(1) There shall be established for the purposes of this Act an office to be called the Copyright Office.
(2) The Copyright Office shall be under the immediate control of the Registrar of Copyrights who shall act under the superintendence and direction of the Central Government.
(3) There shall be a seal for the Copyright Office.
(1) The Central Government shall appoint a Registrar of Copyrights and may appoint one or more Deputy Registrars of Copyrights.
(2) A Deputy Registrar of Copyrights shall discharge under the superintendence and direction of the Registrar of Copyrights such functions of the Registrar under this Act as the Registrar may, from time to time, assign to him; and any reference in this Act to the Registrar of Copyrights shall include a reference to a Deputy Registrar of Copyrights when so discharging any such functions.
(1) The Appellate Board established under section 83 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 (47 of 1999) shall, on and from the commencement of Part XIV of Chapter VI of the Finance Act, 2017, be the Appellate Board for the purposes of this Act and the said Appellate Board shall exercise the jurisdiction, powers and authority conferred on it by or under this Act.]
(1) The 2[Appellate Board] shall, subject to any rules that may be made under this Act, have power to regulate its own procedure, including the fixing of places and times of its sittings:
(2. Subs. by Act 7 of 2017, s. 160, for “Copyright Board” (w.e.f. 26-5-2017.)
(3. Subs. by s. 160, ibid., for section 11 (w.e.f. 26-5-2017.)
Provided that the 1[Appellate Board] shall ordinarily hear any proceeding instituted before it under this Act within the zone in which, at the time of the institution of the proceeding, the person instituting the proceeding actually and voluntarily resides or carries on business or personally works for gain.
In this sub-section “zone” means a zone specified in section 15 of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 (37 of 1956).
(2) The 1[Appellate Board] may exercise and discharge its powers and functions through Benches constituted by the Chairman of the 1[Appellate Board] from amongst its 2[members]:
3[Provided that, if the Chairman is of opinion that any matter of importance is required to be heard by a larger bench, he may refer the matter to a special bench consisting of five members.]
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(5) No member of the 1[Appellate Board] shall take part in any proceedings before the Board in respect of any matter in which he has a personal interest.
(6) No act done or proceeding taken by the 1[Appellate Board] under this Act shall be questioned on the ground merely of the existence of any vacancy in, or defect in the constitution of, the Board.
(7) The 1[Appellate Board] shall be deemed to be a civil court for the purposes of 5[sections 345 and 346 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974)] and all proceedings before the Board shall be deemed to be judicial proceedings within the meaning of sections 193 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).
(1. Subs. by Act 7 of 2017, s. 160, for “Copyright Board” (w.e.f. 26-5-2017.)
(2. Subs. by Act 27 of 2012, s. 4, for “members, each Bench consisting of not less than three members” (w.e.f. 21-6-2012.)
(3. Ins. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 6 (w.e.f. 10-5-1995.)
(4. Sub-sections (3) and (4) omitted by Act 7 of 2017, s. 160 (w.e.f. 26-5-2017.)
(5. Subs. by Act 23 of 1983, s. 6, for “sections 480 and 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898)” (w.e.f. 9-8-1984.)
