Paper short abstract:

Music for protest is often collectively created and shared and reused freely. This paper studies the implications of the cultures of protest music for the practice of intellectual property.

Paper long abstract:

Music being a spontaneous and collective expression of protest and discontent has held a special position in the history of social and political movements. Protest music may originate through acts of individual creativity, but are very often produced through artistic collectives and through joint effort. But, no matter what be the mode of creation, music in protest invariably enjoys a long after-life, with songs being reconceived, translated, and retuned to permeate a variety of protest environments and cultures. Protest music is seldom, if at all,motivated by profit. So what are the implications of these contexts of creation on the intellectual property of protest and political music? Would the writers and composers of the patriotic music of the Indian independence movement have sought to vigorously protect their copyright? This paper would take a close look at practices of distribution and sharing of protest music in various political movements to form a conception of the intellectual property implications of revolutionary art forms. It would try to explore if there are any distinctions between the ways moral and commercial rights are exercised by politically motivated musicians and artists. Also, whether there have been any changes in such conceptualisation with the strengthening of the intellectual property rights regimen and with the advent of the internet and the social media.