Prasar Bharati calls for stakeholder claims on Doordarshan Classics before 45-day deadline

In its latest circular, Prasar Bharati has has invited producers, artists, and creators to substantiate ownership over historic Doordarshan shows.

The notice, dated June 26, the public broadcaster has invited all stakeholders including producers, directors, actors, artists, and others who were creatively involved in these legacy programs to submit claims of ownership or association within 45 days of the publication date.

Claimants must provide detailed information, including the name of the program, episode numbers, creative team details, nature and duration of association with Doordarshan or Prasar Bharati, and verifiable documentation such as contracts or agreements that justify their claim.

This step comes after the Central Archives of Prasar Bharati flagged several program files, spanning genres like classical music, documentary, and cultural history, where contractual ownership records could not be located.

The shows include prominent series such as “The Soul of India: A Classical Music Series,” “In Conversation with Rajiv Mehrotra,” “Spectacular India,” and “Sikhs and Their Five Takhts”. These programs featured a constellation of cultural legends, including Ustad Vilayat Khan, Shubha Mudgal, Ustad Bismillah Khan, the Dalai Lama, Jaya Bachchan, Dr. Karan Singh, and the late President K.R. Narayanan, among others.

If no valid claims are received within the prescribed window, Prasar Bharati will assume absolute ownership of the intellectual property and reserves the right to broadcast, digitally stream, or syndicate these programs on any platform. Claims received after the deadline will be summarily rejected, as per the directive.

Read more: Prasar Bharati Waves OTT crosses 2 million downloads, strengthens global footprint across 181 countries

"Claims received, if any, in respect of IPRs/Copyrights of these Media assets shall be examined for the bonafide claims and settled accordingly. In case no claim for a programme in the list is received by the prescribed date as per the period specified in para 3 of the present notice, then Prasar Bharati will be the absolute owner of the Intellectual Property Rights/ Copyrights over the media assets under circulation and can use these programme as per the requirement to broadcast on linear TV or on any digital platform or syndicate to other media houses.

No claim shall be entertained after elapsing of due period. Claims received after such period shall be summarily rejected," the circular said.

The broadcaster has directed all claims to be sent to the Director of Central Archives at Akashvani Bhawan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi, supported with attested and original documents where required. Once vetted for authenticity, bonafide claims will be settled accordingly.