Copyright Societies

A wedding hall in Vashi plays film songs all evening. Who should it ask for permission? The lyricist? The composer? The music label? Each song may have a dozen owners, and no hall can write to all of them. Copyright societies exist to solve exactly this problem: owners pool their rights in one organisation, which licenses users and shares the money back. The Act regulates these societies closely, because the owners’ money passes through their hands.

In two minutes

A copyright society is an association of owners, registered by the Central Government under Chapter VII (ss.33–36A), that administers their rights by issuing licences, collecting fees and distributing them, under the collective control of the authors and owners.

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