Sheikh Arif Bulbon :
Meher Afroz Shaon and Chanchal Chowdhury rendered the song titled Juboti Radhe stirred controversy when
Sherpur-based folk band, Shorolpur claimed that the song was their original track and unless the video of the cover
was taken down from all social media platforms, they would be forced to take legal action. The video, which was uploaded on YouTube channel of IPDC, was immediately removed after the copyright infringement claim. Juboti Radhe was copyrighted in Shorolpur’s name, though multiple
people claimed that the band stole lines from Shorboto Mongolo Radhe, a popular song by a Mymensingh-based lyricist
and added them to their song.
Bangladesh Copyright Office investigated the matter and revoked Shorolpur’s copyright claim over Juboti Radhe,
according to reports. The office authorities sent letters to Bangla Academy, Kazi Nazrul Islam University, Jahangirnagar University and the Folklore Department of Rajshahi University. All the universities confirmed that out of the 32 lines in Shorboto Mongolo Radhe, 12 have
been plagiarised by Shorolpur.
In addition, it has also been found that Juboti Radhe also has much in common with the song Tumi How Jamuna Radhe from a book written by Ashutosh Mukherjee. On the basis of this evidence and for the crime of claiming originality
of a plagiarised song, Shorolpur band’s
ownership of the song Juboti Radhe
has been revoked by the Bangladesh Copyright Office. Violation of copyright law carries a minimum fine of Tk 50,000
to a maximum of Tk 4 lakh, along with imprisonment for a minimum of 6 months to a maximum of 2 years. As such, the Shorolpur Band, which was found guilty
of violating Sections 88 and 89 of the Copyright Act, was due to be fined and jailed. However, as no claim was made against Shorolpur Band in this regard, the Bangladesh Copyright Office resolved
not to take any action against the band.
