DK BOSE COPYRIGHT TANGLE A CLEVER MARKETING GIMMICK?
and/or www.mantra.com/jai
By Divya Kaushik
The Pioneer
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Indraprasth aka New Delhi - "Daddy mujhse bola, tu galtee hai
meri..." This line from the hit Delhi Belly song DK Bose
coincidentally resonates with the intended sense of identity crisis.
For the Delhi-based artist duo of Jiten Thukral and Sumir Tagra have
claimed that the term "BoseDK" (it is heard in the loop of the
chorus) is their brainchild.
Just two days before the release of the film, Thukral and Tagra had
demanded they be given credit for the song, saying BoseDK is their
copyright, a name illustrated clearly in symbols, images and art work
designed by them. They registered their trademark as early as 2005
when they first released their art installations, much before Delhi
Belly was apparently conceived.
And to clear doubts on their claim, Tagra wore "BoseDK" on his chest
to announce the infringement of what was clearly their intellectual
property. But in true Hindi film style, in stepped actor-producer
Aamir Khan to tell journalists that the contentious issue had not
only been "resolved" but he was "glad" to speak on the "sheer
coincidence." He even went out of his way to clear the air and did
not forget to shake hands with the artists. On their part, Thukral
and Tagra assured him that they would not go ahead with legal action.
Doesn't this seem too scripted, coming as it does on the first Monday
after the film's opening weekend? Perhaps, each party knew of the
creative trangression by the other, had settled their differences and
were just feeding off the publicity generated by the film to create a
post-release buzz. Aamir Khan, who's not new to credit controversies,
said he came to know about the objections raised over the use of DK
Bose just a few days before the film's release. He said, "I thought
it was one of those cases where people look out to earn some monetary
benefits or cheap publicity. These days such claims of originality
have become a trend. Producers routinely get three or four notices
and the production houses have their legal teams ready to sort these
things out. Fortunately, this one was a genuine case. My wife Kiran
mentioned the case to me and I called these two artists to sort out
matters."
He added, "Rather than battling the case in the courts, we have
mutually sorted out the issue and, therefore, this clarification at a
joint Press conference. I do not want to take the credit away from
somebody who has had original thinking. Being an artist, I understand
it is hurtful and troublesome to see something like this happening
and I thought I should go ahead and clear the confusion and take the
matter out of the courts."
Asked if they indeed had no sense of the copyright violation,
considering that DK Bose had become somewhat of a national anthem for
the last three months, Thukral said, "We were busy travelling with
our art shows across Europe. On returning we realised that our
original creation had completely lost its importance because of the
song. We did not want our branding to suffer and took the legal
recourse." According to Tagra, the case was filed in Gurgaon.
Lawyer Vaibhav Gaggar, who filed the case, said there was "trademark
infringement and copyright violation involved. But since it is
mutually sorted out now, we have asked for the withdrawal of the
suit."
As an olive branch, Thukral and Tagra have designed a T-shirt with
the slogan Bhaag BoseDK printed on it. "We have created BoseDK
products in the past, presenting them at an exhibition in 2007. For
us, it is a theme and we will be taking it forward," said Tagra.
Khan's consistent brush with controversies is interesting. In 2006,
his film Fanaa was banned in Gujarat due to protests over him
supporting the Narmada Bachao Andolan and campaigning against the
Sardar Sarovar dam simultaneously with the film's promotions. Then,
before the release of Ghajini, its promo poster irked a Mumbai-based
businessman who demanded a compensation of Rs 50 lakh because his
mobile number was inked on Aamir's hand. Then Chetan Bhagat, the
author of Five Point Someone, demanded credits for the film Three
Idiots based on it.
http://dailypioneer.com/350802/DK-Bose-copyright-tangle-a-clever-marketing-gimmick.html
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Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
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