Music lovers, copyright law is here, and it's punitive

Those who plan on playing copyrighted music loudly at a public place without paying the fee for it, be warned. There is a new sheriff in town and you might just be jailed for violating intellectual property rights.

The Copyright Enforcement Wing of the ministry of HRD convened a press meet on Friday to speak about the laggardness of Karnataka in generating revenue by enforcing Public Performance Licenses (PPL).

According to Partho Chakraborty from the department, one of the reasons the state is not making money was apathetic cops.

“Our department is in-charge of ensuring licences are in place when copyrighted music is played at public places, but because the police in the state were not being cooperative, the state is not seeing the kind of revenue it should be getting,” he said.

That means more stringent rules will be put in place in the near future, Chakraborty explained.

“The Karnataka home department has issued circulars and the state government has assured us that anyone who is playing music in a public place without proper paperwork will be subject to stringent action,” he offered.

Chakraborty further pointed out that it would be a cognizable action and—hold your breath—a non-bailable offence.

How much can Karnataka look to be making if the rules are enforced?

“We are looking at Rs30 crore to Rs40 crore that the government could make every year, but right now they are making probably about 5-10% of that money. Which is why we should buckle down,” he said.

So next time you want to go full blast with the tunes of your favourite Bollywood number, think of the cost.