Bangladesh reportedly bans use of Bollywood songs as ringtones
A Bangladesh High Court has banned the use of Indian film songs as ringtones. The court has issued a ruling that bars the use of songs from sub-continental movies as ringtones and caller tunes on mobile phones.
Court has mobile phone operators have been told not use these songs as value added services (VAS). The order came after a writ petition from the President of the Bangladesh Music Industry Owners Association Arifur Rahman and General Secretary, SK Shahed Ali.
The court ordered ‘abstention’ from the use of songs and tunes from Hindi movies, Indian Bangla movies and movies from any other country in the Indian subcontinent as Value Added Services (VAS) of the mobile-phone operators.
The bench of justices Farah Mahbub and Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo issued the order after hearing the writ petition on Thursday.
The report also claims that the court sought answers from the country’s secretaries of culture, information, home and law ministries. In addition, the Bangladesh Telecom regulatory commission is also needed to respond to the court. All parties have to reply within four weeks.
Essentially, this is a ban on the import of Indian content. “Import policy bars the import of Indian or sub-continental films to Bangladesh. That is why songs of those (films) can’t be used as welcome tune or ringtone,” said Mehedi Hasan Chowdhury, who is the lawyer representing Arifur Rahman and SK Shaded Ali.
