substituted |
| (uu) | producer | Unchanged |
| (xa) | Right Management Information | Unchanged |
Clauses (r), (v) and (w) stand omitted, as the footnotes record: (r) by the 1994 Act, (v) by the 1983 Act and (w) by the 1994 Act. Nothing remains to be defined in them.
The Appellate Board clause and the 2021 changes: (aa), (fa), (u)
Clause (aa), omitted. The printed text still reads: "'Appellate Board' means the Appellate Board referred to in section 11". The Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 says "clause (aa) shall be omitted". Before the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 this clause defined "Appellate Board" for the whole Act. Sections 11 and 12, which created and regulated the Board, are also omitted; see our article on those sections.
Clause (fa), new. The 2021 Act inserts: "'Commercial Court', for the purposes of any State, means a Commercial Court constituted under section 3, or the Commercial Division of a High Court constituted under section 4, of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015". The existing clause (fa), commercial rental, is re-lettered (faa). The words "Commercial Court" now appear in the sections where "Appellate Board" used to appear, such as the assignment and licence sections.
Clause (u), substituted. The 2021 Act substitutes: "'prescribed' means,— (i) in relation to proceedings before a High Court, prescribed by rules made by the High Court; and (ii) in other cases, prescribed by rules made under this Act". Before the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 the clause read "prescribed by rules made under this Act". Forms and fees under the Act still come from the Copyright Rules, 2013, but for High Court proceedings the High Court's own rules apply.
Licences, societies and rights information
Exclusive licence, clause (j). A licence "which confers on the licensee or on the licensee and persons authorised by him, to the exclusion of all other persons (including the owner of the copyright) any right comprised in the copyright in a work". The licensee is then the "exclusive licensee". Two points: the exclusion extends to the owner, and it operates right by right: the licence may cover one right and leave the others with the owner. Section 30 and the chapter on licences build on this clause. Copyright society, clause (ffd). "A society registered under sub-section (3) of section 33". The definition is a pointer: a body is a copyright society only if it is registered under section 33(3). Our articles on sections 33 to 36A in this series cover registration and working.
Right Management Information, clause (xa). Printed as "Right Management Information" (inserted 2012). It means (a) the title or other information identifying the work or performance; (b) the name of the author or performer; (c) the name and address of the owner of rights; (d) the terms and conditions regarding the use of the rights; and (e) any number or code that represents the information in (a) to (d), "but does not include any device or procedure intended to identify the user". The term is used in the provision on protection of rights management information.
People: composer and producer
- Composer, clause (ffa): "in relation to a musical work, the person who composes the music regardless of whether he records it in any form of graphical notation". A person who creates a tune and never writes a note is still the composer.
- Producer, clause (uu): "in relation to a cinematograph film or sound recording, a person who takes the initiative and responsibility for making the work". Read with clause (d)(v) in part 1, the producer is the author of the film or sound recording.
Works and persons connected with India
Government work, clause (k). "A work which is made or published by or under the direction or control of" (i) the Government or any department of the Government; (ii) any Legislature in India; or (iii) any court, tribunal or other judicial authority in India. The ownership consequence is in section 17, which makes the Government the first owner "in the absence of any agreement to the contrary" for such works.
Indian work, clause (l). A literary, dramatic or musical work (i) whose author is a citizen of India; (ii) which is first published in India; or (iii) whose author, in the case of an unpublished work, is at the time of making a citizen of India. The clause was substituted in 1984 (footnote). Note it speaks only of literary, dramatic and musical works, not of artistic works, films or sound recordings.
Lectures and time: clauses (g), (n), (e)
| Clause | Text, in substance |
|---|---|
| (n) lecture | "includes address, speech and sermon" |
| (g) delivery | in relation to a lecture, "includes delivery by means of any mechanical instrument or by broadcast" (the word "broadcast" was substituted for "radio-diffusion" in 1984, per the footnote) |
| (e) calendar year | "the year commencing on the 1st day of January" |
The calendar-year definition has real consequences in the term-of-copyright sections: protection runs "from the beginning of the calendar year next following" a stated event, so the exact date within a year rarely matters.
Checklist: letters in this article and why they matter
- (aa) is gone. Any older document that cites "the Appellate Board as defined in section 2(aa)" is out of date.
- (fa) is now Commercial Court. An old reference to "section 2(fa)" meaning commercial rental should now read 2(faa).
- (u) has two limbs. For High Court proceedings, High Court rules; otherwise the Act's rules.
- (ffd) depends on section 33(3). An unregistered body is not a copyright society.
Need help with a licence?
An exclusive licence changes who may use a work, and that includes you as the owner. If you are granting or taking one, our copyright assignment team can draft the terms, define the rights covered and prepare the paperwork.
Key takeaways
- Exclusive licence means exclusion of all others, including the owner, as to the rights licensed.
- Government work includes works made or published under the direction or control of a court, tribunal or other judicial authority.
- Clause (aa), Appellate Board, is omitted by the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021.
- New clause (fa) defines Commercial Court by reference to the Commercial Courts Act, 2015; commercial rental becomes (faa).
- "Prescribed" now refers to High Court rules for proceedings before a High Court.
- A copyright society must be registered under section 33(3).
Read next
- Section 2 (Part 1): author, work and kinds of works
- Sections 11-12: Appellate Board provisions after 2021
- Section 17: government works
Disclaimer: Based on the Copyright Act, 1957 as amended up to 2012, read with the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 and the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Acts of 2023 and 2026, as consulted on 1 October 2026. Forms, fees and procedure are set by the Copyright Rules, 2013 as amended from time to time. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.