Remix and The Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012

The Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012 - kanta laga for Remix barons

(The Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012 as notified in official gazette on 08^th June, 2012)

 The chaos of ‘kanta laga’ has been over but the beat has been listened by the Government very deeply. In latest amendment we can see a complete wrath over the remixes or technically the version recordings flourished in India. 

The time of 2003 – 2010 has witnessed a sheer pressure of remixes in Indian music industries, where the singers have declared the remix version as the near nude dancers and remixes said we added masala to the song.

The remixes, termed as “version recordings” meant by a sound recording made of any already published song by using another voice or voices and with different musicians and arrangers. Version recording is thus neither copying not reproduction of the original recordings. [See Gramophone Co. of India v. Super Cassettes Industries Ltd., 1996 PTC(16)].

The only remedy available with the original musicians are available is the compliance of condition under Section 52 (1)(j) (prior to the amendments) which were not more than the formalities required under Copyright Act, 1957. In other words, judiciary has nodded indirectly to the remixes.

However, in the Copyright (Amendment) Ac, 2012 new Section 31C has been inserted keeping in view to protect the right of the musicians and singers and to curb the infringement of copyright through the version recordings/remixes.

The important aspects of Section 31C are as follows:

1.      Consent or license from the owner of the right in any literary, dramatic or musical work and the cover version shall be in same medium as was lastly used until the medium has been outdated in commercial use.

2.      Prior written notice to the owner for version recording is required and the royalty shall be paid in advance at the rate as specified by the Copyright Board and for a minimum of 50000 copies.

3.      A cover version cannot be reproduced until the expiration of 5 years from the date it was actually made.

4.      Cover version shall have to mention that it is a cover version and shall not contain he name or depict in anyway any performer of an earlier sound recording of the same work or any cinematographic film in which such recording was incorporated.

5.      A person cannot make any alteration in the literary or musical work which has not been made previously by or with consent of the actual owner of the rights.

6.  Alteration in original recordings are only allowed for technical purpose now, however, previously it was allowed for adaption of the work.

The amendment on one hand has protected the original owners and on other hand restricted the Kolaveri singers to get outshine in one day….