Article · Act (PDF)

The Copyright Act, 1957 (section 17: first owner of copyright)

Copyright Office, Government of India · copyright.gov.in Free Intermediate India

The text of the Copyright Act. Section 17(b) says that a photograph taken for valuable consideration at the instance of any person belongs, in the absence of an agreement to the contrary, to that person: the client, not the photographer.

  • When a client pays you to shoot, they own the copyright unless your contract says otherwise.
  • Write a clause keeping copyright, or at least portfolio and marketing use.
  • Section 17 also gives employers ownership of work made by employees.
Open on copyright.gov.in ↗

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