Copyright Amendment Act 2012 comes into effect

NEW DELHI: The Copyright (Amendment) Act 2012 passed by Parliament has come into effect declaring authors as owners of the copyright, which cannot be assigned to the producers as was the practice till now.

The act has been published in the official gazette.

It will now become mandatory for broadcasters - both radio and television - to pay royalty to the owners of the copyright each time a work of art is broadcast. It bans people from bringing out cover versions of any literary, dramatic or musical work for five years from the first recording of the original creation.

The law also seeks to remove operational difficulties and address newer issues related to the digital world.

The amendments to the Copyright Act 1958, aims at according unassignable rights to 'creative artists' such as lyricists, playback singers, music directors, film directors and dialogue writers who will be paid royalty every time the movie they have worked in is aired on a television channel.

A statutory licence is an exception under Copyright Act. It puts limits on the basic principle of the copyright law that authors and creators should have the exclusive right to control the dissemination of their work. Under statutory licensing, the royalty or remuneration for the author or creator is specified by law or such set negotiation.

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Rs 1000cr Library Mission in India

New Delhi, May 27: The government has launched an ambitious Rs 1,000-crore plan to digitally link 9,000 libraries across India.

The culture ministry has set up a National Mission on Libraries, headed by former Delhi University vice-chancellor Deepak Pental.

During the centenary celebration of the Oxford University Press, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said: “A young reader sitting in his village public library should be able to access books and information from across the world.”

This was one of the key recommendations of the Sam Pitroda-led National Knowledge Commission. The cabinet secretariat pushed for the proposal on March 20 this year.

Also planned is a survey of reading habits of Indians and to revive community libraries and reading rooms.

The 10-member panel includes former Infosys chief N.R. Narayana Murthy’s wife Sudha and H.K. Kaul, secretary of the department of higher education, ministry of human resource development.

The Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation will be the nodal agency for the mission. It will double as a secretariat for the mission and also help fund book acquisitions.

The mission will also be responsible for drafting a “national policy on library and information systems for India”.

“There has to be quality benchmarks for services to be adhered to by all libraries. Currently, there is no blueprint that you can follow,” said a senior official.

Source: The Telegrpah, Calcutta, Dated 28th May 2012

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120528/jsp/nation/story_15540730.jsp#.T8MS8LC_Hyc

Modernisation of Libraries‎

 The Minister for Culture and Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja has said that the libraries declared as ‘Institutions of National Importance’ and certain other national level libraries that are controlled by the Ministry of Culture, (including National Library, Kolkata, Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library, Patna, Rampur Raza Library, Rampur, Delhi Public Library, Delhi, Central Reference Library, Kolkata and Central Secretariat Library, New Delhi) are in a good condition, and are providing requisite services to the readers.  

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha today Kumari Selja said, as ‘library’ is a subject in the State list of VII Schedule of the Indian Constitution, the renovation and modernization of public libraries in the country is the responsibility of State governments. In the libraries under the Ministry of Culture, a number of measures such as modernization, renovation and preservation projects etc have been undertaken. The projects include:

i) Access to online full texts, scholarly journals.

ii) Online public access catalogue for library users.

iii) Digitization of old and rare books including manuscripts.

iv) Conservation and preservation of rare books and manuscripts using modern techniques, etc.

             She said, in addition, the Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation (RRRLF), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture, provides financial assistance to libraries maintained by the State Governments, and NGOs under matching and non-matching schemes for modernisation and renovation of public libraries.

Details of the assistance provided by RRRLF is as follows:

Scheme                                                          Year                 Grant released

(i) Assistance to Public Libraries                         2008-09                   Rs. 4,10,95,187/-

     below District Level for                                 2009-10                   Rs. 6,47,12,994/-

     Construction of Buildings                               2010-11                   Rs. 10,19,94,316/-

(ii) Assistance to Public Libraries                        2008-09                   Rs. 1,45,21,755/-

      for Modernization.                                        2009-10                   Rs. 2,59,13,256/-

                                                                          2010-11                   Rs. 4,53,29,800/-

The Minister said, efforts have been made by the concerned libraries to fill up the vacant positions through Staff Selection Commission and Union Public Service Commission. In case of autonomous bodies, filling up of the vacant posts is done through open advertisement and other permissible channels.

Source: http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=83857