Copyright : The debate Continues

Over the last couple of years I’ve developed an interest in Copyright. The Indian Copyright Act 1957 may well be amended very soon.

Here are my two cents on the issues around it:

As the Copyright debate continues the Indian Music Industry’s warped nature comes to light.

Let’s take the instance of the IPRS – the Indian Performing Rights Society that is supposed to collect royalties on behalf of copyright holders. Formed in 1969, the IPRS has ‘tried’ to collect royalties on behalf of authors and composers. Ahem…which authors and composers again? The ones that were denied any rights?

In 1977 the East Indian Motion Pictures Association filed a case against the IPRS and barred them from paying copyright to the composers and authors since the Producers were the rightful owners of Copyright.

In1993, after seventeen years, the IPRS and the Indian Music Industry(the “real owners” of copyright) sign an MOU with the Music Industry (the real owners of copyright) and it is decided that as a step towards ‘corporate social responsibility’, 50% of royalties earned will be shared with the authors and composers.

[So, what was the IPRS doing in the interim 17 years?]

The problem in India arises because the same entities represent both the sound recording as well as publishing. One of the proposed amendments includes the joint Authorship of producers and composers. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this as Achille Forler, founder of Deep Emotions points out in a recent article published in Soundbuzz. He says “Worldwide, the ‘best practice’ leaders in the music industry exploit the publishing rights and the sound recording rights through separate entities. The superiority of a separate exploitation versus the exploitation of the bundled rights by a singe entity has been established beyond doubt.”

This is very unfortunate because all over the world, artists are surviving on income from Publishing and Touring. If we agree to disagree on a matter that can potentially be lucrative for the industry as a whole, we will inevitably be adopting an attitude much like the majors in the west – resisting change by pretending to live in the 90s in 360° view offices on Madison Avenue.

Like Vietnam. We will win the battle, but lose the war.