The Delhi Excessive Court docket has lately dominated that Vels Movie Worldwide Restricted, producer of upcoming film ‘Aghathiyaa’ can’t use the tune ‘En Iniya Pon Nilave’ with out license from Saregama India Restricted, which maintain the copyright within the unique tune from the movie ‘Moodu Pani’.
The court docket, nevertheless, contemplating that Vels Movie has invested “vital moneys” for recreation of the sound recording of the tune allowed it to make use of the tune in its upcoming movie, topic to deposit of ₹30 lakh with the Registrar Normal of the Court docket.
“This Court docket is of the view that irreparable loss shall be triggered to the defendant no. 1 (Vels Movie), whether it is restrained from utilizing the tune, which already varieties a part of its cinematograph movie, ‘Aghathiyaa,” the court docket famous in its January 30 order.
The court docket’s order got here on a plea by Saregama India in opposition to Vels Movie for infringement of its copyright within the literary and musical work of the tune ‘En Iniya Pon Nilave’ from the 1980 movie ‘Moodu Pani’.
Saregama India argued that the producer of the movie ‘Moodu Pani’, i.e., Raja Cine Arts, entered into an settlement with it (then referred to as ‘The Gramophone Firm of India Restricted’) for the sound recordings and the musical and literary works within the songs of the movie ‘Moodu Pani’, together with, the tune ‘En Iniya Pon Nilave’.
Lately, on January 9, 2025, Saregama India mentioned it was “shocked” to come back throughout a teaser of the movie ‘Aghathiyaa’, on varied social media platforms, during which included a ‘recreation’ of the tune ‘En Iniya Pon Nilave’.
Vels Movie, nevertheless, responded to authorized discover despatched by Saregama India saying that it had taken a license to “adapt, file/recreate” from the music composer of the unique tune.
The court docket, which then went into the essential query as as to whether the copyright within the tune ‘En Iniya Pon Nilave’ vests within the Saregama India, or as as to whether the copyright of the vests with the music composer of the tune.
It concluded that as per Part 17 of the Copyright Act, the producer of a movie or a sound recording, is the primary proprietor of the copyright within the sound recordings, literary works, musical works and different works, which kind part of the movie.
“…No copyright subsists within the composer of the music so composed, except there’s a contract on the contrary between the composer of the music and producer of the cinematograph movie,” it added.
“The defendant no. 3, because the music composer, has no copyright over the literary work, i.e., the lyrics or the sound recording. Due to this fact, having no rights over the lyrics of the tune, there is no such thing as a query of defendant no. 3 having any proper to assign rights within the lyrics of the tune to a 3rd get together,” the court docket mentioned.
Printed – February 01, 2025 03:22 pm IST
