Armenia Steals Thunder Of Another Azerbaijani Composer

(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 9. The appropriation, performance, and distribution of Azerbaijani composer Bahram Nasibov's "Karabakh" music piece on YouTube by Armenian singer Gor Yepremyan under the pseudonym "Sirun Jan" have been the subject of an investigation by the country's Intellectual Property Agency, Trend reports via the agency statement.

The statement said that experts from the agency and Azerbaijani People's Artists and composers Faig Sujaddinov and Eldar Mansurov were quick to jump on the bandwagon and put their two cents in regarding yet another Armenian theft.

Based on the native Azerbaijani chahargah mugham tune, their investigation showed that Nasibov's composition "Karabakh" is exactly the same as the fabricated song "Sirun Jan."

"Experts reaffirm that Armenia altered the title of the "Karabakh" work composition and marketed it as "Sirun Jan," the statement explained.

Besides, according to the statement, the above composition, with music and lyrics by Bahram Nasibov, was first performed by Arif Babayev in 1972.

"The 'Karabakh' song is one of the most well-known compositions by Bahram Nasibov. It was registered at the Intellectual Property Agency (then the Department of the All-Union Agency for Copyright in the Azerbaijan Republic) on June 2, 1972, and recognized as Azerbaijani music.

Furthermore, Nasibov's heirs registered many of the composer's songs, including the 'Karabakh' song, on July 21, 2004, at the Intellectual Property Agency (then called the Copyright Agency), and they were issued a registration certificate for the work under number 662.

The 'Karabakh' song was included in the 2009 album under the title 'Traces of wars in the Turkic world in music' released by the TRT channel.

The song on the album was performed by Ali Haydar Gul.

All archival documents attest that the 'Karabakh' song belongs to Azerbaijani authorship. Famous singers such as Aygun Baylar, Aygun Kazimova, Konul Khasiyeva, Brilliant Dadashova, Mansum Ibrahimov, and others have repeatedly performed this song on television, radio, and during international tours.

Armenian-origin performer Yepremyan, by appropriating the 'Karabakh' song by Nasibov, changed its lyrics and sang it under the title 'Sirun Jan'.

Information about the musical work titled 'Sirun Jan', posted on YouTube without mentioning Nasibov's name, violates the author's personal rights and, from a commercial perspective of placement on YouTube, violates Nasibov's property rights.

This fact, along with the provisions of national legislation, means a violation of Article 3 of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Convention, of which Azerbaijan and Armenia are members.

The purpose of this organization is to promote the protection of intellectual property worldwide through cooperation with states and any other organization.

This fact is also a violation of the provisions of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, the WIPO Copyright Treaty, and the Performances and Phonograms Treaty, of which Azerbaijan and Armenia are also parties.

The aforementioned fact is another example of long-standing Armenian theft in the literary and musical spheres.

The Intellectual Property Agency has, time by time, been combating cases of Armenian appropriation of Azerbaijani cultural heritage, including copyright works, folklore samples, and other intangible cultural assets belonging to the Azerbaijani people, presented as Armenian examples.

Investigations are conducted for each case, and references based on historical facts are prepared and published in the media, incontrovertibly proving the ownership of these works by the Azerbaijani people," emphasized the agency's statement.

Previously, the Ministry of Culture and the Intellectual Property Agency of Azerbaijan have published a joint statement in connection with the appropriation of music from the operetta of the Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibayli,“If Not That One, Then This One”, and other examples of Azerbaijani musical heritage by Armenia.

The statement said that an excerpt from the music for the operetta by Hajibayli,“If Not That One, Then This One”, was posted on the YouTube platform under the name“Dance of Vagharshapat", allegedly written by the Armenian composer Arno Babajanyan.

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