India’s public broadcaster Prasar Bharati retains copyright over all content produced or commissioned by it, and no recent cases of copyright violation by media production houses have been reported, the government informed the Rajya Sabha or Upper House yesterday.

In a written reply to a question by Tiruchi Siva, a government statement detailed, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L. Murugan said that while copyright infringement by production companies has not been reported, violations by individual users on intermediary platforms are regularly monitored and addressed by Prasar Bharati.

The Minister also said that no instances of sub-contracting of production work have come to the notice of Prasar Bharati. To prevent such practices, agreements with production companies include provisions that restrict sub-contracting.

Prasar Bharati, an autonomous body, manages India’s two public broadcasters — Doordarshan and Akashvani or All India Radio.

Highlighting initiatives to expand content outreach, the government said a new ‘Creators Corner’ initiative has been launched on Doordarshan to engage digital content creators in promoting socially relevant programming and showcasing India’s culture and heritage.

Under the initiative, selected creators must ensure that their content meets quality standards and complies with the Programme and Advertising Codes of Prasar Bharati and other applicable laws. They are also required to have a reasonable digital reach on at least one major social media platform and such persons, according to the government, will be remunerated as per duration-based rates prescribed by the public broadcaster.

The information was provided in the Upper House as part of the government’s response regarding copyright safeguards and content production practices in the public broadcasting system.