Legendary music composer Ilaiyaraaja has filed several copyright infringement cases against the use of his songs in recent movies.
He even got court orders from the Madras High Court to remove those songs right away after he pointed out that the filmmakers didn’t ask for permission first.
But now, the Delhi High Court has given a big surprise to the maestro in a legal case started by the top music label Saregama.
The court passed an interim order stopping Ilaiyaraaja from using and making money from several sound recordings and musical works. The court said that the copyrights belong to the company, and any unauthorized use might cause serious and irreversible financial harm.
In the case filed by Saregama, it was claimed that Ilaiyaraaja started giving licenses to third parties and uploading songs on platforms like Amazon Music, iTunes, and JioSaavn.
He also claimed ownership of the works, even though the film producers had already signed agreements with the music label. These agreements gave the label exclusive, worldwide, and permanent rights to use, license, and make money from the songs in various movies.
After looking at Saregama’s submissions, Justice Tushar Rao Gedela issued an interim order that stops Ilaiyaraaja from using the songs in a catalog covering more than 130 films in different languages.
The court also mentioned the Copyright Act, 1957, which states that typically the film producer is the first owner of the copyright unless a contract says otherwise.
Based on this and the agreements that were shared, the judge decided that the company’s rights need to be protected at this point.
Both Saregama and Ilaiyaraaja are already involved in a copyright dispute over the popular Tamil song “En Iniya Pon Nilave.”
In January of last year, the court ruled in favor of Saregama, clearly stating that Ilaiyaraaja cannot give the song to third parties because the music label owns the copyright.
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