Dr.-V.-C.-Vivekanandan-seen-addressing-the-gathering-and-also-seen-in-the-pic-are-Ashok-Ram-Kumar-T.-Prashanth-Reddy-and-Rakhi-Kankaria#sthash.lrIK89gk.dpuf
T. Prashanth Reddy, LL.M (Stanford Law School), Practicing Lawyer in IP at New Delhi Seen addressing the gathering - See more at: http://everythingexperiential.com/indian-copyright-societies-and-the-challenges-of-intellectual-property/#sthash.lrIK89gk.dpuf
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Telangana Chamber of Events Industry (TCEI), a not-for-profit organization formed by the representatives of various stakeholders in the Event and Entertainment industry recently organized a seminar on Challenges of Intellectual Property- Laws in Events and Entertainment Industry.
Dr. V. C. Vivekanandan, MHRD IP-Chair Professor, NALSAR University of Law was the Chief Guest. T. Prashanth Reddy, practicing Lawyer in Intellectual Property in New Delhi delivered the Key Note Address. Ashok Ramkumar, a practicing Advocate and Prof Dr. Padma, faculty of AP Police Academy participated in the Seminar.
Speaking about negotiating with Indian Copyright Societies T. Prashanth Reddy said Singers, Lyricists, Composers are protected under IP. The four rights that exist on a single music track are Composer Rights, Lyricists Rights, Music Label Rights and Singer/Performers Rights, he informed.
Speaking on the occasion T. Prashanth Reddy said PPL (Phonographic Peformance Ltd) and Indian Performing Rights Society Ltd (IPRS) are no more existing as Copyright Societies. PPL according to their returns to the registrar of companies stated that its application stands withdrawn. So legally they can not collect royalties.
Prashanth Reddy explained what Intellectual Property (IP) means. “Intellectual Property includes music, literature, and other artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs. Under intellectual property laws, owners of intellectual property are granted certain exclusive rights. Some common types of intellectual property rights (IPR) are copyright, patents, and industrial design rights; and the rights that protect trademarks and, in some jurisdiction, trade secrets. Intellectual property rights are themselves a form of property, called intangible property. Modern usage of the term intellectual property goes back at least as far as 1867 he said. Intellectual Property is a necessity and is protected by law, he said.
Copyright Societies are like Stock Exchanges. Copyright collectives are associations that administer the rights of copyright owners. Owners authorise societies to issue licenses for the use of their works and collect royalties on their behalf. Copyright owners register their works with a collective, which then collects a fee each time a registered work is licensed and pays a royalty back to the copyright owner. Some of the Copyrght Societies that exist in India are IPRS—Indian Performing Rights Society which is comprised of Composers and Lyricist, and PPL-Phonographic Performance License which comprises of Music Labels and Administer Rights. The 3rd New Society formed last year is ISRA—Indian Singers Rights Association comprised of Singers like Sonu Nigam and Lata Mangeshkar. Each of these Organisations separately look after the interests of its own Members All want royalties, he said.
In the next few years Event Managers will have to pay royalties to all these stakeholders. There is a need to regulate and check these societies and this can happen only by collective action.
PPL revenues over the last ten years from Public Performance Royalties has been starting from 4.25 crore in the year 2004 and 2005 rose to Rs 66.80 crore in 2013 and 2014. Similarly IPRS’s Revenue from the Public Performance Royalties in the last ten years has risen from Rs 3.87 crore to Rs 40.48 crore in 2013 and 2014.
Radio stations succeed before the Copyright Board – royalties fixed at 2% of revenue against 20% demanded by PPL. The law is amended in 2012 due to pressure from Javed Akhtar & radio stations he said.
Organisations like TCEI and its members must be aware of IP Laws in Events and Entertainment Industry. You must stand united and must protect your rights, said Reddy .
Dr. V. C. Vivekanandan, MHRD IP-Chair Professor, NALSAR University of Law was the Chief Guest while speaking he said Intellectual Property Rights are created for public’s well being. He also hailed the efforts of TCEI in organising such a technical seminar with the objective of legal awareness.
The objective of this Seminar was to bring about the right kind of awareness among the event fraternity said Surat Singh Malhotra, President of TCEI and Founder Head of Namdhari Group. The seminar enlightened the event fraternity about the future implications and challenges in the implementation of IPR Laws said Ms. Rakhi Kankaria, Vice President of TCI and Director of Rachnoutsav Events Pvt. Ltd.
The entry to the Seminar was free. Over 100 professionals participated in the Seminar.
The Seminar was an endeavour to put forth a Socio-legal point of view on the subject and device strategies towards a win-win situation for both the stake holders said Neeraj K.S. Thakur, General Secretary TCEI
The last few years of the growth of Intellectual property Rights in India has given rise to the formation of Copyright societies. Companies like Phonographic Performance Lt(PP) and Indian Performing Rights Society Ltd(IPRS) have been spearheading the cause of royalty collection for the artists, lyricists, performers and music companies, said DJ Piyush Baja, President of Telangana Entertainers’ Association.
During the Seminar industry papers were presented by DJ Manish and their challenges.
The un-checked and un-challenged manifestation of legal protection of these Societies has today resulted in a grim situation wherein these “societies” have come to become monopolized business houses.
The Event and Entertainment Industry, particularly the Event Managers, DJs, Hotels and Property Managers and corporate holding event and entertainments are day-in-day-out are challenges, threatened, harassed and most of the times branded as pirates and criminals.
The lack of awareness about these societies and the confusing nature of their claims at times make the event organizer a victim of unethical practices. It is precisely to fill up these gaps of theory and practices of Intellectual Property Rights, TCEI has called for a study of the subject, with particular emphasis on the legal framework and broader implications.
TCEI It is an umbrella organization of Event Management, Wedding Planners, Entertainers, Exhibitions, Sound /Light/Video, Production, Caterers and other facilitators.
