The Daily IIJ

At last, every kind of piracy of audio and video has been declared illegal in a milestone verdict of High Court Division of Bangladesh Supreme Court today (17 August). Artists and producers of music and film industries of Bangladesh had urged to protect their merit rights and finally the court has given the historical rule.

A HC bench directed the government to stop the piracy immediately through enforcing the copyright act properly. The bench also asked to confiscate all the pirated copies of CDs (compact disks) and DVDs (Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) from markets.

The HC also ordered the government to submit a report on steps taken to stop piracy in every three months.

President of Bangladesh Film Production and Distribution Association Gazi Mazharul Anwar and Secretary of Bangladesh Music Industries Owners Association Sheikh Shahed Ali jointly filed the writ petition in May this year.

Chairman and Registrar of Copyright Board, Inspector general of Police (IGP), Director General (DG) of Rapid Action Battalion and Secretaries to the ministries of Home Affairs, Industries, Finance, Commerce, Cultural Affairs, Information, Science and Technology have made respondents in the verdict.

The HC came up with the verdict following a writ petition stating that stakeholders in film and music industries are facing a serious damage as pirated CDs and DVDs are being sold in the market openly.