Access To Justice in Copyright Law Before the High Court of Karnataka (2015–2025): An Empirical Survey with Special Reference to Authors' Rights

Abstract

Abstract This paper presents an empirical survey of Copyright litigation before the High Court of Karnataka (Bengaluru, Dharwad and Kalaburagi Benches) between 2015 and 2025. Drawing on judgments retrieved from official and open-access sources, the study maps the volume, procedural routes (civil and criminal), and outcomes of cases, coding them as Prevailed, Denied or Settled from the perspective of rights-holders. Special reference is given to Authors’ Rights cases involving moral rights under Section 57 of the Copyright Act, 1957, literary works by named authors, and the performing rights of authors and composers administered through societies such as the Indian Performing Right Society (IPRS). The analysis also examines the discoverability and accessibility of these judgments, thereby integrating a Library and Information Science perspective on access to legal information. Findings indicate a high rate of settlement in criminal Copyright prosecutions, consistent judicial resistance to the misuse of the Copyright Act for trademark-type disputes, and a protective approach toward authors’ moral and performing rights where such claims are clearly raised. The relative scarcity of pure Authors’ Rights litigation reaching the High Court is itself noted as a significant observation. The study contributes to the limited empirical literature on regional High Court copyright adjudication in India and offers practical insights for researchers, practitioners, authors and legal information professionals.