Robin Gibb had campaigned for Copyright Amendment Act

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Mumbai: Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb whopassed away in London, had written to Union HRD and ITMinister Kapil Sibal two years ago to ensure passage ofCopyright Amendment Act, 2010, which is likely to be tabled inLok Sabha soon.

"Indian film producers exploit works of creatorsthrough blanket buyouts, depriving them of their rights tocontrol further use or collect royalties. Indian movie andrecord moguls launched a relentless lobbying campaign againstthe proposed amendments after their approval by the Indiancabinet in December 2009," Gibb had written to Sibal inFebruary 2010.

As president of the Confederation of Societies ofAuthors and Composers (CISAC) then, Gibb encouraged notedlyricist and writer Javed Akhtar's efforts to secure rightsfor Indian songwriters and composers. Akhtar had thenaddressed the World Copyright Summit (WCS) in Brussels andspoken about how the author's rights are neglected in India.Gibb had commended Akhtar in his battle to givecreators their rights.

"I have witnessed with great pleasure that India hastaken major steps forward towards the recognition of authors'rights, and I salute Javed Akhtar who has led the fight forthis recognition," Gibbs had said.

The much delayed Copyright Amendment Bill, 2010,providing for certain important amendments to the CopyrightAct was approved by Rajya Sabha last week.

The Bill will remove operational difficulties andaddress newer issues related to the digital world andinternet.

The Copyright Amendment Bill, 2010 also seeks to bringIndian laws originally enacted in 1957 in conformity withinternational norms and World Intellectual PropertyOrganisation (WIPO).