Intellectual property and musicians
Sangeeth Nipun Gayani Rupasinghe
Various works of art designed for entertainment are developed by the
brain, hence they are called intellectual property. The artiste whether,
irrespective of the country h/she belongs to, has various standards of
insight which paves the way to creativity. The capability to design a
creative work is a basic resource. It is quite difficult to place value
on creativity apparently because it flows out of the brain
spontaneously.
The declaration of the Intellectual Property Act of 1979 by the then
Minister Lalith Athulathmudali is great service rendered for the welfare
of the local artistes. The Act was drawn up and approved by the United
Nations Organization and the World Intellectual Property Organisation.
Laws and regulations were announced but it is not known as to how far
these laws and regulations were implemented.
The 2003 Intellectual Property Law, which had been subjected to
amendments from time to time, had publication rights confined to words.
Sufficient action was not taken for the artistes’ welfare.
A patent licence is operative for an industrial product. It is
however doubtful if a work of creative value is entitled to such
licence. The artistes face a number of issues in this backdrop.
The song is a classical work of art we lost with the adoption of open
economy in 1977. Seldom can we expect a good quality song composed by a
lyricist – like sighting a comet in the sky.
Is it only the song’s creator – in this case, the lyricist, the
musician and the singer - who feels the value of a song? It is important
for everybody to see with open eyes if such a creation renders valuable
service to the society. Isn’t that creation giving us the real healing
of the mind, entertainment and consolation? Can the value of the
entertainment given to us be assessed in a proper manner?
Is it a wastage of time and energy to make a creation using the brain
in the lines of talents as part of a contribution to the field of arts?
This question always troubles my mind. If a young artiste, who tries to
enter the field of art, feels this way, isn’t it wrong to say that these
problems are faced by thousands of other artistes. It questions the fate
of young artistes in the future.
Pathetically the newcomers do not try their hands on originals. They
bank on the veterans such as H R Jothipala and Milton Mallawarachchi.
These veterans too marked their name in the industry because they
produced originals not imitating the predecessors. That’s why their
songs are highly appreciated and valued even by the present generation.
Many music lovers have now taken up SMS voting the singers for imitating
the veterans. Does this provide a stage to entertain songs in a sane
sense?
What has happened to our veterans today? Various so called artistes
copy their creations and use them as their own creations. Lack of
appreciation and recognition leave them out of the mainstream.
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