In India, issues pertaining to copyright in academics and research are rarely addressed. There may be several reasons for the same: 1.The Indian attitude towards knowledge dissemination has been essentially non-commercial. 2.The income derived from copyright is not significant, and therefore, a lax attitude towards the enforcement of copyright exists. 3.Educational institutions do not look upon intellectual property effort (such as textbooks, workbooks) as a commodity or wealth creation activity but as sources of imparting education.
However, given the advanced technology in the storage and dissemination of information, the situation has changed. Therefore, society must address any issues arising from copyright use properly.
The spirit of copyright law is to protect, recognize and enforce the creator's rights. Copyright law can facilitate the recognition and commercial exploitation of academic and research work in the academic context. This is possible through the economic and moral rights protected under the Copyright Act. Legally protecting one's academic work can reduce the chances of illegal duplication and plagiarism-related activities. It may also expedite the legal actions taken against those committing unethical research practices.
The doctrine of fair use enables the legitimate use of copyrighted works for the educational, scientific, and cultural advancement of society without the consent of the owner of the copyright. Section 52 of the Copyright Act 1957 specifies that certain permitted uses of copyrighted material shall not be considered infringement. These uses include the use of the copyrighted material for private or public research, criticism or review, or for reporting of current events and affairs, including the reporting of a lecture delivered in public or reproduction of any copyrighted work in order to include it in a question or for academic instructional purposes, or publication of a copyrighted work in good faith, for educational purposes. The section further states that storage of such work or keeping digital records of other academic materials for preservation purposes shall not be construed as infringement.
Thus, several copyrighted materials are used for academic purposes by teachers, pupils, or institutions since it falls under the ambit of the fair use doctrine. However, the scope of fair dealing has also been an issue in many instances. The Copyright Act fails what is included within the ambit of fair dealing. For example, a publication that materially injures the owner's copyright has been held as not fair dealing.
Further, with the onset of the pandemic, several educational institutions have shifted to online modes of teaching. As a result, a wide array of digitalized copyrighted material is being distributed among students. However, there is uncertainty around how the Copyright Act would apply in today's online education system.
Copyright plays an important role in academics; however, the law needs to be amended to address the technological advancements in the digital era. The law should be amended to set out clear guidelines for regulating the ownership and exploitation of work by academic institutions.