UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — The copyright stakes in the EU FTA
Q1. Which one of the following correctly describes the legal standing of the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) in relation to the Berne Convention?
- A. It binds all member states of WIPO automatically, without any separate instrument of accession being required
- B. It wholly replaces the Berne Convention for parties acceding to it, which thereupon cease to be bound by Berne
- C. It is a special agreement under the Berne Convention, its parties having to comply with the substantive provisions of the 1971 Paris Act
- D. It is a protocol to the TRIPS Agreement and is administered exclusively by the WTO's Council for TRIPS
Q2. The following changes are said to have been made to the Copyright Act, 1957 by the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012 in order to align Indian law with the WIPO Internet Treaties:
1. Insertion of provisions on the protection of technological measures
2. Insertion of provisions on rights management information
3. Extension of safe harbour over the electronic medium through clauses inserted in Section 52(1)
4. Conferment of a permanent and unconditional exemption on all educational institutions from every provision of the Act
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- Insertion of provisions on the protection of technological measures
- Insertion of provisions on rights management information
- Extension of safe harbour over the electronic medium through clauses inserted in Section 52(1)
- Conferment of a permanent and unconditional exemption on all educational institutions from every provision of the Act
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 3 only
- C. 1, 3 and 4
- D. 4 only
Q3. Consider the following statements comparing India's copyright framework before and after its alignment with the WIPO Internet Treaties:
1. Unlike the earlier position, the statutory definition of 'communication to the public' was amended so as to make it applicable to the digital environment.
2. The obligation to provide remedies against circumvention of technological measures flows from the WIPO Internet Treaties rather than from the Berne minimum standards incorporated into TRIPS.
3. In 2016 the administration of the Copyright Act, 1957 was transferred from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to the Ministry of Education.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Unlike the earlier position, the statutory definition of 'communication to the public' was amended so as to make it applicable to the digital environment.
- The obligation to provide remedies against circumvention of technological measures flows from the WIPO Internet Treaties rather than from the Berne minimum standards incorporated into TRIPS.
- In 2016 the administration of the Copyright Act, 1957 was transferred from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to the Ministry of Education.
- A. 1 only
- B. 1 and 2 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q4. The following areas of intellectual property are claimed to be covered by substantive provisions of the Intellectual Property Chapter of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement concluded in 2026:
1. Geographical indications
2. Plant variety protection
3. Patents
4. Industrial designs
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- Geographical indications
- Plant variety protection
- Patents
- Industrial designs
- A. 1 and 3 only
- B. 1, 2 and 4 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q5. Consider the following statements about how the Intellectual Property Chapter of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement stands in relation to the existing TRIPS baseline:
1. On undisclosed test data submitted for marketing approval, it goes beyond TRIPS by prescribing a fixed period of data exclusivity.
2. Unlike agreements that require accession to UPOV, it contains no reference to UPOV, and aligns plant variety protection with TRIPS Article 27(3)(b).
3. It affirms the Doha Declaration and recognises the importance of digital libraries, naming the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library project initiated by India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- On undisclosed test data submitted for marketing approval, it goes beyond TRIPS by prescribing a fixed period of data exclusivity.
- Unlike agreements that require accession to UPOV, it contains no reference to UPOV, and aligns plant variety protection with TRIPS Article 27(3)(b).
- It affirms the Doha Declaration and recognises the importance of digital libraries, naming the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library project initiated by India.
- A. 1 only
- B. 1 and 2 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q6. The principal criticism of Article 10.8 of the draft Intellectual Property Chapter of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement is that its coverage leaves out which one of the following treaties?
- A. The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, 1886
- B. The Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations, 1961
- C. The WIPO Copyright Treaty, 1996
- D. The WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, 1996
Q7. Trade negotiations with the European Union, including the drafting of the chapter containing Article 10.8, are conducted on India's behalf principally by which one of the following?
- A. The Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance
- B. The Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- C. The Economic Diplomacy Division, Ministry of External Affairs
- D. The Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance
Q8. Safe harbour over the electronic medium, on which Internet Service Providers in India rely, was introduced into the Copyright Act, 1957 through which one of the following?
- A. Sections 65A and 65B, inserted by the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012
- B. Section 31D on statutory licensing, inserted by the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012
- C. Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, as amended with effect from 2009
- D. Clauses (b) and (c) of Section 52(1), inserted by the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012
Q9. In India, the Copyright Office functions under which one of the following?
- A. The Geographical Indications Registry, Chennai
- B. The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority
- C. The Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks
- D. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade
Q10. Which one of the following best states the foremost copyright obligation that the TRIPS Agreement imposes on the members of the World Trade Organization?
- A. Compliance with the whole of the Berne Convention (1971), including the moral rights conferred by its Article 6bis
- B. Compliance with Articles 1 to 21 of the Berne Convention (1971), other than the moral rights conferred by its Article 6bis
- C. Compliance with the WIPO Copyright Treaty, 1996 and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty, 1996
- D. Compliance with the Rome Convention, 1961 in its entirety, in place of the Berne Convention
Q11. If a trade agreement were to make an amendment of the Copyright Act, 1957 necessary, the amending legislation would be piloted by which one of the following?
- A. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, to which the Act's administration was transferred in 2016
- B. The Department of Higher Education, which administered the Act before the Allocation of Business Rules were amended
- C. The Department of Legal Affairs, which vets the treaty commitments undertaken by the Union Government
- D. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, which administers the law on the certification of cinematograph films