Injury Caused To Copyright Owner Due To Exclusion From Credits is Irreparable: Delhi HC [Read Judgment]

Delhi High Court has restrained Balaji Telefilms from using the song 'Dhagala Lagli' in its latest release 'Dream Girl'. The court held such use to be a copyright violation as neither the licence fee or the credits were given to the Plaintiff who owned to. copyright in the sound recording.

The Plaintiff had instituted this suit, to restrain the three Defendants namely (i) Balaji Motion Pictures Limited, (ii) ALT Digital Media Entertainment Limited and (iii) Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited, from exploiting/using the Plaintiff‟s copyrighted works, which included a song titled 'Dhagala Lagli' in the movie 'Dream Girl'. The suit was accompanied by an application for ex-parte interim relief.

The counsel for the Plaintiff had argued the following:

1. Plaintiff is the rightful owner of the copyright in the impugned sound recording by virtue of an agreement signed in 1978
2. As per Ram Sampath Vs. Rajesh Roshan 2008 SCC OnLine Bom 370 copying part of the song in which another has copyright, amounts to infringement

The Respondent's counsel countered these submissions by arguing that the above-mentioned Agreement of 1979 is not of assignment of copyright but is merely of grant of licence. Moreover, it was contended that the Plaintiff is not the rightful copyright owner for the impugned sound recording, and since all the defendants have their registered offices in Mumbai, the present court has no jurisdiction to hear the case.

Justice Endlaw accepted the Plaintiff's claim of infringement by opining that:

"I have also heard both the songs and find the impugned song in the forthcoming film of the defendants have the same catch line and is likely to be referred to in all music albums and otherwise by the same words, as the original song, with everyone identifying the song in the forthcoming film of the defendants with the original song in which the plaintiff claims copyright"

The court also highlighted that the purport of the laws relating to copyright and trademark is to prevent theft of intellectual property and a public element is also involved in preventing such thefts.

While restraining the Defendants from using the impugned sound recording, the court noted that while the right of the Plaintiff to licence fee can be protected, the loss caused to him due to denial by Respondents to give him credit for the song, is irreparable.

The court also recognised the Plaintiff as the undisputed owner of the copyright as per the Agreement signed in 1979, and went on to restrain the Respondents from exploiting the impugned sound recording in their film "Dream Girl".  

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