Protecting the rights of authors in Bangladesh
Saniur Rahman :
To begin with, Copyright violation is a serious concern for authors and creators, as it involves the unauthorized use, reproduction, or distribution of their original works, which can potentially lead to financial losses and damage to their reputation.
The most significant area of monopoly rights pertaining to intellectual property, including sound recordings, dramatics, music, art, and cinematography, is copyright.
The exclusive right to an original work is granted under copyright, generally for a certain period of time.
On January 23, 2021, Bengali modern song lyricist Latiful Islam Shibli voiced his displeasure about copyright infringement. “I’d prefer not to discuss copyright. A law is useless if it is ineffective.
Copyright violations can take many different forms, including infringement, derivative works, plagiarism, and piracy.
Authors experience frequent friction when they use other people’s ideas or works without giving credit, when they modify, remix, or create derivative works without permission, or when they use copyrighted material without the owner’s permission-even when it’s not for profit.
The author’s copyrights are protected under the Berne Convention and the “Copyright Act, 2000.”
In 2000, Bangladesh adopted the Copyright Act to put the agreement’s terms into effect. If the copyright is specifically protected by laws. Section 14(a) defines copyright as the ability to reproduce a work in any tangible form, including electronic storage of the work on any medium.
And section 71, if any person performs something for which the owner of the copyright has been granted the only authorization by this Act, in violation of any condition imposed by any competent authority under this Act.
According to this Act, it is illegal for anybody to sell, rent, display, offer for sale, or rent any copy of the work that is infringing on others’ intellectual property. Any activity after then will be regarded as copyright infringement.
Additionally, this Act offers criminal and civil remedies. Both kind of remedies are available to anyone who copies a book or other creation by an author or artist.
The maximum sentence for a copyright infringement is four years in prison with a minimum of six months. Two lakh taka is the highest punishment, and fifty thousand takas is the lowest.
The Court of Sessions Judge will preside over the criminal trial. Aside from this, the District Judge Court may also be used to request compensation and injunctive remedies. However, we no longer recognize this Act’s precise application.
A procedure for requesting the removal of copyrighted content from websites and online platforms is offered by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in the United States.
It might be necessary for you to file a lawsuit and seek damages if the infraction continues to cause serious harm. There are some ways by which authors can protect their work are following namely:
Register authors copyright: while copyright is automatically granted when you create a work, registering it with the appropriate government agency (e.g., the U.S. Copyright Office) provides stronger legal protection and evidence in case of a lawsuit.
Use copyright notices: Include a copyright notice (e.g., © [Year] [Your Name]) on your work to inform others of your rights.
Licensing: Specify how others can use your work through licensing agreements. For example, you can use creative commons licenses to allow specific uses while retaining certain rights.
Digital Rights Management (DRM): If you’re publishing digitally, consider using DRM technologies to protect your e-books or other digital content.
Monitor and Enforce: Regularly search for unauthorized use of your work online, and take action when copyright violations are found.
In summary, it can be stated that tackling copyright violations in Bangladesh necessitates a multifaceted strategy that includes passing laws, educating the public, setting up distinct IP courts, providing copies of the law to all affected parties to ensure prompt justice and intellectual property protection, and forming copyright societies in each instance.
In this way, the creative environment can flourish without the constant threat of injustice, and the rights of authors and other artists can be respected.
It is imperative that writers are aware of their rights and take preventative action to safeguard their creations. Copyright laws differ from nation to nation, so it’s a good idea to speak with a lawyer or copyright specialist for particular guidance on safeguarding your work and handling copyright infringement in your area.
(The author is a law student of University of Asia Pacific
