CHAPTER XIII OFFENCES

Section 63: Offences of infringement of copyright or other rights conferred by this Act

The Copyright Act, 1957

Any person who knowingly infringes or abets the infringement of—

(a) the copyright in a work, or

(b) any other right conferred by this Act ¹[except the right conferred by section 53A],

²[shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to three years and with fine which shall not be less than fifty thousand rupees but which may extend to two lakh rupees]:

Provided that ¹[where the infringement has not been made for gain in the course of trade or business] the court may, for adequate and special reasons to be mentioned in the judgment, impose a sentence of imprisonment for a term of less than six months or a fine of less than fifty thousand rupees.]

Explanation.—Construction of a building or other structure which infringes or which, if completed, would infringe the copyright in some other work shall not be an offence under this section.

Footnotes in the official text

1.Ins. by Act 38 of 1994, s. 21 (w.e.f. 10-5-1995).
2.Subs. by Act 65 of 1984, s. 5, for “shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both” (w.e.f. 8-10-1984).

Questions on this section

2 questions in 3 of our papers cite Section 63. Try these from the free papers:

1. Assertion (A): Once construction of a building that infringes the copyright in an architect's drawings has commenced, the copyright owner is not entitled to an injunction restraining its construction or to an order for its demolition. Reason (R): Construction of a building which infringes the copyright in some other work is not an offence under Section 63 of the Copyright Act, 1957.
2. In Knit Pro International v. State of NCT of Delhi (2022), the Supreme Court held that the offence under Section 63 of the Copyright Act, 1957 is:

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