The Indian Copyright Act applies in India to works first published in India. According to the Indian Copyright Act, 1957, as amended up to Act No. 27 of 2012 (Chapter V, Section 25):

• Anonymous works, photographs, cinematographic works, sound recordings, government works, and works of corporate authorship or of international organizations enter the public domain 60 years after the date on which they were first published, counted from the beginning of the following calendar year (i.e. as of 2026, works published prior to 1 January 1966 are considered public domain).
• Posthumous works (other than those above) enter the public domain after 60 years from publication date, counted from the beginning of the following calendar year.
• Any kind of work other than the above enters the public domain 60 years after the author's death (or in the case of a multi-author work, the death of the last surviving author), counted from the beginning of the following calendar year.
• Text of laws, judicial opinions, and other government reports are free from copyright.

1. Sri Lankan folklore: Perpetual copyright. Permission to make any work derived from folklore must be sought from the Minister in charge of the subject of Culture. This right is claimed worldwide. Works falling in this category are considered unfree on Commons and are not allowed.
2. Official text of a legislative, administrative or legal nature: No copyright.
3. Audiovisual work: 70 years from the date on which the work was first published, or, if unpublished, 70 years from the making of the work.
4. Anonymous works: 70 years from the date on which the work was first published.
5. Applied art: 25 years from the date of the making of the work.
6. Photograph: Taken before 1971 (Article 19 (5) of Act No. 52 of 1979 and Article 208 (4) (b) of Act No. 36 of 2003)
7. Any other type of work: 70 years after death of author, or in the case of works of joint authorship, 70 years after the death of the last surviving author.