Government considering stringent IPR regime for entertainment industry

MUMBAI: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is looking at setting up a ' Copyright Board' which would oversee strict implementation of intellectual property rights laws for the Indian entertainment industry, especially the film industry and has initiated discussions with the ministry of commerce and industry to work out modalities for the same.

Ajay Mittal, secretary, I&B ministry, said today at the Ficci Frames event held in Mumbai, that the “censorship challenges posed by fringe elements would be surmounted by the Constitution and the rule of law.”

The gravitas of having clarity on intellectual property rights recently came to light when veteran singer SP Balasubramanyam received a notice from music composer Ilayaraja for singing songs composed by him at events, without his permission. However, the songs in question were sung originally by the singer himself.

Experts said that while Balasubramanyam had the right to sing his own songs, the composer can resort to legal aid to seek part of the royalties that organisers of an event at which the song is being sung, pay up.

The secretary also laid emphasis on the ease of shooting a film in India by announcing a new category of visa called the Film Visa, also announcing the institution of an award by the central government for the most film-friendly state of India. This year an amount of Rs 1 crore has been set aside for this award.