A public policy dialogue was held to generate feedback on the draft of the Copyright Act 2081

October 8, 2024

Policy Research Institute, Narayanhiti

Policy Research Institute organized a public policy dialogue with stakeholders and experts to generate feedback on the draft Copyright Act 2081, which the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation prepared to replace the Copyright Act 2059.

Participants included representatives of song, music, film, translation, publishing houses and presenter societies, royalty collection societies, lawyers, and various agency officials.

The program started with a welcome speech by Prof. Dr. Lekhnath Sharma, Executive Chairman of Policy Research Institute, and a brief presentation on the draft of the Copyright Act 2081 by Ms. Punya Maya Guragai, Registrar of Nepal Copyright Registrar’s Office. Ms. Guragai presented the issues added to the draft of the Copyright Act 2081 compared to the Copyright Act 2059 and the topics of discussion regarding the role of the Nepal Copyright Registrar’s Office.

The dialogue participants then presented comments and suggestions on various aspects of the draft Copyright Act 2081, and some participants committed to submitting additional suggestions in writing. The representatives of song, music, film, translation, publishing houses, art, and royalty collection societies shared their views on the problems faced so far regarding copyright, the challenges ahead, and the fact that the new draft of the law does not cover all types of works and creators.

The legal experts discussed the basic concept of copyright law, compatibility with international treaty agreements, conceptual and procedural problems seen in adjudication of copyright cases, legal ambiguity and risk of contradiction, complexity of ownership and use of folklore and intangible assets in Nepal’s specific situation, need for dispute resolution mechanism with arbitration, transfer of rights. They said a detailed study and revision of the draft is necessary on issues like the scope of licensing, limited licensing, fair use, Creative Commons licensing, computer programs and databases, artificial intelligence, etc.

Among the suggestions received were integrating and rewriting many terms in the definition section of the Act for greater clarity, establishing more clarity on the illustrative and not limited lists indicated by phrases “such as’ or ‘including’, Separate dedicated chapters or law for computer programs and artificial intelligence due to technical complexity and developing nature, making the provisions related to copyright of non-resident citizens based on reality, making the collection of royalties practical and the distribution of benefits proportionate and fair, and having a well-resourced structure for dispute resolution, or even better a court bench for intellectual property.

Dr. Deepak Kumar Khadka, Senior Research Fellow of the institute, moderated the dialogue. At the end of the program, Dr. Khagnath Adhikari, Senior Research Fellow of the Institute, presented a discussion summary. The policy research institute will synthesize the suggestions from this dialogue and further studies and submit the consolidated suggestions to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.

Attendance

Guests

  1. Punya Maya Guragai (Registrar, Nepal Copyright Registrar’s Office)
  2. Janak Bhandari (Advocate, Janak Bhandari and Associates)
  3. Yadav Chandra Niraula (Under-Secretary, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology)
  4. Narayan Koirala (Board Member, Nepal Association for Software and IT Services Companies)
  5. Narayan Thapa (General Secretary, Citizen Investment Trust Nepal)
  6. Suresh Chandra Adhikari (Section Officer, Nepal Copyright Registrar’s Office)
  7. Sunita Aryal (Legal Officer, Nepal Copyright Registrar’s Office
  8. Rajendra Bajgain (Chairman, National Creators and Broadcasting Institute
  9. Lokraj Adhikari (Former Treasurer, Music Royalty Collection Society Nepal)
  10. Sajjan Barsingh Thapa (Advocate, Legal Research Associate)
  11. Shuvanraj Acharya (Advocate, Gorkha Corporate and Research Center)
  12. Bhimsen Khadka (VP, Nepal National Book Sellers and Publishers Association)
  13. Shankhar Lama (Nepal Film Producer’s Association)
  14. Shivaraj Karki (Nepal Film Producer’s Association)
  15. Sabon Kumar K.C. (Senior Lecturer, Kathford International College)
  16. Tirtha Bahadur Thapa (President, Nepal Cultural Federation)
  17. Karuna Nepal (Member, Society of Translators Nepal)
  18. Raj Kumar Suwal (Executive Director, Center for Intellectual Property Nepal)
  19. Suresh Adhikari (Music Royalty Collection Society Nepal)
  20. Badri Pandey (Music Royalty Collection Society Nepal)
  21. Shiva Raj Regmi (Under-Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation)
  22. Naba Raj Acharya (Under-Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation)
  23. Shashwat Kandel (Associate, Legal Research Associates)
  24. Shanta Gautam (Chairperson, National Booksellers and Publishers Association of Nepal)
  25. Surya Bahadur Magar (President, Film and Producer Society of Nepal)
  26. Janakee Thapa Magar (Member, Film and Producer Society of Nepal)
  27. Rajan Joshi (Reporter)

Policy Research Institute

  1. Prof. Dr. Lekhnath Sharma (Executive Chairman)
  2. Laxman Prasad Bhattarai (Office Manager)
  3. Dr. Deepak Kumar Khadka (Head, Information and Knowledge Management Department)
  4. Dr. Khaga Nath Adhikari (Senior Research Fellow)
  5. Dr. Kalpana Khanal (Senior Research Fellow)
  6. Dr. Mukti Ram Rijal (Senior Research Fellow)
  7. Dr. Giriraj Sharma (Research Fellow)
  8. Ashok Pandey (Associate Research Fellow)
  9. Kanchan Gautam (Research Consultant)
  10. Jenish Maharjan (Research Intern)