Organisers of Live Musical Stage Shows in Delhi launch crusade against musical terrorism of de-registered Copyright Societies IPRS and PPL for extorting money illegally
In a conference held on 8th July at Press Club of India, Delhi Organizers and Artists Society, stepped up its awareness campaign against Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS) and PPL (Phonographic Performance Ltd) who have been illegally collecting money from Stage Organizers for the last two years.
Speaking on the occasion, the President of Society Mr Amarjit Singh Kohli said that both IPRS and PPL, which were earlier Copyright Societies, automatically got de-registered on 21.06.2013 as a consequence of publication of Amendment vide Act 27 of 2012 dated 07.06.2012 to Copyright Act, which came into force w.e.f. 21.06.2012. Section 33(3A) of amendment required that previous Copyright Societies apply for re-registration furnishing full accounts before Copyright Board on or before 21.06.2013, but these two societies failed to get registration from Copyright Board. Today, they are illegal private societies.
Mr Kaushik Kothari, an eminent lawyer of Mumbai High Court on the subject of Copyright Laws, and who is also the President of Mumbai based Organizers and Artists Welfare Trust, said that there are innumerable court cases against IPRS and PPL in various cities of India for illegally collecting money. He said that in an attempt to save themselves from the clutches of law, both IPRS and PPL, whose headquarters are in Mumbai, have admitted on their own letterheads that they are no longer Copyright Societies and he produced photocopies of this admission. He was shocked to know that Delhi Branch Offices of IPRS and PPL have kept everybody in dark including Delhi Police Licensing Dept, Stage Organizers, Auditoriums, Restaurants and Hotels and they continue to collect money illegally from them for the last two years which may run into crores. He said that this is a case of large scale cheating and extortion of money by these two private societies and urged Delhi Police to take appropriate action against them. As a first step, Delhi Police may ask these two Societies to furnish Renewed Certificate of Registration from Copyright Board, and if they fail to furnish it, it may take suitable action against them under various laws. In the meantime, receipts of money given by IPRS and PPL to various organizers of Delhi can be collected and a consolidated list furnished to Delhi Police.
The Conference was also attended by representatives of Delhi Police who stated that Delhi Police is committed to strict enforcement of law. It will first gather full information on the subject and satisfy itself about the stated facts and then initiate further action under the law.
