The Sectoral Oversight Committee on Education and Human Resources Development has recommended a royalty fee of Rs. 30 per song aired from January 1, 2020 to 2022 and then onwards the fee to be increased by Rs. 50 and a fee of Rs. 100 for a song telecast from January 1, 2020 which will be increased by Rs. 250 after 2022.
The Committee agreed to make a final decision regarding all the proposals and meet again on December 20 at the Parliamentary complex. The Bill related to the above was agreed to be presented in Parliament on January 3, parliamentary sources said.
Accordingly, the proposal to pay Rs. 10 for radio broadcasting and Rs.30 for television broadcasting was rejected by the Committee.
The Chairman of the Sectoral Oversight Committee Prof. Ashu Marasinghe said that if a song of an artiste is broadcast on YouTube without his or her permission, it is possible for the Committee to make available such complaints to the International Administration Site. The sources said the Committee was made aware that if any channel does not pay royalty to its original owners, legal action against such institutions could be taken according to the special Gazette Notification on Intellectual Property enacted on June 17, 2019.
The Committee proposed that a mechanism should be set up to regulate the payment process.
In addition, the Committee urged the artistes to keep the Intellectual Property Bureau informed prior to entering into any international agreement on their work which would enable artistes to provide legal advice on the legal background of the relevant agreements.
Telephone companies agreed to charge a customer fee of Rs.30 per download of a ringtone. The Committee also suggested that at least 50 percent of the 30 percent paid by telephone companies to internet content providers should be given to artistes.
The Committee chaired by MP Prof. Ashu Marasinghe was attended by State Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna, MPs Rohini Kumari Wijeratne and K. Thurairetnasingam. In addition, National Intellectual Property Bureau officials, artistes, musicians, Sri Lanka Rupavahini representing the Broadcasters Guild of Sri Lanka, Dialog, Mobitel, Hutch, Airtel and other telephone company representatives were present at the meeting.