The Bhutanese Leading the way.
A popular Bhutanese artist, Tshering Dorji, has found himself embroiled in a copyright dispute over a tribute song he wrote called “Druk Me Yongi Moenlem”.
The artist released the song on 17 December 2023 giving every Bhutanese a powerful song that says it speaks our heart, and is a tribute to our King and Country.
He explicitly granted permission to others to use the song without having any knowledge of copyright works, as he thought he would never face any issue related to it.
“I felt that this song wasn’t mine alone, but rather a collective expression of emotions shared by all Bhutanese,” Tshering Dorji said, further adding, “It’s almost like the spirit of our King woven into music.”
The song quickly gained popularity, with many people sharing and using it on social media platforms.
However, the artist was recently shocked to discover a copyright claim on the song from an unknown individual. He believes this individual may have registered the song on a platform that allows for copyright registration and potential earnings from its use.
“If the case was for any other song, it would not have been an issue, but this song, I didn’t want to monetize, not for now. This song is too precious. Down the path, when I grow old, I will find solace in this song, knowing there was a time I had composed such a beautiful song and it will be remembered.”
The artist has uploaded a video on his page feeling disheartened about the incident and giving the individual a week to remove the copyright claim. He is now planning to claim copyright for the song himself.
“If this individual doesn’t remove the copyright claim soon, I’m going to find them and expose them to the nation. I’m planning to visit the Department of Intellectual Property and claim the copyright ensuring that while I own the copyright, the song remains free for others to use.”
The individual who has claimed the copyright has restricted other users in sharing the song and video. Even Tshering Dorji’s video which he uploaded on Tiktok that gained 105k views is being removed from his own account.
“I composed the song and made the video, but now, even I am getting restricted which is really shocking. Passionate artists like us, who sing not for the popularity or money, carry on singing as a passion. When situation like this occur, it really disheartens and discourage us. I genuinely request to every Bhutanese not to do such acts”.
“Most of us live for our passion, not for the money. We don’t have the resources to fight these battles,” he added.
As per the Department of Intellectual Property, copyright is a collection of rights automatically bestowed to the author for creation of original literacy, dramatic, musical and artistic works.
Original works are protected as soon as they are created in a tangible medium without any requirement for registration.
However, the division started the voluntary deposit and registration system for copyright and related rights to assist authors and owners to establish clear proof of their rights over their work.
As of June 2024 there are 219 registered copyright works in the country.
Copyright infringement occurs when a person copies someone else’s copyrighted works without the prior permission or consent of the owners.
The department does not involve in enforcement of copyright works. Owners are responsible for monitoring any infringement of their copyright works, and owners should take legal actions on their own if their rights have been infringed to the court.
The Copyright Act 2002 provides for both civil remedies and criminal sanctions.
In Civil remedies the court shall ask the infringer to compensate the right owners for the damages suffered by the latter.
In Criminal sanctions the infringer shall be punished by imprisonment for a period of up to one year or by fine of up to Nu 1,000,000 or both.
