[Commons-Law] Copyright as a cultural notion

[Pranesh Prakash]

 From the Telegraph: http://goo.gl/Qg5DJ

Copyright as cultural notion
A STAFF REPORTER

That book history is gradually coming of age becomes evident when the 
National Library organises the first BS Kesavan Lecture on this subject 
that few were aware of even a decade ago. The lecture on Saturday at 
Bhasha Bhavan on the library premises in the memory of the first 
National Librarian after Independence was by A.R. Venkatachalapathy of 
the Madras Institute of Development Studies on the “Cultures of Copyright.”

Presiding over the event, Jawhar Sircar, secretary, ministry of culture, 
asked the rhetorical question: “Where are the Kesavans of today”, as 
there is a dearth of librarians and archivists in this country, and the 
system is on the point of collapse. But he had no ready solutions to 
this problem. Swapan Chakravorty, director-general, National Library, 
introduced those present, including Mukul Kesavan.

Venkatachalapathy, in a blue silk shirt and veshthi, said his contention 
was that although copyright is a legal notion, in India it was more of a 
moral and cultural notion. He began his lecture saying in the beginning 
he was critical of BS Kesavan’s publications, History of Printing and 
Publishing in India and The Book In India: A Compilation, and of Sisir 
Kumar Das’s book as well. But it later changed to appreciation as he 
realised how difficult it was to write history.

In the past 10 to 15 years there has been an “efflorescence” of interest 
in book history but the field is “barely scratched”. Venkatachalapathy 
related a humorous story of the medieval Tamil poet, Kambar, who 
authored the Tamil Ramayan. He was delighted to be present at a literary 
discourse on his work. But he soon realised that the verses being 
recited were not his own. “Every aspect of copyright was being violated 
by interpolation,” he commented.

In a scribal and oral cultures like ours, the only way of preserving 
manuscripts was copying these. This was an expensive proposition and the 
Jains had an institutionalised way of doing it. Copies of these 
manuscripts were given away to scholars, but this does not gel with 
modern notions of copyright, Venkatachalapathy said. We look at texts, 
while in institutions like the Library of Congress books are listed 
according to the names of authors.

In colonial times, while Indian authors expected patronage, the East 
India Company looked at copyright. In Madras, when a Telugu scholar 
produced a dictionary, the Company was willing to pay him a king’s 
ransom for its copyright. But the scholar wanted perpetual pension and 
rent-free land. Again, when another author translated the Dharmashastra 
and the Company sought its copyright, the brother of the deceased author 
looked for patronage.

The British kept tabs on literary production and this was when modern 
notions of copyright entered. It was only with the rise of the novel 
that the commercial value of books was realised. Till then most 
publishing was done by the author himself. In the 1920s, the corollary 
of publishing, royalty, was actually talked about.

There were very few copyright cases in colonial days and these involved 
publishing in English. There was a keenly fought case involving a 
collection of biographical essays, many of which, another man claimed, 
were by him.

In the 1940s, the notion of copyright was one of simple transaction — 
outright sale of copyright for a pittance. When a man said he was a 
writer, he was asked what he did for a living — the earnings were so 
meagre. Kalki was a successful journalist and writer, but when he wanted 
to join the satyagraha, his employer was not happy. He said what Kalki 
had written was as an employee and thus had to relinquish his copyright. 
The case was hotly debated in Kerala. The writer’s claim was always made 
on moral and cultural grounds, not on legal grounds.

When the same song on different topical issues made the rounds, several 
people would claim authorship. Copyright was recognised only if 
registered. After Independence, 50 years after the death of Subramanya 
Bharathi, his songs and works were placed in the public domain in 1949, 
overruling the legal right of two men. The government gave a decent sum 
to Bharathi’s widow although she had no legal right, the move stemming 
from the notion of moral responsibility. Moral and cultural claims 
superseded legal notions.


-- 
Pranesh Prakash
Programme Manager
Centre for Internet and Society
W: http://cis-india.org | T: +91 80 40926283

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