The Ministry of Culture and the Intellectual Property Agency of Azerbaijan have issued a joint statement regarding the misappropriation of musical compositions from the comedy O olmasın Bu Olsun (If Not That One, Then This One) by renowned Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibayili and other examples of Azerbaijan's musical heritage by Armenians.
According to Report, music from Hajibayili's comedy was posted on YouTube under the title "Vagharshapat Dance," allegedly composed by Armenia's Arno Babajanian. This incident has caused widespread discontent in Azerbaijani society.
It was emphasized that Uzeyir Hajibayili composed the music for the musical comedy in 1910. It is a universally recognized fact that Uzeyir Hajibayli is the author of both the music and libretto for this comedy, as evidenced by numerous sources, including records from that period, play posters, musical notations, and more.
The statement stressed that Armenia, a member of the United Nations, fails to fulfill its obligations to protect intellectual property rights and continues to grossly violate international law norms in the field of intellectual property and other issues.
"We demand that the relevant state structures of Armenia address the aforementioned cases of misappropriation of Uzeyir Hajibayili's works 'If Not That One, Then This One' and 'Arshin Mal Alan' in accordance with international law and domestic national legislation, and inform us of the measures taken," the statement said.