नेपाली
Kathmandu, The government has formed a high-level inquiry committee to study disputes, complaints and systemic issues related to music royalty, copyright and intellectual property rights in Nepal.
The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation constituted the five-member committee following directives from the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers regarding growing concerns in the sector.
According to the secretariat of Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Khadgaraj Paudel, the committee was formed through a ministerial decision on Thursday.
The committee is headed by Laxman Bidari ‘Shesh’ and includes the Director-General of the Department of Information and Broadcasting under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the Registrar of the Nepal Copyright Office and the Chief of the Archaeology and Heritage Section under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.
Nirmala Neupane, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, has been appointed as the Member Secretary of the committee.
The ministry has directed the committee to submit a report along with necessary recommendations within 10 days of its formation.
The committee will study issues related to intellectual property theft, copyright infringement, unauthorized use of creative works and challenges linked to digital and physical media affecting creators, producers, artists and other rights holders in Nepal’s music industry.
The formation of the committee comes amid increasing concerns from artists and stakeholders over the protection and management of royalties and intellectual property rights in the country.
