Copyright in Pakistan is governed by the Copyright Ordinance, 1962, administered by the Copyright Office under the Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan. The single most useful thing to understand is that the right arises automatically on creation - registration is optional, evidentiary, and worth doing anyway.
What is protected
- Literary works - books, articles, and computer programmes, which are protected as literary works
- Artistic works - drawings, paintings, photographs, architectural works, logos
- Musical works and sound recordings
- Cinematographic works
- Dramatic works
Copyright protects the expression, not the idea. Two people may write about the same subject; neither can copy the other's text. A business method, a recipe's underlying process, or a concept for a show is not protected by copyright - though the written treatment of it is.
Duration
For most works, the term is the life of the author plus fifty years from the end of the year of death. For photographs, cinematographic works, sound recordings and works of government or international organisations, the term runs for a defined period from publication. Once the term expires the work is in the public domain.
Who owns it
The author is the first owner, subject to two important exceptions:
- Works made in the course of employment. Where a work is made by an employee in the course of employment, the employer is generally the first owner, absent agreement to the contrary.
- Commissioned works. For certain commissioned works - photographs, portraits, engravings, cinematographic works - made for valuable consideration, the person commissioning may be the first owner.
The gap that causes trouble is the freelancer or contractor. A contractor is not an employee, so absent a written assignment, the contractor retains copyright in what they created and the paying client has, at best, an implied licence. Any business commissioning design, code, photography or copy should take a written assignment, signed by the author. An assignment must be in writing and signed to be effective.
Moral rights
Separate from the economic rights, the author retains moral rights - the right to claim authorship, and the right to object to distortion or mutilation of the work that would prejudice their honour or reputation. These stay with the author even after the economic rights are assigned.
What registration adds
Registration is voluntary. What it gives you is a certificate from a government register recording your claim as at a date, which shifts the practical burden in a dispute. When an infringer asserts that they created the work first, a registration certificate predating their use is close to decisive.
The process:
- File Form I with the Copyright Office, with the prescribed fee.
- Attach copies of the work - for software, source code extracts; for artistic works, copies of the work.
- Where the work has been assigned, attach the deed of assignment and a no-objection certificate from the author where required.
- The application is examined, a notice period runs for objections, and the certificate issues.
Register the works that matter: your logo, your software, your published catalogue, your course material. Registration is inexpensive relative to litigation.
Infringement and remedies
Infringement is reproducing, publishing, performing, distributing or adapting the work without the owner's licence. Remedies run in parallel:
- Civil - a suit for permanent injunction, damages or an account of profits, and delivery up of infringing copies. A temporary injunction at the outset is what stops the harm.
- Criminal - the Ordinance provides for imprisonment and fine for infringement, and the FIA's Intellectual Property Rights enforcement handles complaints, with power to seize infringing goods.
- Border measures - recording rights with Pakistan Customs so that infringing imports can be detained.
- Platform takedown - for online infringement, the host's notice-and-takedown process is by far the fastest route, and the PTA can be asked to act on unlawful content.
Copyright and trademark are different things
A logo can be both: copyright protects it as an artistic work automatically, and a trademark registration protects it as a badge of origin for the goods or services you sell. The two are registered separately, with different offices' procedures, and a serious brand does both. A copyright registration will not stop a competitor using a confusingly similar - but not copied - mark; only a trademark registration does that.
This article describes the general position under the Copyright Ordinance, 1962. It is not advice on any specific work or dispute; consult an advocate, particularly before signing away rights in a commissioning contract.