Why 50?: ‘industrial application’ limitation in the Indian copyright-design interface

The current IP overlap in Indian copyright and design laws maintains that fine art aesthetics remain a province of copyright law and are strictly disjointed from protection afforded to utilitarian objects under design law. In practical application, however, Section 15 of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957 serves as a point of partial cumulation. Section 15(2) creates a curious situation where the nature of the work could be determined not by its substantive subject-matter requirement but rather an arbitrary rule of more-than-50 articles of production. Section 15 remains an unrefined relic of the Imperial Copyright Act of 1914. The strong reactions against the repeal of Section 52 of the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988 along with varied applications of the 50-article rule in other common law jurisdictions can be useful for the Delhi High Court in considering the ongoing constitutional challenge against Section 15(2). Differences in judicial opinions in a rather small pool of precedents have created significant scepticism in interpreting the precise scope of this ‘industrial application’ limitation. Repealing Section 15(2), despite its controversial status, would move the Indian copyright-design interface from partial to full cumulation—a result that does not sit well with the present legislative structure. Resolution of the issue requires the court to display sound conceptual deftness.