Digital Signature Certificate

Digital Signature (DSC) is a signature in an electronic format. Digital Signatures are used in India for online transactions such as Filing Annual Return, Company or LLP Incorporation, Income Tax E-Filing, E-Tenders, etc. There are 3 types of Digital Signatures – Class I, Class II and Class III. Class I digital signature is used for securing email communications. Class II digital signature is utilized for company registrations, IT Return, E-filing, obtaining DIN, DPIN, etc. Class III digital signature is used for E-tendering and participating in E-auctions.

Documents required

Passport size photographs
Copy of PAN card
Copy of Aadhaar Card/ Voter ID Card

Steps to apply for a DSC

Log on and select your type of entity – Log on to the website of a Certifying Authority licensed to issue Digital Certificates in India. Having accessed the page, you will be guided to the Digital Certification Services’ section. Now under the ‘Digital Certification Services’ section, click on the type of entity for which you want to obtain the DSC:’ individual or organization’, etc.

Fill the necessary details – Once you have downloaded the form, fill in all the necessary details as required in the form:

Class of the DSC.
Validity.
Type: Only Sign or Sign & Encrypt.
Applicant Name & Contact Details.
Residential Address.
GST Number & Identity Details of Proof Documents.
Declaration.
Document as proof of identity.
Document as proof of address.
Attestation Officer.
Payment Details.

On filling up all the necessary details you must affix your recent photograph and put your signature under the declaration. Check thoroughly for completion of the form. Take a print of the completed form and preserve it.

Proof of identity and address – The supporting document provided as proof of identity and address must be attested by an attesting officer. Ensure the sign and seal of the attesting officer is visibly clear on the supporting proof documents.

Payment for DSC – A demand draft or cheque must be obtained towards payment for application of DSC in the name of the Local Registration Authority where you are going to submit your application for verification. You can find the details of the Local Registration Authority according to your city of residence by searching for a Certifying Authority licensed to issue Digital Certificates online.

Post the documents required – Enclose the following in an envelope:

DSC Registration Form duly completed – Supporting document for Proof of Identity and proof of address attested by the attesting officer.
Demand Draft/Cheque for payment.
Address the enclosed envelope to the Local Registration Authority (LRA) and post it to the designated address of the LRA for further processing.

On completion of the above-mentioned steps by filling in the DSC Form and providing necessary documents and payment, you have successfully completed the application process for your Digital Signature Certificate.

Rectifying Mistake in Digital Signature Certificate

To change the details or rectify mistakes in the Digital Signature Certificate (DSC), an organization needs to follow the following procedure:

Log in with the existing user-id.
Go to ‘Change DSC details’ option.
Fill the requisite details of the DSC.
Select the renewed/Changed DSC.

Assignment of Copyright

The owner of a copyright in an existing work or a prospective owner of a future work may assign to any person the copyright, either wholly or partly and either generally or subject to limitations and either for the lifetime of the copyright or any thereof. However in the case of future work, the assignment shall take effect only when the work comes into existence.
It may noted that after assignment, the rights of the assignor in the copyright shall be diluted to the extent of the rights so assigned to the assignee and in respect of the rights so assigned, the assignee shall be considered to be the owner during the period of assignment.
The assignment of copyright in any work shall be valid only when it is in writing and signed by the assignor of his duly authorized agent.
Advantages of Copyright registration
1. Legal Protection – Helps as prima facie evidence in the court of law over ownership of the work. Along with this, it offers Infringement Protection. It gives the creator the right way to get to people who are copying their work and making a living out of the efforts of the hard created things.
1. Branding or Goodwill – Registered copyright can be applied for marketing and building a sense of goodwill along with quality in the minds of your customers. Registered copyright tells others that you care about want you invented.
1. After The Creators Death – After the creator’s death, protection can be extended. Copyright’s protection is not restricted up to the initial creators’ life span its validity is higher than any other intellectual property. It is for 60 years after his/her death also.
2. Prima Facie Evidence – Copyright protection gives prima facie evidence in case if the litigation proceeds. The proof is required to attest to anything in the court of law. Hence, here the copyright registration is very beneficial for creators.
Legal Rights in Copyright
1. Rights of the copyright owner
Under the Indian Copyright Act 1957, copyright preserves the social, economic and legal interests of the author. The copyright owner is allowed to retain the following exclusive rights.
- The owner may ask for authorship for published work under the right of paternity.
- The owner may reproduce the work in any tangible form and keeping it in any medium by electronic means as well.
- The owner may determine where to publish and where not under the right of publication.
- The owner may perform in public or talk about it to the public or he/she may make any translation or adaptation of the work.
- The owner may take certain defensive actions in case of image or reputation loss.
- The owner has a right to sell and transfer his or her work.
1. Rights of Reproduction
The Copyright Act says that no 3rd party can reproduce or make copies of the original work or part of the work unless the copyright owner has authorized to do so. It limits reproduction in the form of printing an edition of a work and recording sound and films.
1. Rights of Adaptation
The copyright creator can choose to use his work whichever way he needs. That is, he/she can build derivatives from the existing work or make new work in the same form or another form based on the original work. The following actions outline the term adaptation as per the Copyright Act:
- Transforming plays, movies, choreographic shows, and other dramatic works into non-dramatic or literary works like poems, novels, and books
- Transforming bookish works and artistic works like sculpture, photography, paintings, drawings, etc into dramatic work
- Change or modification of dramatic and non-dramatic work
- Pictorial depiction of the work
- Transcription of musical work
1. Right of communication to the public
Copyright owners can make their work open to the public using broadcast or wireless distribution whether in any or more of the forms of symbols or visual images.
1. Right of public performance
The owners of musical work and artistic work can do their works publicly. For example, a musician can play his part or an actor can perform in his play for the crowds. The artists can also choose to advertise their performance on digital platforms.
1. Right of paternity and integrity
The Copyright Law grants the moral rights of paternity and integrity to the creators. The right of paternity or attribution indicates that the creator can maintain authorship over his work and have it attached to him. That is, whoever wants to reproduce or change the original work has to provide due credit to the author or else the author has the right to take the actions against the maker. For example, if a person needs to make a movie out of a book, he/she must properly acknowledge the author. The right of integrity preserves the right of the holder and lets him/her claim damages when someone changes, damages or alters his work creating disputation to his name and work.
1. Right of Distribution
The copyright holder may distribute his work in any form by reproducing, selling, renting, leasing or lending. He/she can also assign particular rights to a person to either copyright the work partly, entirely or subject to some limitations.
Infringement of Copyright
Copyright protection gives exclusive rights to the owners of the work to reproduce the work enabling them to derive financial benefits by exercising such rights. If any person without authorization from the owner exercises these rights in respect of the work, which has copyright protection, it constitutes an infringement of the copyright. If the reproduction of the work is carried out after the expiry of the copyright term, it will not amount to infringement.
Section 51 of the Act contemplates situation in which a copyright shall be deemed to be infringed. This section states that a copyright is infringed when any person without a license granted by the owner of the copyright or the Registrar of Copyrights or in contravention of the conditions of a license so granted or of any condition imposed by a competent authority-
1. Does anything for which the exclusive right is conferred upon the owner of the copyright; or
2. Permits for profit any place to be used for the communication of the work to public where such a communication constitutes an infringement of the copyright in the work, unless he was not aware and had no reasonable ground for believing that such communication would infringement of copyright; or
3. Makes for sale or hire or lets for hire or by way of trade display or offers for sale or hire; or
4. Distributes either for the purpose of trade or to such an extent as to affect prejudicially the owner of the copyright; or
5. By way of trade, exhibits in public; or
6. Imports into India any infringing copies of the work.
The owner of copyright can sue the person who has infringed the copyright in his work in the District Court having the jurisdiction and shall be entitled to all such remedies by way of injunction, accounts and damages and otherwise as are conferred by law for the infringement of the right. However, if the defendant proves that at the date of infringement, he was not aware or had no reasonable grounds for believing that copyright subsisted in the work, then the plaintiff shall only be entitled to an injunction and account of profits made by the defendant by sale of the infringing copies. In this case, plaintiff shall not be entitled to any damages.
What counts as infringement of copyright?
- Reproduction of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work in the form of a cinematographic film.
- Making translation of a literary work.
What does NOT counts as infringement of copyright?
- Making or publishing of a painting, drawing, engraving or photograph of a work of architecture.
- Reconstruction of a building or structure in accordance with the architectural drawings or plans by reference to which the building or structure was originally constructed.
- Making of any sound recording or visual recording for the private use of the person making such recording, or solely for the purpose of bona fide teaching or research.

