law: Copyright Act, 1957 
  13. Works in which copyright subsists- 
  (1) Subject to the provisions of this section
  
  and the other provisions of this Act, copyright shall subsist throughout India in the following
  
  classes of works, that is to say- 
  a. original, literary,
  
  dramatic, musical and artistic works,
  b.
  
  cinematograph films, and
  c.[(Note: Subs. by
  
  Act 38 of 1994, S.2 (w.e.f. a date to be notified) for "records" sound
  
  recordings.]
  (2) Copyright shall not subsist in any work
  
  specified in sub section (1), other than a work to which the provisions of
  
  Section 40 or Section 41 apply, unless-
  i. in the case of
  
  published work, the work is first published in India , or where the work is
  
  first published
  outside India , the author is at the
  
  date of such publication, or in a case where the author was dead at that date,
  
  was at the time of his death, a citizen of India ,
  ii. in the case
  
  of an unpublished work other than a [(Note: Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, S.2
  
  (w.e.f. for "records") work of architecture], the author is at
  
  the date of making of the work a citizen of India or domiciled in India , and
  iii. in the case of a
  
  [(Note: Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, S.2 (w.e.f. for "records") ]
  
  work of architecture , the work is located in India
  Explanation- In the case of a work
  
  of joint authorship, the conditions conferring copyright specified in this sub
  
  section shall be satisfied by all the authors of the work.
  (3) Copyright shall not subsist- 
  a. in any
  
  cinematograph film if a substantial part of the film is an infringement of the copyright
  
  in any other work,
  b. in any [(Note:
  
  Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, S.2 (w.e.f. for "records") ] sound
  
  recording made in respect of a literary, dramatic or musical work, it in making
  
  the [(Note: Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, S.2 (w.e.f. for "records") ]
  
  sound recording, copyright in such work has been infringed.
  (4) The copyright in a cinematograph film or a
  
  [(Note: Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, S.2 (w.e.f. for "records") ]
  
  sound recording shall not affect the separate copyright in any work in respect
  
  of which a substantial part of which, the film, or as the case may be, the [(Note:
  
  Subs. by Act 38 of 1994, S.2 (w.e.f. for "records") ] sound
  
  recording is made.
  (5) In the case of a work or architecture,
  
  copyright shall subsist only in the artistic character and design and shall not
  
  extend to processes or methods or construction.
  NOTES 
  "Original" Meaning –
  The word 'original' does not in this
  
  connection mean that the work must be the expression or original or inventive
  
  though, Copyright Acts are not concerned with the origin of ideas, but with the
  
  expression of though; and in the case of 'literary work' with the expression of
  
  thought in print or writing. The originality which is required relates to the
  
  expression of the thought; but the Act does not require that the expression
  
  must be in an original or novel form, but that the work must not be copied from
  
  another work - that it should originate from the author.
  In order to obtain copyright production for
  
  literary, domestic, musical and artistic works, the subject dealt with need not
  
  be original , nor the ideas expressed be something novel. What is required is
  
  the expenditure of original skill or labor in execution and not originality of
  
  thought.
  No original thought or original research is
  
  required in order that a literary work may be deemed to be original. The
  
  standard of originality which is required is a low one.
  In modern complex society provisions have to
  
  be made for protecting every man's copyright, whether high or small, whether
  
  involving a high degree of originality as in a new poem or picture, or only
  
  originality at the vanishing point as in a law report.
  Copyright in abridgement –
  Strictly speaking, an abridgement of an
  
  author's work means a statement designed to be complete and accurate of the
  
  thoughts, opinions, and ideas by him expressed therein, but set forth much more
  
  concisely in the compressed language of the abridger.
  Selections –
  Where the plaintiff's selection of poems was
  
  borrowed by the defendants, it was held that defendants book had infringed the
  
  copyright of the plaintiff. The true principle in all these cases is, that the
  
  defendant is not at liberty to use or avail himself of the labor which the
  
  plaintiff has been at for the purpose of producing his work, that is, in fact,
  
  merely to take away the result of another man's labor, or, in other words, his
  
  property.
  Reports of judgments –
  It is generally true that in the reports of
  
  judgments the reporter has no copyright, but is cannot be said that in the
  
  selection of cases and in the arrangement of the reporting the reporter has not
  
  the protection of law. The defendant is entitled to report such judgments as he
  
  obtains by expenditure of his time, labor and money but where he fails to exert
  
  his own energies, he cannot be allowed to avail himself of other people's
  
  industry.
  "Whilst all are entitled to resort to
  
  common sources of information none are entitled to save themselves trouble and
  
  expense by availing themselves for their own profit of other men's works,
  
  subject to copyright and entitled to protection."
  Question papers –
  In a Patna case it has been held that question
  
  papers set at examination are original literary works though the paper-setter
  
  may have copied questions from textbooks.
  Persons who set the question papers are
  
  authors of the work and they are the first owners of the copyright therein.