The Delhi High Court has dismissed music composer Ilaiyaraaja’s appeal in a copyright dispute over the iconic Tamil song En Iniya Pon Nilave, holding that as the composer, he cannot claim copyright over the song’s lyrics or sound recording.
A Division Bench of Justices C Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla held that under the Copyright Act, a ‘musical work’ covers only the musical composition and not the lyrics or sound recording. Since the song formed part of the 1980 film Moodu Pani, the copyright vested with the film producer, who had assigned the rights to Saregama India Limited.
The dispute arose over the proposed recreation of the song in the Tamil film Aghathiyaa, for which Vels Films claimed to have obtained a licence from Ilaiyaraaja. Upholding the earlier interim findings, the Court rejected the composer’s claim and reaffirmed Saregama’s rights over the song.
Read More- Delhi High Court Bars Ilaiyaraaja from Licensing or Claiming Rights Over Disputed Musical Works
Appearances:
For Ilaiyaraaja: Senior Advocate Swathi Sukumar with Advocates Naveen Nagarjuna, Ritik Raghuwanshi, Rishik Agarwal and Shardula Murthy.
For Saregama India Limited: Senior Advocate J Sai Deepak with Advocates Ankur Sangal, Ankit Arvind, Shaswat Rakshit and Rishab Rao.