Madras High Court Admits Ilayaraja's Plea Over Copyright Infringement Issue

Three music companies, including the Indian Record Manufacturing Company Limited (INRECO), have been ordered to respond to an appeal filed recently by renowned composer Ilayaraja against a ban on the use of music from 30 South Indian films released in the 1980s.

The Indian Record Manufacturing Company (INRECO) earlier filed a case in the Chennai High Court seeking an injunction restraining Ilayaraja and two other companies from using music for a total of 30 films, including 20 Tamil films, 5 Telugu, 3 Kannada and 2 Malayalam, composed by Ilayaraja in 1978-80.

A separate judge hearing the case said in February 2020 that the music for the 30 films belonged to INRECO and banned Ilayaraja and two music companies from using them.

Attorneys Thiagarajan and Saravanan, appearing for Ilayaraja, have appealed against the order in the Madras High Court. The Madras High Court has admitted the plea. The petition states that INRECO claimed exclusive copyright based on the agreement with the respective film producers, on the premise that the respective film producers were the owners of the musical works, whereas Ilayaraja, who was the producer and composer of the original musical work, claimed copyright over his musical work as the author and producer of the work.

Further, the petition states that since the matter is related to trade, it should be heard only by the trial session and the order of the individual judge is beyond jurisdiction. INRECO’s suit and the connected original application were commercial disputes falling within the meaning of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 and were also of a specified value. Hence, it ought to have been transferred to the Commercial Division of the Madras High Court under that Act.

Ilayaraja’s plea demanded that the order of the separate judge be quashed. The bench comprising Justices Thuraisamy and Tamilchelvi, which heard the petition, directed three companies, including INRECO, to respond to the petition within four weeks.

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