Abstract
The collective administration of copyright through societies presents a paradox: a legally sanctioned monopoly essential for market efficiency, given prohibitive transaction costs. This review critically examines the legal and regulatory framework governing copyright societies in India, focusing on the transformative yet contentious Copyright (Amendment) Act of 2012. Using a doctrinal legal methodology, the study analyses primary sources, including the Copyright Act 1957, the 2012 amendments, judicial pronouncements and committee reports, supplemented by limited empirical data from Copyright Office records and industry surveys. The analysis reveals that while the 2012 reforms mandated re-registration, instituted a shared governance parity model between authors and commercial owners, and introduced tariff transparency, their implementation remains fraught with legal ambiguities. The core unresolved tension lies in the judicial conflict between an owner’s right to a licence under Section 30 and the statutory monopoly of registered societies under Section 33. Despite its intent, the shared governance model risks institutionalising deadlock between divergent interests. Furthermore, procedural hurdles, such as the ‘pay-to-appeal’ tariff challenge mechanism, undermine transparency. The study concludes that the success of the reforms depends on robust self-regulation by copyright societies, unequivocal judicial guidance and decisive adaptation to digital challenges, including streaming platforms, user-generated content (UGC) and artificial intelligence.IMPACT STATEMENTThis study provides critical insights for policymakers, legal practitioners, and copyright societies navigating India’s evolving collective rights management framework. By identifying persistent legal ambiguities and governance challenges in the post-2012 copyright regime, this study offers actionable recommendations, including a four-pillar reform framework, that can enhance royalty transparency, strengthen creator protections, and position India’s copyright ecosystem to address the challenges posed by artificial intelligence and digital platforms. These findings have direct implications for India’s creative economy, potentially improving the livelihoods of authors, musicians, and screenwriters who depend on efficient and equitable copyright administration.