Artist Anita Dube recently found herself in the middle of a controversy after she used lines from activist and poet Aamir Aziz’s poem, Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega, in her art without his permission. The Patna-born poet alleged that the lines were used without his “knowledge, consent, credit, or compensation” by Dube and exhibited at the Vadehra Art Gallery in Delhi.

The poem and the artwork both fall under the purview of copyright law in India, governed by the Copyright Act of 1957. A wide range of creative works are protected under this legislation, which does not extend to ideas, themes, or plots but only to the particular form in which those ideas are expressed.

The author is typically the first owner of copyright. Independent contractors may retain ownership unless a contract specifies otherwise. When work is created under a contract of service (employee-employer relationship), the employer is generally the first owner. Copyright arises automatically upon creation of an original work, and registration provides evidentiary support in disputes.

The Aziz–Dube matter highlights enduring ethical and legal........

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