Intellectual Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1998

Amendment of section 26 of Principal Act.

2.—The Principal Act is hereby amended in respect of any action instituted after the passing of this Act by the substitution for section 26 of the following section:

“Presumptions.

26.—(1) In any action brought by virtue of this Part of this Act the presumptions set out in sub-sections (2) to (7) of this section shall apply.

(2) (a) Copyright shall be presumed to subsist in a work unless the contrary is proved.

(b) Where the subsistence of the copyright in a work is proved or admitted, or is presumed under paragraph (a) of this subsection, the plaintiff shall be presumed to be the owner or exclusive licensee of the copyright, unless the contrary is proved.

(3) Where—

(a) a name purporting to be that of the author of a work or of the owner or exclusive licensee of the copyright, as the case may be, appears on the work, or

(b) a work bears or incorporates a statement, label or other mark indicating that a named person is the author of the work or the owner or exclusive licensee of the copyright, as the case may be,

the name, statement, label or mark shall be admissible as evidence of the fact stated or indicated which shall be presumed to be correct unless the contrary is proved.

(4) The person named or in respect of whom a statement, label or other mark appears on or is borne on or incorporated in a work in accordance with subsection (3) of this section shall be presumed not to have made the work—

(a) in the course of employment referred to in subsections (2), (3) and (4) of section 10 of this Act,

(b) under the direction or control of certain international organisations referred to in section 44 of this Act, or

(c) under the direction or control of the Government or a Minister of the Government referred to in section 51 of this Act or a Minister of State.

(5) Where a work purports to be a work of joint authorship, subsections (2), (3) and (4) of this section shall apply in relation to each person purporting to be one of the authors of the work.

(6) Where no name purporting to be that of the author of the work or of the owner or exclusive licensee of the copyright, as the case may be, appears on the work or where the work does not bear a statement, label or other mark in accordance with subsection (3) of this section but—

(a) the work qualifies for copyright protection by reference to the country in which it was first published, and

(b) a name, statement, label or other mark purporting to be that of the publisher appears on copies of the work as first published,

then, the person whose name, statement, label or other mark so appears shall be presumed to have been the author of the work or the owner or exclusive licensee of the copyright, as the case may be, at the time of the publication, unless the contrary is proved.

(7) Where the author of a work is dead or the identity of the author cannot be ascertained by reasonable enquiry, it shall be presumed, unless the contrary is proved—

(a) that the work is an original work, and

(b) that the claims made by the plaintiff as to which publication was the first publication of the work and as to the country in which the work was first published are correct.

(8) The presumptions set out in subsections (2) to (7) of this section shall apply to the same extent in any actions relating to an infringement alleged to have occurred before the date on which copies of a work were published.

(9) References in this section to ‘work’ mean any work or subject-matter to which an action brought by virtue of this Part of this Act relates.”.