The Copyright Act, 1957 was amended in 2012 to give writers and lyricists a leverage in industry heavily biased in favour of producers and stars. The Act makes contractual agreements mandatory. It assures the writer royalties when the work is showcased outside a cinema hall. The royalty is collected by the copyright society. It is managed jointly by the writers and producers. Though after a long delay, a society has been formed, its registration is still pending with the Registrar of Copyright. He has invited objections and suggestions from the stake holders.

As per the amended law, a writer cannot sign off his royalty rights. As the writer is the first owner of the work, assigning ownership does not take away the author’s right to royalty as the first owner. The producer now gets 50 per cent of the royalty and the remainder will be divided among writers.

The law assures a royalty to the writer when the work is showcased outside the cinema hall.

The right to royalty remains with the writer as long as he/she is a live, and with his/her family 60 years after his/her death.

After registration, the society will propose the percentages in the story, screenplay and dialogue categories.