Shah Abdul Karim’s family now getting copyright royalties
Section 78 of the Copyright Act of Bangladesh states that a song cannot be commercially broadcast—as welcome tunes, on TV, YouTube, etc.—without the permission of the lyricist and composer, who owns the rights to the song.
After the death of Baul Shah Abdul Karim, many used his songs commercially without taking permission from his family. Taking this situation into account, the Bangladesh Copyright Office registered the intellectual property rights of 472 songs by Abdul Karim in December of last year.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The songs were later archived on the website, shahabdulkarim.com. Under the supervision of Zafar Raja Chowdhury, former registrar of the Copyright Office, ZM Studios provided technical assistance in the development of the website, to help preserve Abdul Karim's music.
Zooel Morshed, the owner of ZM Studios, said that now if anyone wants to sing Karim's song or perform them commercially, they must take the permission from his family. Accordingly, if his songs are uploaded to YouTube, Facebook and other websites, Shah Abdul Karim's family will receive royalties, as they own the rights to the songs—since he was the lyricist and composer for most of his music. In just the last eight months, more than BDT 15 lakh has been given to Shah Abdul Karim's family as royalty payment.
Sharing further insight on the matter, Zoeel said that the lyrics and melody of Karim's song have been entered into the 'content ID system'. This helps detect if any of Karim's songs are being used on platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, etc. If his music is being used without authorisation, then that content is flagged as a copyright infringement. Later, a certain amount of money is automatically deposited to the bank account of Abdul Karim's family.
Abdul Karim's son, Shah Nur Jalal told Prothom Alo, "I received the money every month from the copyright office. They can give an account about how much I have received in total this month."
According to the copyright office, they will share the information in a programme that will take place in the presence of the State Minister of Cultural Affairs, K M Khalid, MP.
In accordance with copyright laws, the lyricist and composer of a song are considered to be the original owners. As a result, there is no scope to perform or use these songs commercially, without their permission.
Speaking on this, Shah Nur said, "We have no objection with my father's songs being performed. However, the money we deserve, from owning the rights, should be given to us."
Before the copyright office stepped into preserve Shah Abdul Karim's music, they also preserved the musical legacy of Ayub Bachchu.
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