Copyright is the one intellectual property right you get for free and without applying. What registration buys you is proof.
Protection is automatic
Under the Copyright Act, 1957, copyright subsists in original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, cinematograph films and sound recordings, from the moment the work is created and fixed in some form. India is a signatory to the Berne Convention, under which protection cannot be made conditional on any formality. There is no requirement to register, publish, or use the © symbol.
What registration actually gives you
- An entry in the Register of Copyrights, which is prima facie evidence of the particulars entered, including ownership and date
- A document you can put in front of a court, a marketplace, or a customs officer without first proving authorship from scratch
- Practical leverage in takedown and licensing negotiations
In a contested case, the difference between having a certificate and having to prove creation through drafts, file metadata and witnesses is substantial. That is the real argument for registering anything commercially important.
Copyright protects the expression of an idea, never the idea itself. A business concept, a plot premise, a method or a functional process is outside it. Two people can independently write on the same subject and both hold copyright in their own text. This is the most common misunderstanding I encounter.
Term
For literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, the author's lifetime plus 60 years. For films, sound recordings, photographs and anonymous works, 60 years from publication.
Assignment must be in writing
Under Section 19, an assignment of copyright must be in writing and signed, and must specify the work, the rights assigned, the duration and the territory. If duration is not stated it is presumed to be five years, and if territory is not stated it is presumed to be India. This is the clause that catches companies out when they commission work and never take a written assignment.