Armenian singer Erik Karapetyan has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit after his song “Voch Avel Voch Pakas” was performed by Azerbaijani singers on the Russian state-owned TV channel Rossiya 1 and falsely presented as an Azerbaijani composition.
“For years, Voch Avel, Voch Pakas has been illegally modified and performed in different languages and countries without permission,” Karapetyan wrote in a social media post on February 25.
Karapetyan emphasized that his song has been unlawfully rearranged, distorted, and performed in various languages worldwide for years, but he remained silent until now. Originally released in 2018, the song has since garnered 5.3 million views on YouTube, further cementing its popularity.
“I lost my patience when, just a few days ago, Rossiya 1 aired a distorted version of my song for the second time during Andrey Malakhov’s Sunday Show”this time performed by Azerbaijanis, once again without authorization. What’s regrettable and shameful is that the song was presented as Azerbaijani,” he stated.
Karapetyan stressed that he composed the song in Yerevan in 2018, with the music written by him and the lyrics by Grigor Kyokchyan.
“I have taken legal action and will fight to the end within the legal framework for copyright protection. Unauthorized use or modification of a work constitutes copyright infringement and distortion,” he asserted, adding that he was grateful for the public support he had received.
He also expressed regret that many people in Armenia are listening to the distorted version of his song.
