Cultural affairs minister says Copyright Office is in shambles while artistes’ ignorance an impediment to enforcement

Government is struggling to enforce the copyright law due to ignorance of the artists, writers and consumers, Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor has said.

He claimed the Copyright Office under his ministry was in shambles due to lack of manpower, funds and legal complications.

The minister made his observations while addressing a seminar marking ‘World Books and Copyright Day’ on Sunday.

The copyright office of the ministry organised the seminar at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.

“We are yet to publicise the activities of Copyright Office. The copyright law can create a revolution in the cultural arena if implemented,” he said.

“The TV and radio stations randomly use my recitations nowadays without even informing me. We lack the consciousness,” said Noor, a famous reciter of his time.

The copyright task force is not active enough due to lack of patronisation by high-ups of the government, he said.

The minister announced to create a committee to solve different problems related to the Copyright Law formulated in 2000.

Minister Noor claimed that telecom operators were not paying the artistes' royalties and announced to hold a meeting with State Minister for Post and Telecommunications Tarana Halim in this regard.

Registrar of Copyright Zafar Raza Chowdhury chaired the seminar where Minister Noor spoke as the chief guest.

Copyright Office chairperson Moshiur Rahman said: “Registration of intellectual properties is not mandatory worldwide. Bangladesh is no exception. Many times, our artistes lack the interest to patent their intellectual creations.”

According to Moshiur, 72 films in Bangladesh have been registered under the copyright law since liberation. Since 1962, 15,081 intellectual properties have been registered at the copyright office.

Moshiur made the following proposals-

·         Bringing the copyright task force under Copyright Law

·         Increasing punishment for piracy and violation of copyright law

·         Provision to settle copyright-related disputes

·         Giving review power to registrar of copyright

·         Setting strategies to examine originality of any intellectual property before registration

·         Adding clear and detailed rules to evaluate digital works

·         Introducing mobile courts to implement the law

Singer Sujit Mustafa, also the chief executive of Bangladesh Composer Performer Association, took part in the discussion attended by more than a 100 people from the fields of music, publishing and software.