Prasar Bharati does not make copyright claims on public service content, say officials

Prasar Bharati does not make copyright claims on public service content, including parliamentary proceedings. Congress leader Sappal raised issue, saying it was wrong to limit access to proceedings. Prasar Bharati officials said notices may be generated by YouTube's algorithm, but they take measures to resolve the issue.

Prasar Bharati does not make copyright claims on any public service content, which includes the parliamentary proceedings reproduced by it, said the officials of the broadcaster on October 1 following an allegation that it had sent copyright infringement notices to YouTubers as regards parliamentary proceedings.

The issue was raised by Congress leader Gurdeep Singh Sappal, a former chief executive officer/editor of the Rajya Sabha TV, through his X (formerly Twitter) microblogging site handle.

“Prasar Bharti has sent notices to YouTubers invoking copyright on it. This is wrong. Parliamentary proceedings are national assets of historical value. They are not a commercial product that can be used for profiteering under the garb of copyright. In fact, any attempt to limit the access to parliamentary proceedings amounts to censorship and is an infringement of the rights of citizens (to) be informed of the happenings in the Parliament,” said Mr. Sappal.

“Any part of parliamentary debate can only be restricted from public access by a specific order of the Chair only, using the powers vested in them to expunge parts of proceedings. When I had started RSTV, this issue was deliberated upon by the Content Advisory Committee of the Rajya Sabha. It was the unanimous decision that parliamentary proceedings have to be provided to anyone free of cost, to be used freely,” he said.

Stating that Prasar Bharati had never issued such a notice, a senior official said its public service-related contents were copyright-free. “We always strive for maximum dissemination of public service contents,” said the official.

Another official said: “Owing to the platform’s algorithm, copyright violation notices may get generated automatically in a case where a portion of any programme, for which the content ID has been created, is exactly the same as the one used by the person concerned. Such videos get flagged by the platform, resulting in their demonetisation.”

“However, as and when we receive information about such notices, which involve public service contents, we take measures to get the issue resolved at the earliest. If the affected person does not pursue the matter with YouTube, it may not even seek any clarification from us. Therefore, the correct approach is to contest the notice to enable necessary assistance,” said the official.