Question

Section ____ of the Copyright Act grants an author "special rights," which exist independently of the author‘s copyright, and subsists even after the assignment (whole or partial) of the said copyright.

• A. 77
• B. 66
• C. 57
• D. 87

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

The Correct Option is (C): 57.

Answer 2

The question asks which section of the Copyright Act, 1957 gives an author "special rights" that stand apart from copyright itself and survive an assignment. Checking each numbered section against what it actually deals with settles the answer.

1. 77: Section 77 of the Copyright Act deals with the powers of the Registrar of Copyrights to summon witnesses and receive evidence, a procedural provision with nothing to do with an author's personal rights.
2. 66: Section 66 gives the Registrar of Copyrights the power to make entries in the Register of Copyrights, again an administrative function, not a substantive right belonging to the author.
3. 57: Section 57 is titled "Author's special rights" and gives the author the right to claim authorship of the work and to restrain or claim damages for distortion, mutilation or modification of the work that would harm the author's honour or reputation. The section expressly states these rights are independent of the author's copyright and can be exercised even after the copyright has been assigned, in whole or in part. This matches the question exactly.
4. 87: Section 87 deals with the Copyright Board's power to make regulations, a procedural rule-making provision unrelated to authorial rights.

Only Section 57 fits both conditions stated in the question: the right exists independently of copyright and it survives assignment. These are what Indian copyright law, and the Berne Convention behind it, calls moral rights, the right of paternity and the right of integrity.

So the correct answer is 57.