Mr. Piyush Goyal[1] participated in the Copyright Stakeholders’ meeting held with various representatives of the Copyright Societies and of the Indian Music Industry last year where issues like royalty distribution, statutory licensing under Section 31(d)[2] of the Copyright Act, 1967 (‘the Act’), single window licensing etc. were discussed. The Union Minister emphasised on bringing all copyright societies related to music industry on a single platform to bolster India’s soft power. This approach will simplify the process for both copyright owners and users by providing a centralized system for managing permissions and payments. Acting as a prelude towards single window licensing, Audio Video Performance License (‘AVPL’)[3], aims to issue licenses of ‘Public Performance Rights’ of Video (Cinematograph Film Work) and Audio (Sound Recording Work) for collection of royalties on behalf of owners including producers of feature films, negative right owners, OOT films, OCC platforms, dubbing right owners etc. It seems from AVPL’s website that it is not a registered copyright society yet. It will be interesting to see how AVPL coexists with already existing copyright societies as discussed later in this blog.
As per Section 33 of the Act, a copyright society is an administrative society established with a view to carry on the business of issuing licenses in respect of any work in which copyright subsists. An association of persons, who intend to get registered as a copyright society must have at least seven members.[4] A copyright society may issue or grant licenses in accordance with the Tariff Scheme as published by the Copyright Societies on their websites. The Tariff Scheme shall indicate separate rates for different categories of users, media e.g. internet, broadcast etc., types of exploitation of work by individuals, groups etc., duration of use and territory etc.[5] The distribution of fee collected (to members) is subject to a deduction of not more than 15%[6] of the total amount collected to cover the copyright society’s administrative costs.[7]
Currently, there are various organizations which collect royalties for use of copyrighted works as licensees:
- Indian Performing Rights Society: The IPRS was established on 23rdAugust 1969. It is a representative body of Authors (i.e. Lyricists), composers (i.e. Music Directors) and publishers of Music (i.e. Publishing houses). IPRS was registered as a copyright society on 08th June 2018[8] for a period of five years.
- Cinefil Producers Performance Limited (‘Cinefil’) founded in 2018, is a registered copyright society under Section 33 of the Act vide Registration No. CS/05/Cinematograph Film Works 2020 for cinematograph film works. Cinefil covers Public Performance of Cinematograph Film Work when ‘communicated to the public’ in accordance in Section 2(ff) of the Act.
- Phonographic Performance Limited India (‘PPL’), founded in 1941 is a performance rights organization that licenses its members’ sound recordings for communication to the public in the areas of public performance and broadcast. PPL owns and/or controls the Public Performance rights of over 400 music labels, representing over 4.5 million international and domestic sound recordings. PPL India accounts for the lion’s share of total sound recordings in both international and domestic music. In a significant order delivered on 24 January 2024, the Hon’ble Bombay High Court in Novex Communications Pvt. Ltd. v. Trade Wings Hotels Ltd.[9], held that organisations such as PPL and Novex Communications can grant licenses for musical works owned by them, even if they are not officially registered as copyright societies under Section 33(1) of the Act.
- Novex Communications Pvt. Ltd, founded in 2022, is a licensing agency in India that administers public performance rights for sound recordings. It is not a registered copyright society but can grant licenses for musical works owned by them in accordance with decision of the Bombay HC mentioned above.
- Recorded Music Performance Limited (‘RMPL’) was registered as a copyright society on 18th June 2021 in respect of sound recording works. However, on 09 March 2022, the Hon’ble Delhi High Court in PPL v. Union of India and Ors[10], accepted PPL’s Writ Petition directing the Central Government to reconsider PPL’s application for re registration as a copyright society and accordingly set aside the registration of RMPL as a copyright society for sound recordings as RMPL’s application for registration was subsequent in time to PPL’s application (in respect of sound recordings).
- Indian Reprographic Rights Organisation (‘IRRO’), founded in 2000, protects the rights of authors and publishers of literary works and is affiliated with international organizations such as IFRRO on a global scale. It was registered as a copyright society on 15th September 2014 for a period of 5 years under Section 33 of the Act.
- Indian Singers’ and Musicians Rights Association (‘ISAMRA’), formerly the Indian Singers Rights Association was established to protect performance rights of singers[11] under the Act. Its certification of registration was renewed on 14th June 2018 for a period of five years by the Central government.
Presently, according to the proviso to Section 33(3) of the Act, the Central Government shall not ordinarily register more than one copyright society to do business in respect of the same class of works. In other words, as per this proviso, AVPL may not be able to obtain registration as a copyright society owing to existing registration of societies like Cinefil. It will be interesting to see if and when any legislative decision is taken on single-window licensing to streamline royalty collection in respect of various kinds of copyright works as discussed before. This is especially noteworthy given the reports around royalty collection surging by at least tenfold in recent years, amidst growing concerns about the fees charged and lack of transparency in the collection and distribution processes. All the aforementioned heighten interest in the whole copyright societies landscape and only time will tell how future developments unfold.
By Aamna Khan
Puthran & Associates
[1] Former Minister of Commerce &Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Government of India.
[2] Statutory licence for broadcasting of literary and musical works and sound recording.
[4] Rule 44, Copyright Rules, 2013.
[5] Rule 56, Copyright Rules, 2013.
[6] The Copyright Society may deduct up to 20% of the annual total collection on account of administrative costs during the initial period of two years of its registration.
[7] Rule 55, Copyright Rules..
[8] IPRS was issued an interim re-registration certificate on 28 November 2017, and post fulfilling the conditions imposed in the said certificate, Registrar of Copyrights on further direction of the Central Government issued a registration certificate to the IPRS on 08.06.2018.
[9] Com. I.P. Suit No. 264 of 2022.
[10] W.P. (C)-IPD 21/2021 and W.P. (C)-IPD 41/2021.
[11] Section 2 (qq) of the Copyright Act, 1957.
The content on this blog is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Images generated using AI.
