Answer By law4u team
Under Indian law, online copyright infringement is a serious offense that attracts both civil remedies and criminal penalties. The primary legislation governing this area is the Copyright Act, 1957, read together with the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act). When someone uploads, downloads, streams, shares, or distributes copyrighted content such as software, music, movies, books, or digital artwork on the internet without authorization from the copyright owner, they violate the exclusive rights granted under Section 14 of the Copyright Act. The criminal consequences for online copyright infringement are detailed primarily in Section 63 of the Copyright Act. Any person who knowingly infringes or abets the infringement of the copyright in a work, or any other rights conferred by the Copyright Act, is punishable with imprisonment for a term of not less than six months, but which may extend up to three years. In addition to imprisonment, the offender is liable to pay a fine that shall not be less than fifty thousand rupees, but which may extend up to two lakh rupees. Furthermore, the law provides for enhanced punishment in the case of a second or subsequent conviction under Section 63A of the Copyright Act. For subsequent offenses, the minimum term of imprisonment is increased to one year, which may extend up to three years, and the fine must not be less than one lakh rupees, which may extend up to two lakh rupees. It is important to note that under the law, if the infringement was not made for the purpose of trade or business, the court is granted the discretion to impose a lighter sentence of imprisonment for a term of less than six months or a fine of less than fifty thousand rupees, provided the court records adequate and special reasons in its judgment. Apart from the Copyright Act provisions, online piracy and digital infringement often involve circumventing technological protection measures or dealing with rogue websites, which can also trigger provisions under the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act). Specifically, Section 66 of the IT Act deals with computer-related offenses and prescribes imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to five lakh rupees, or both, if someone dishonestly or fraudulently does any act referred to in Section 43 of the IT Act, which includes damaging or disrupting computer systems, networks, or data. From a procedural standpoint, offenses under Section 63 of the Copyright Act are classified as cognizable and non-bailable following a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court of India in the case of State of NCT of Delhi v. Sanjay, as well as subsequent clarifications by various High Courts. This means that the police have the authority to register a First Information Report (FIR) and arrest the accused without a warrant, and search and seizure operations can be conducted without prior judicial permission, allowing law enforcement agencies to seize servers, computers, hard drives, and other electronic devices used in the commission of the online infringement. In addition to criminal prosecution, copyright owners routinely pursue civil remedies under Section 55 of the Copyright Act. Civil remedies include filing a lawsuit for permanent injunction to restrain the infringer from continuing the online distribution, claiming damages for financial loss, seeking an account of profits made by the infringer, and asking for the delivery up and destruction of all infringing copies. In cases of online infringement, copyright owners frequently seek and obtain dynamic injunctions from courts, which compel Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and telecom operators to block entire rogue websites or mirror domains that host pirated content systematically.
