Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb passes away

"Indian film producers exploit works of creators through blanket buyouts, depriving them of their rights to control further use or collect royalties. Indian movie and record moguls launched a relentless lobbying campaign against the proposed amendments after their approval by the Indian cabinet in December 2009," Gibb had written to Sibal in February 2010.

Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb. Pic/AFP

As president of the Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) then, Gibb encouraged noted lyricist and writer Javed Akhtar's efforts to secure rights for Indian songwriters and composers. Akhtar had then addressed the World Copyright Summit (WCS) in Brussels and spoken about how the author's rights are neglected in India.

Gibb had commended Akhtar in his battle to give creators their rights. "I have witnessed with great pleasure that India has taken major steps forward towards the recognition of authors' rights, and I salute Javed Akhtar who has led the fight for this recognition," Gibbs had said.

The much delayed Copyright Amendment Bill, 2010, providing for certain important amendments to the Copyright Act was approved by Rajya Sabha last week. The Bill will remove operational difficulties and address newer issues related to the digital world and internet. The Copyright Amendment Bill, 2010 also seeks to bring Indian laws originally enacted in 1957 in conformity with international norms and World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).u00a0