Parliament takes up Copyright Amendment Bill for discussion

NEW DELHI: The Government has moved for discussion in the Rajya Sabha the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2010 that is aimed at royalty to musicians and lyricists which was allowed only for music companies or film producers.

Though the amendment bill had been introduced in the Rajya Sabha in April last year to overwrite the bill of 1957, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal has now brought to the house the amendments made by the Government after the review by the Standing Committee.

According to the amendments approved by the cabinet, the director of a film will have no copyright claims over the film.

The cabinet approved the HRD ministry?s proposal to delete a clause in the Copyright Bill which allowed the film director to claim copyright over the film along with the producer and the author.

The bill proposed that the producer and the principal director shall be treated jointly as the first owner of copyright.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee had recommended that the clause should be deleted following objections raised by film producers, a decision endorsed by the Cabinet.

The union cabinet accepted another recommendation of the standing committee to allow access of material protected under copyright free of cost to disabled persons.