Copyright Act 1957 Section 14: Meaning of Copyright (2026)
What Section 14 of the Copyright Act, 1957 does: it defines copyright itself as a bundle of exclusive rights, listed separately for each kind of work. If a right is not in the list for your type of work, it is not part of the copyright. Last verified October 2026.
Explainer · Copyright Law · India
Section 14 of the Copyright Act, 1957 is the section that says what copyright actually is. It defines copyright as the exclusive right, subject to the rest of the Act, to do or to authorise certain acts in relation to a work or any substantial part of it. The key point is that the acts are listed separately for each kind of work. A literary work, a computer programme, an artistic work, a cinematograph film and a sound recording each have their own list. If an act is not in the list for your class of work, it is not part of the copyright in it. This explainer sets out what Section 14 covers, class by class, and how it is used. Last verified October 2026.
- What it is: Section 14 of the Copyright Act, 1957 defines copyright as the exclusive right, subject to the Act, to do or authorise listed acts for a work or a substantial part of it.
- Class by class: the rights differ for literary, dramatic and musical works, computer programmes, artistic works, cinematograph films and sound recordings.
- Substantial part: you do not need to copy the whole work; taking an important part can be enough, judged by quality not length.
- No penalty here: Section 14 defines the right; infringement and its remedies live in other sections of the Act.
01Why Section 14 is the starting point
Every copyright question starts here. Before you ask whether something was copied, whether a licence was needed, or whether an act was an infringement, you have to know what the copyright owner had the exclusive right to do in the first place. Section 14 answers that. It is the definition clause for the word copyright, and the whole Act is built on it.
The title of Section 14 is simply "Meaning of copyright". It defines a bundle of rights, not a single right, and the bundle is different for each type of work. That design decides most practical questions, so it is worth reading slowly.
02What Section 14 says
Section 14 provides that copyright means the exclusive right, subject to the provisions of the Act, to do or authorise the doing of any of the listed acts in respect of a work or any substantial part of it.
The two ideas in one line
Copyright is (1) an exclusive right, so only the owner or a person they authorise may do the listed acts, and (2) a right defined act by act, so the list for your class of work is the outer edge of what the copyright controls.
Two words carry the weight. "Exclusive" means the owner can both do the act and stop others, and can authorise someone else to do it, which is how licensing works. "Authorise" is why a person who permits or enables an infringing act can be liable, not only the person who physically does it.
03The rights, class by class
Section 14 groups the rights by the class of work. This is the heart of the section.
| Class of work | Main exclusive rights under Section 14 |
|---|---|
| Literary, dramatic or musical work (not a computer programme) | Reproduce the work, including storing it electronically; issue copies to the public; perform it or communicate it to the public; make a cinematograph film or sound recording of it; make a translation; make an adaptation |
| Computer programme | All the acts above, and in addition to sell or give on commercial rental a copy of the programme |
| Artistic work | Reproduce it in any material form, including in a two or three dimensional form; communicate it to the public; include it in a film; make an adaptation; issue copies to the public |
| Cinematograph film | Make a copy of the film, including a photograph of any image; sell or give on commercial rental a copy; communicate the film to the public |
| Sound recording | Make another sound recording embodying it; sell or give on commercial rental a copy; communicate the recording to the public |
Notice the pattern. The rights for a literary work are the widest, including translation and adaptation. The rights for a film or a sound recording are narrower and centre on copying and communicating the recording itself. The electronic storage and the public issue of copies were made explicit by the 1994 and 2012 amendments to keep the section current with digital use.
04What counts as a substantial part
Section 14 applies to the work "or any substantial part" of it. You do not have to copy the whole thing to infringe. Courts look at quality, not just quantity, so taking a small but important part, the recognisable core of a song or the key passage of a text, can still be taking a substantial part.
This is why short clips, samples and close paraphrases are often fought over. The question is whether what was taken is substantial in relation to the original work, judged by its importance rather than its length.
05How Section 14 is used in a dispute
Section 14 does not itself create an offence or a penalty. It defines the right. Infringement happens when someone does one of the listed acts without a licence, and the consequences sit in other sections. The civil and criminal remedies for doing a Section 14 act without permission are set out in the criminal remedies under Section 63, alongside the civil suit for an injunction and damages.
In practice a court reads Section 14 first to see whether the act complained of is even within the owner's exclusive rights for that class of work. If it is not, there is no infringement, whatever else happened. If it is, the case moves to ownership, licence and defences. For where these suits are heard, see copyright litigation forums in India, and to confirm the owner on record, see how to check copyright registration status. Registration is not compulsory for copyright to exist, a point explained in copyright registration versus tracking.
06Where Claw fits
Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.
Whether an act falls inside the Section 14 bundle, and whether what was taken is a substantial part, is decided case by case, and the answer usually turns on how earlier courts treated a similar work. Claw lets you search more than 30 crore judgments, with Supreme Court decisions from 1950 and High Court decisions from 1990, to see how courts have read the exclusive rights for a song, a film, software or a design, with results in under 5 seconds. You can also follow a live infringement suit, its orders and hearings, by party or advocate name across 9,102 courts, benches and forums.
Claw does not use the documents you upload to train its AI models. Create a free Claw account to track a copyright suit and read how Section 14 has been applied to your kind of work, and to look across the wider field use case search across Indian courts. For ongoing monitoring of copying, see how to track copyright infringement cases.
07Sources and further reading
- Copyright Office, Government of India: copyright.gov.in
- India Code (Copyright Act, 1957, bare text): indiacode.nic.in
- PRS Legislative Research (copyright law background): prsindia.org
- Claw: clawlaw.in
This explainer is general information, not legal advice. The Act changes through amendments and judgments, so check the current text and take advice from counsel before you act.
08Frequently asked questions
What is Section 14 of the Copyright Act, 1957?
It is the section that defines the meaning of copyright. Copyright is the exclusive right, subject to the provisions of the Act, to do or to authorise certain listed acts in respect of a work or any substantial part of it, with a separate list of acts for each class of work.
Does copyright give the same rights for every kind of work?
No. Section 14 lists the acts separately for literary, dramatic and musical works, computer programmes, artistic works, cinematograph films and sound recordings. The rights for a literary work, including translation and adaptation, are wider than those for a film or sound recording.
What does the exclusive right to authorise mean?
It means only the owner, or a person the owner permits, may do the listed acts. This is how licensing works, and it is also why a person who authorises or enables an infringing act can be liable, not just the person who physically does it.
Do I have to copy a whole work to infringe copyright?
No. Section 14 covers the work or any substantial part of it. Courts judge a substantial part by importance, not length, so taking a small but central part can still be infringement.
Does Section 14 set out the punishment for copying?
No. Section 14 only defines the right. Infringement and its civil and criminal consequences are dealt with in other sections, such as the criminal offence under Section 63 and the civil suit for an injunction and damages.
Can I find judgments on Section 14 rights in Claw?
Yes. Claw lets you search more than 30 crore judgments, from Supreme Court rulings of 1950 and High Court rulings of 1990, on the exclusive rights under Section 14 for your kind of work, with results in under 5 seconds, and track a live infringement suit across 9,102 courts, benches and forums. It researches and tracks the matter but does not give legal advice.