NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to vacate its interim injunction granted in favour of Saregama India Limited in a copyright dispute with music composer Ilaiyaraaja over songs and musical works from 134 films.
The interim order restrains Ilaiyaraaja from exploiting, using, issuing licences or claiming ownership over works claimed by Saregama.
The ex parte ad interim order covers sound recordings as well as literary and musical works forming part of 134 cinematograph films listed in the order, including Annakkili, 16 Vayathiniley, Kavikkuyil, Bharathi, Pallavi Anu Pallavi, Mullum Malarum, Raaja Paarvai, Netrikkann and Kalyanaraman.
Justice Tushar Rao Gedela was hearing a suit filed by Saregama alleging that Ilaiyaraaja was exploiting and licensing works over which the company claimed copyright.
In its suit, Saregama said it was incorporated in 1901 and was earlier known as The Gramophone Company of India Limited. It stated that between 1976 and 2001, it entered into assignment agreements with producers of various films under which the copyright in the sound recordings, musical works and literary works of songs vested in the company.
The company further claimed that it owns a sizeable catalogue of film and non-film music in Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu and other languages, and licenses these works to third parties.
Saregama said that in February 2026, it came across alleged infringing use of its copyrighted works on platforms such as Amazon Music, iTunes and JioSaavn.
It alleged that Ilaiyaraaja had made ownership claims over the content and referred to a legal notice issued by the composer on January 13, 2026, in which he claimed rights over musical works created, composed, arranged and orchestrated by him for various films, including the works that are the subject of the suit.
While granting interim relief on February 13, the court had observed that Saregama had established a "prima facie, strong case" in its favour.