The advent of cinema in India dates back to 1896, but the recognition of films under copyright law did not gain legal momentum until 1928. At that time, piracy-related issues began emerging in Indian courts. Before the Brussels Act of 1948, films lacked independent copyright protection, as the copyright over scripts, songs and other elements was considered in isolation. However, this changed when the Brussels Act of 1948, amended the Berne Convention, recognising cinematograph films as distinct copyrighted works. As the Indian film industry rapidly grew into one of the world’s largest, India adopted a robust legal framework, leading to the implementation of the Copyright Act of 1957. With this, filmmakers were granted ownership rights over their works, including various protections under Section 14 of the Copyright Act 1957, by the registrar of copyrights.
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