The government has formed an inquiry committee to study disputes, complaints and systemic problems related to music royalties, copyright and intellectual property.

The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has formed a five-member committee under the chairmanship of Laxman Bidari, 'Shesh', after drawing the attention of the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. The secretariat of Minister Khadgaraj Poudel informed that the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation formed the committee through a ministerial decision on Thursday.

The committee includes the head of the Department of Information and Broadcasting under the Ministry of Information and Communications, the registrar of the Nepal Copyright Registrar's Office, Savita Karki, and the head of the Archaeology and Heritage Branch under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Subhadra Bhattarai. The member secretary of the committee is Nirmala Neupane, Deputy Secretary of the Culture Branch of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.

The Ministry has given the committee a mandate to submit a report with necessary recommendations within 10 days from the date of its formation. The committee has been given the responsibility of investigating the facts of cases of intellectual property theft, copyright infringement, unauthorized use, and violations through digital and physical means of creators, artists, and other right holders related to the song and music sector and recommending necessary action and reforms.

The committee will study whether the music royalty collection and distribution system, collective management organizations, and other related organizations are working in accordance with the law, transparent, effective, and fair.

Similarly, the committee will also investigate whether the process of determining, collecting, recording, managing, and distributing the collected royalty amount is transparent, evidence-based, and fair and recommend necessary reform measures.

The committee will also recommend necessary policy, legal and institutional reform measures for the overall development of the music industry, market expansion, safe and transparent use of digital technology, increasing access to Nepali music at the national and international levels, and protecting the interests of all stakeholders including creators, artists, producers, distributors, entrepreneurs and consumers.

In addition, the committee will study the current system of collecting royalties for the use of music from government agencies, public institutions, broadcasting organizations, digital media, hotels, restaurants, transportation, event organizers and the private sector and recommend measures to make it effective, integrated and systematic.

In addition, the committee will study the economic and moral rights, ownership, use and royalty-related arrangements for songs and music produced or broadcast by government or public agencies including Radio Nepal, Nepal Television, Ratna Recording Institute and give necessary suggestions.

The committee will also study the arrangements related to registration, operation, regulation, monitoring and accountability of collective management organizations and make suggestions for the creation of an effective regulatory structure. The committee will also prepare suggestions on institutional capacity building, archiving, digital monitoring, technology-friendly services and increasing regulatory effectiveness of the Office of the Registrar of Copyrights.

The committee will have a role in developing a central digital system, software-based monitoring system and digital archiving system to make the royalty collection and distribution process transparent, reliable and technology-friendly.