(1)An application for a licence under section 31A to publish or communicate to the public the work or translation thereof, in any language, any unpublished work or any work published or communicated to the public and the work is withheld from the public in India, the author is dead or unknown or cannot be traced, or the owner of the copyright in such work cannot be found, shall be made by any person in Form III and shall be accompanied by the fee specified in the Second Schedule:Provided that in case the desired author is dead such application for publication of the work can be made only if there is a failure to publish the work within the time specified by die Central Government as provided in sub-section (6) of section 31A.
