Beyond Reality Drama Pvt. Ltd., a production company, conceptualised a television show titled "Jadu Ki Nagri" with strong animation content. The foundational idea was formally documented in a concept note and registered

Answer 3(b) The First Sale Doctrine is recognized as the Doctrine of Exhaustion under the Copyright Act, 1957. It limits the Copyright holder's distribution right to First Sale. Once he legally sells or authorizes the first sale of a specific physical copy of the work his control over the subsequent distribution of that particular copy is exhausted. The statutory backing for the Doctrine can be traced to Section 14 (a) (ii) which expressly provides that in case of a literary, dramatic or musical work not being a computer programme, Copyright means the exclusive right to issue or authorize issuing of copies of the work to the public not being copies already in circulation. Therefore, though the right to bring the work to the public for the first-time vests with the author, he has no further rights in connection with the subsequent sale of the copyrighted work. The case that explains the concept and application of the First Sale Doctrine in India is: John Wiley and Sons Inc. and Ors. vs. Prabhat Chander Kumar Jain and Ors. (17.05.2010 - DELHC): (2010) ILR 5 Delhi 510 Issue before the Court is Whether the circulation of books in the USA after their first sale in India, without the permission of author, is infringement of copyright? Held: The Court noted that the publishers in India were not the Copyright holders but the exclusive licensees to publish and sell the books in India. It gave the legal proposition that the Rights of the Owner is broader than the rights of the exclusive Licensee though the latter has an independent right to sue for infringement. The Court also noted that the Plaintiffs were worldwide owners of the books and their Copyright. Though the acts of the Defendants to legally purchase the books in India are legitimate in nature and do not infringe the Copyright, once he offers or puts them for sale in territories beyond the ones for which permission has been granted by the owners, the acts prima facie tantamount to putting into circulation or issuance of copies not being in circulation in other territories where the right to do so vests with the owner and hence it violates the rights of the owner under section 14 read with section 51 of the Act. Moreover, the licensee who is a permissive rights holder can assign only the right which he possesses and nothing beyond. The only exception would be a bonafide purchaser without having notice of the transaction. Once the Defendants purchase LPE of the books from the exclusive licensee they are conscious of the fact that the said editions are subject to be sold within the territorial restrictions. The notice on the book itself gives knowlegdge to the purchaser of the restrictions. The arguments of the Defendants that the First Sale Doctrine will exhaust the rights of the Plaintiffs internationally is incongruous and will lead to absurd results as the Defendants have purchased the books with notice from the licensees and not from the actual owners of the Copyright. Hence Defendeant cannot claim application of Principle of Exhaustion or extinguishment of rights to defeat the rights of the owner. Thus, the Delhi High Court harmoniously interpreted the Doctrine of First Sale in the instant case.