Copyright can be assigned or licensed.
Assignments
Under Sections 18 and 19, of the Copyright Act, 1957, there must be an instrument of assignment for:
(i) the assignment of the whole copyright;
(ii) a partial assignment of the copyright;
(iii) a general assignment;
(iv) an assignment subject to limitation;
(v) an assignment for the whole term of the copyright; or
(vi) an assignment for a part of the term of the copyright.
Licences
A licence does not transfer any interest in the property to the licensee. It merely allows him to do something which would have been unlawful but for the licence.
Under Section 30, the owner of the copyright in any existing work or the prospective owner of the copyright in any future work may grant any interest in the right by licence in writing signed by him or by his duly authorised agent. In the case of a licence relating to copyright in any future work, the licence shall take effect only when the work comes into existence. When a person to whom a licence relating to copyright in any future work is granted under this section dies before the work comes into existence, his legal representatives shall, in the absence of any provision to the contrary in the licence, be entitled to benefit of the licence.
If the assignee or licensee does not make use of the rights assigned or licensed, as the case may be, within of the assignment or licence, the agreement automatically lapses.
Under Section 19(5), if the agreement does not specifically state the period of assignment or licence, the law says that the period is five years. Under Section 19(6), if the territorial extent of assignment or licence is not specifically stated in the agreement, it extends to the whole of the territory of India.
After the transfer the original owner is himself excluded from using the property unless the new owner gives him a licence.(Hillary Pearson & Clifford Miller)
Requirements
An assignment or licence must:
• be in writing
• be signed by the assignor or by his duly authorised agent
• identify the specific works and specify the rights assigned
• specify the duration and territorial extent of the assignment
• specify the amount of royalty payable, if any, to the author or his legal heirs
An assignment may be revised, extended or ended by the parties on terms they agree to.
Compulsory Licences
Compulsory Licences can be obtained in certain cases such as when works are withheld form public. Further, under Section 32, a licence to produce and publish translations can be obtained seven years after the work is first published. Licenses can also be obtained to reproduce and publish literary, scientific and artistic works for certain purposes under Section 32A.
Under Section 32B, generally, a compulsory license is terminated once the copyright owner himself produces the work in such a way as to do away with the circumstances which necessitated the grant of the compulsory licence. e.g. by pricing it reasonably
The Supreme Court has spoken of compulsory licences in the case of M/s Entertainment Network (India) Ltd. v. M/s Super Cassette Industries Ltd., 2008.