CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Friday directed Sony Music Entertainment India Private Limited to produce the accounts of revenue it earned through the “commercial exploitation” of composer Ilaiyaraaja’s musical works.
The direction was issued by Justice N Senthilkumar while hearing the civil suits and applications filed by Ilaiyaraaja against Sony Music, Echo Recording Company Private Limited, and Oriental Records, alleging exploitation of his works without consent.
The judge granted time till October 22 for the company to produce the records of accounts.
Ilaiyaraaja stated that he has always maintained that ownership and rights are protected under the Copyright Act, 1957, and as per Section 17, he is the first owner of his musical work in the absence of any written assignment to the contrary. Under Section 14, he holds the exclusive right to reproduce, adapt and communicate his works to the public.
“Crucially, I possess inalienable moral rights under Section 57, which empowers me to protect the integrity of my compositions from any distortion, mutilation or modification that would be prejudicial to my honour or reputation,” he said.
He noted that any person or entity seeking to use such protected works for commercial benefit, public exploitation, or business gains is legally obligated to obtain the necessary permissions, or sanctions directly from the rightful owner and creator of these works i.e., the plaintiff in this case. Ilaiyaraaja further stated that failure to obtain such proper authorisation constitutes infringement of his exclusive rights over his musical compositions and sound recordings.
Senior counsel S Prabhakaran, representing the composer, submitted that Sony Music is exploiting his musical works through various digital platforms and streaming services without compliance with the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012, without paying the statutorily mandated equal share of royalties.
High Court issues notice to Vijay over TVK flag
Chennai: A division bench of the Madras High Court consisting of justices G Jayachandran and Mummineni Sudheer Kumar on Friday issued notice to actor-politician Vijay and political party TVK on the appeals filed against a single judge’s order refusing to restrain the party from using its flag.
The appeal was filed by Thondaimandala Sandror Dharma Paribalana Sabai. The bench directed the respondents to file the reply in six weeks and accordingly, adjourned the matters. The single judge, recently refused to restrain TVK from using the flag, holding that the flag neither causes deception nor confusion among the public.
The applications for interim injunctions were filed by the Sabai alleging that the TVK flag is deceptively similar to the trust’s registered flag and logo. The Sabai had stated that TVK had violated the Trademark Act and Copyright Act by using the flag which appears similar to its flag and submitted that it had been using the trademark flag and logo since 2023.
Since the trade mark flag and logo is an original artistic work within the meaning of the Indian Copyrights Act, 1957, it has got the copyright and entitled to protection under Trademarks Act, 1999.