Copyright Violation: Entertainment Firm Owner Arrested In Odisha Capital

Bhubaneswar: Proprietor of an entertainment firm was arrested in Odisha capital on Saturday on the charges of infringing the Copyright Act.

The accused was identified as Pabitra Nayak, owner of Pabitra Entertainment. The arrest has come following a directive from the Bhubaneswar SDJM court.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (Zone 6) Subha Narayan Muduli confirmed the arrest of Nayak. The arrest is connected with a case of Copyright violation. The accused was produced in court, he added.

Sources said, Ranjan Gahan, a lyricist of Bargarh area in the state capital, had filed a case in the Bhubaneswar SDJM court in 2022 against Pabitra Nayak, accusing him of unlawfully using his 32 songs for commercial purpose since 2012 in audio and video formats.

Pabitra was also accused of drawing lucrative benefit from the songs. The court had earlier directed the Bargarh police to take action.

Reacting after the arrest, the complainant Ranjan Gahan alleged that on being invited by Pabitra in 2012, he had given the accused some documents containing 32 songs. “But later, Pabitra had managed to get licence of the songs without my knowledge. It violated the Copyright Act. He has sold my songs to various global companies. Since 2012, Pabitra has been making huge financial gains by using my songs. When I came to know about it, I had filed a case at the SDJM court in February, 2022 against Pabitra, citing infringement of copyright and forgery,” he added.