The Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy is mulling a ‘script bank’ — a locker space to store original scripts from being stolen or plagiarised to protect the rights of writers of Kannada cinema.
A member of the Academy shared this with a panel of screenwriters who were discussing many issues including copyrights at the Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFes 2022) on Saturday.
Later, Suneel Puranik, chairman of the Academy, confirmed to Metrolife that he had proposed this idea two years ago when he took charge. He cited other official work and the pandemic as reasons why the idea hasn’t taken off yet. “I have 10 months left to my term and I will make sure it is implemented,” he added.
Elaborating on the idea, Puranik says, “We will invite people to read their scripts in front of a committee. After which, the committee will put a seal on the scripts and store them in a locker-like space.” The copy inside the locker would serve as proof in case of legal disputes, he explains.
The idea is in the planning stage and would be vetted by a committee to decide on the location of the bank, the number of lockers, for
how long scripts can be stored, and other details, he informs. The idea of the ‘script bank’ did not come to Puranik because of any particular incident from the Sandalwood industry but out of the general lack of safeguards to film writers. “Currently, the industry is working on trust,” he says.
In the age of technology, what promise does a physical locker hold to avoid nasty battles between writers? Puranik says that private players have tried this concept but it would probably be a first for a government-run institution in India. Kiranraj K, who is part of a team of writers called The Seven Odds (founded by actor-director Rakshit Shetty) and who has penned the script of his upcoming debut directorial ‘Charlie 777’, feels any intervention on the issue of copyright infringement is welcome.
“Currently, we have two backups. One, we can register our script on swaindia.org (run by The Screenwriters Association) and there are only two-three such websites. Two, we record all our communications over email. It serves as a digital copy with a timestamp,” he shares.
Would Kiranraj store his scripts in the said bank? He says ‘no’ and goes on to explain why, “I register my scripts online, so it will be a duplication of efforts to give a narration to a committee and store it in a bank.”
Screenwriter Chandrajith Belliappa, also part of The Seven Odds, finds the idea interesting but the details shared till now are too few to gauge if it can plug copyright breaches.
“At the moment, I see no difference between storing the script in the bank versus emailing a copy of it to myself,” he says.
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