Hearing fixed in damages lawsuit over poem copyrights

Plaintiff says his father’s work was used in movie Badnaam without consent

PESHAWAR: A civil judge fixed the hearing of a Rs20.5 million damages lawsuit for October 13. The plaintiff has said copyrights to the poetry of his father were violated.

Shah Mehmood, son of renowned local poet Sultan Mehmood Qalandar, filed for damages in a case where seven people have been accused of using his father’s poetry without his consent. The plaintiff also took issue with the fact that his father’s poetry was used in a song in the movie Badnaam.

According to Shah Mehmood, his father had an association, Qalandar Pukhtu Adabi Jirga Badabher, registered in his name and he held copyrights to his father’s poetry. “The respondent’s denial of my right to use and/or sell Qalandar’s poetry was illegal and unlawful,” he said.

The plaintiff said, one of his father’s poems, Pregda ma Pregda, was featured as a song in Pashto movie Badnaam, produced and directed by Nadar Shah. The movie was screened at Aaina Cinema, Khyber Bazaar.

He said he was hurt by the portrayal of the poem in an “obscene manner”. “The poem was written in praise of God while Shah has picturised it in an immoral manner, damaging my father’s prestige and reputation” he said.

Proceedings

He named Nadar Shah, singer Almas Khalil, owner and manager of Aaina Cinema, actor Jehangir Khan, actor Gia Butt and Ziyad Studio musician Shakir Zeb as respondents. Shah Mehmood demanded the respondents pay him damages to the tune of Rs20.5 million. “The court should grant the case in my favour and provide me with any other relief which it deems fit under these circumstances,” said Shah Mehmood.

The respondents submitted their power of attorney through their lawyer Saifullah Muhib Kakakhel to Civil Judge Muhammad Ishaq on Saturday. The court fixed the hearing of the case for Tuesday, October 13.

The law

According to the Copyright Ordinance 1962, copyright is a set of exclusive rights granted to the owner for a limited time to protect the particular form, way or manner in which an idea or information
is expressed.

Sections 18 to 23 of the ordinance lay down the copyright term in respect of different works. For example, the period of copyright of a published literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work (other than a photograph) is the life of the author and 50 years after his death.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2015.