FAQs

1. What is a Digital Signature?

Digital Signature Certificates (DSC) are the digital equivalent (that is electronic format) of physical or paper certificates. Few Examples of physical certificates are drivers’ licenses, passports or membership cards. Certificates serve as proof of identity of an individual for a certain purpose; for example, a driver’s license identifies someone who can legally drive in a particular country. Likewise, a digital certificate can be presented electronically to prove one’s identity, to access information or services on the Internet or to sign certain documents digitally.

2. Who can obtain a Digital Signature?

A Digital Signature can be obtained by any person (Indian Citizen and Foreign Nationals) and any type of business entity (Partnership, LLP, Company, Trust and others).

3. How long does it take to obtain a Digital Signature?

Digital signature can be obtained within 1-3 working days from date of submitting the application along with the required documents.

4. Is physical verification required before issuing DSC?

No, physical verification is not required for issuing a Digital Signature.

5. What are the documents required to register DSC?

To obtain a Digital Signature, application form for the Digital Signature must be submitted along with a self-attested copy of the applicant’s identity proof and address proof and also along with photograph of applicant.

6. Who needs to apply for a Digital Signature Certificate?

With the e-commerce boom, government agencies have adopted digital signature, and it is also a statutory requirement for many e-forms to be digitally signed by the authorised signatory. So individuals and entities need to obtain the digital signature. A digital signature certificate establishes the identity of the holder. It is like a PAN card or a passport and enables the holder to prove his identity.

7. Where can I use the digital signature certificate?

A digital signature certificate is a valid legal instrument and can be used for digitally signing various documents. It can be used for filing income tax returns, e-tenders, for various regulatory company filings.

8. What are the different classes of Digital Signature Certificate?

While applying for the certificate, the individual or company must purposely select the class. The different classes of digital signature certificates are as follows: Class 1: This cannot be used by companies. It only verifies the name and email address of individuals. Class 2: This is needed by companies and other entities. It can be used for filing tax returns. A Class 2 digital signature certificate verifies the identity of a person against a pre-verified, trusted database. However, from 01.01.2021, the Controller of Certifying Authority has instructed to discontinue Class 2 Certificates and Class 3 Certificates will be issued in place of Class 2 Certificates. Class 3: This is needed for individuals or entities who would like to participate in online auctions or tenders. It is the highest and most secure form of a digital signature certificate. To obtain this, the applicant must present himself or herself in front of a registration authority.

9. How long does it take to receive the digital signature certificate in India?

Most certifying authorities take between three to seven days to issue a digital certificate in India.

10. What is the validity of the Digital Signature Certificate?

The Certifying Authorities are authorized to issue a certificate with validity of 1 or 2 years depending upon the class of DSC being procured. The holder must be well aware of the validity of the certificate to avoid any business loss.