Prasar Bharati organizes 21st ABU copyright committee meeting, forum

The 21st Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) copyright committee meeting and forum, which has been organised by the Prasar Bharati, began here on Wednesday.

The committee members of the forum were of the opinion that constant and timely discussion with the government is necessary to ensure protection of copyrights.

The ABU copyright committee meets annually to discuss, share, analyze and to inform the members on copyright, intellectual property rights, broadcasting rights, piracy and various other related issues and case studies from the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

Experts from this field gather every year to advise the members on the changing trends in the broadcasting industry, as to how we can protect our rights.

The stakeholders involved in this forum are lawyers, copyright practitioners and specialists.

The core discussion points across the three-day forum, which began today, are WIPO Standing Committee on copyright and related rights session, broadcast laws and protection report, future projects and suggestions, legal challenges and directions for broadcasters in the digital era, the business of copying (panel discussion).

The ABU, which was established in 1964, celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2014.

The ABU has more than 274 member broadcasters spread across the region's 67 countries, from Turkey in the west to Samoa in the east, and from Russia in the north to New Zealand in the south.

It is non-profit, non-government, professional association to assist the development of broadcasting in the region. The ABU promotes the collective interests of television and radio broadcasters and encourages regional and international co-operation between broadcasters.