CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has held AVM Film Studios at Vadapalani here as the absolute owner of the entire world negative rights and copyright of the Tamil feature film ‘Karpagam’, in which veteran actors like Gemini Ganesan, Savithri and K R Vijaya had acted.
Justice M Sundar, who made the declaration while allowing a civil suit from AVM Film Studios on March 19 last, also restrained K S Sabarinathan, the proprietor of Amarjyothi Movies at Virugambakkam, producer of the film and three others from interfering with or infringing the rights of AVM Film Studios on the film in any manner.
The film, directed by K S Gopalakrishnan, was released on Deepavali day in 1963.
The trigger for the suit is a notice dated February 4, 2013, of Sabarinathan, who contended that the rights in the suit film had been given to AVM Limited at Vadapalani for a period commencing from August 14, 1964, to August 13, 2013.
On this basis, the notice called upon AVM Limited and AVM Film Studios to transfer and entrust the sound and picture negatives of the suit film to a lab other than AVM Lab, so that Sabarinathan can exploit the film.
AVM Film Studios sent a reply dated March 11, 2013, claiming that it is the absolute owner of world negative rights and all other rights of the film for 99 years up to October 31, 2062. Sabarinathan disputed this in his rejoinder notice dated March 18. The present suit was filed on December 16, 2013.