Aamir Aziz-Anita Dube controversy: What does the copyright law say?

In a controversy that seems to have divided the art world in India, Mumbai-based poet-activist Aamir Aziz has accused well known artist Anita Dube of using his poem without his consent, and profiting from it without giving him credit or compensation.

The poem in question is ‘Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega’, which became an anthem of the anti-CAA protests and later a global phenomenon after English rock musician Roger Waters read it out at an event in London.

While Dube has admitted to an “ethical lapse” and reportedly offered some remuneration to Aziz, the dispute has acquired a legal dimension, with Aziz sending her a legal notice.

What does the copyright law say in a case like this – where an artist may feel she has the right to ‘fair use’ of a text, but another artist feels that his copyright has been violated?

Guest: Shantanu Sood, a lawyer who specialises in intellectual property-related issues.

Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu

Recorded by Aniket Singh Chauhan

Edited by Shivaraj S

Produced by Jude Francis Weston