NEW DELHI: Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), in association with the Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS), is working on a proposal to suggest amendments in the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Act to make the copyrights laws more stringent.
 

According to IPRS, the suggestions for amendments are almost ready, and revolve around the fact that such a policy should be "frequently re-visited to keep pace with the changes in technology."

At a roundtable on IPR, broadcasters and performing artistes here, organised by Ficci, IPRS representatives said that there is blatant flouting of even existing norms and that performers are not getting their due right.

In this regard, IPRS is working towards a model where performing artistes would get royalty for their work from the media and other channels for usage.

"The IPR Act should be frequently revised, as done in Japan, so that the law can keep pace with the fast-changing technology," an IPRS executive said, pointing out that legal proceedings need to be established, implemented stringently and adhered to by the industry.

IPRS also feels that all channels, including TV and radio, need to notify in advance when and where works of performing arts would be used by them. This way, the organisation felt, there would be some uniformity in the industry.

Meanwhile, speaking at the same roundtable, Prasar Bharati CEO KS Sarma announced that All India Radio, had decided to pay royalty to Indian music performers, on 2 October. Earlier, only the Western music performers were being paid the royalty.

The Prasar Bharati chief also urged the government to support the treaty, now under consideration at the World Intellectual Property Organisation, which aims at protecting the interests of performers as well as producers.