Supreme Court to hear plea of music composer Ilaiyaraaja on July 18
The plea was listed on Monday before a bench comprising Justices K. Vinod Chandran and N.V. Anjaria.
The legal case started from a lawsuit initiated by Sony Music Entertainment India in 2022 before the Bombay High Court. Sony has sought an injunction to restrain Ilaiyaraaja Music N Management Pvt Ltd (IMMPL) from using 536 musical works.
The company claims it acquired rights to these works through Oriental Records and Echo Recording, the entity with which Ilaiyaraaja has long been embroiled in litigation.
The IMMPL, however, alleged that 310 of the 536 disputed works are already under judicial scrutiny in a parallel case before the Madras High Court. That case, originally filed by Ilaiyaraaja in 2014 against Echo Recording, challenges the latter's claim over his compositions and seeks recognition of the composer's moral and economic rights under the Copyright Act.
The 2014 Madras suit led to a significant 2019 judgment, which upheld Ilaiyaraaja's moral and special rights as a composer.
Ilaiyaraaja is one of India's most prolific composers with over 7,500 songs across 1,500 films.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
10 hours ago
- Hans India
SC rejects music mastero Ilaiyaraaja's plea to shift copyright suit from Bombay to Madras HC
The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition filed by renowned music composer Ilaiyaraaja's company seeking to transfer a copyright dispute involving over 500 of his musical works from the Bombay High Court to the Madras High Court. The plea was filed by Ilaiyaraaja Music N Management Pvt Ltd (IMMPL), which is facing a civil suit initiated by Sony Music Entertainment India Pvt Ltd in the Bombay High Court in 2022. A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai and Justices Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria heard the matter and declined to grant the transfer, allowing the case to continue in Mumbai. At the core of the dispute is the copyright ownership of 536 musical works composed by Ilaiyaraaja, one of India's most celebrated music directors, whose body of work spans more than 7,500 songs across 1,500 films. Sony Music has claimed rights over these compositions through a chain of assignments -- first from Echo Recording Company, then to Oriental Records, and eventually to Sony. Ilaiyaraaja's company, IMMPL, had approached the Supreme Court arguing that 310 out of the 536 works are already the subject of proceedings before the Madras High Court, stemming from a suit filed in 2014 by Ilaiyaraaja against Echo Recording. In that suit, Ilaiyaraaja had challenged Echo's copyright claims and asserted his own moral and economic rights under the Copyright Act. The Madras High Court had granted interim relief in 2015 and, in a 2019 judgment, ruled that while Echo retained rights over the sound recordings, Ilaiyaraaja continued to hold special and moral rights over the musical compositions. It also noted that a 2007 assignment made by Ilaiyaraaja's late wife to Agi Music had expired in 2012. Following the 2019 ruling, Echo transferred its catalogue to Oriental Records, which subsequently entered into a rights agreement with Sony Music. Based on this acquisition, Sony filed the suit in Bombay in January 2022, seeking to restrain IMMPL from using the 536 works. IMMPL argued that the Bombay proceedings were largely duplicative of the pending case in Madras and warned of the potential for conflicting judgments. It also pointed out that the Madras proceedings were at an advanced stage, while the Bombay case was still in its early phase. Further, IMMPL stated that it operates solely out of Chennai and has no business presence in Mumbai. Despite these submissions, the Supreme Court declined to interfere and dismissed the transfer petition, paving the way for the Bombay High Court to proceed with the case.
New Indian Express
16 hours ago
- New Indian Express
SC rejects Ilaiyaraaja's plea for transfer of copyright case from Bombay HC to Madras HC
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea of legendary music composer Ilaiyaraaja seeking to transfer a copyright dispute involving over 500 of his musical compositions from the Bombay High Court to the Madras High Court. A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria did not agree to the submissions of senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the musician, that the case be transferred to the Madras High Court. At the outset, the counsel for Sony Music Entertainment told the bench that the case by the firm was filed in the Bombay High Court when no case was pending in the Madras High Court. The plea is dismissed, the bench said. The legal case started from a lawsuit initiated by Sony Music Entertainment India in 2022 before the Bombay High Court. Sony has sought an injunction to restrain Ilaiyaraaja Music N Management Pvt Ltd (IMMPL) from using 536 musical works. The company claims it acquired the rights to these works through Oriental Records and Echo Recording, the entity with which Ilaiyaraaja has long been embroiled in litigation. The IMMPL, however, alleged that 310 of the 536 disputed works are already under judicial scrutiny in a parallel case before the Madras High Court. That case, originally filed by Ilaiyaraaja in 2014 against Echo Recording, challenges the latter's claim over his compositions and seeks recognition of the composer's moral and economic rights under the Copyright Act. The 2014 Madras suit led to a significant 2019 judgment, which upheld Ilaiyaraaja's moral and special rights as a composer. Ilaiyaraaja is one of India's most prolific composers with over 7,500 songs across 1,500 films.
The Hindu
17 hours ago
- The Hindu
Supreme Court rejects Ilaiyaraaja's plea for transfer of copyright case from Bombay HC to Madras HC
The Supreme Court on Monday (July 28, 2025) dismissed a plea of legendary music composer Ilaiyaraaja seeking to transfer a copyright dispute involving over 500 of his musical compositions from the Bombay High Court to the Madras High Court. A bench comprising Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and N.V. Anjaria did not agree to the submissions of senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the musician, that the case be transferred to the Madras High Court. At the outset, the counsel for Sony Music Entertainment told the Bench that the case by the firm was filed in the Bombay High Court when no case was pending in the Madras High Court. The plea is dismissed, the bench said. The legal case started from a lawsuit initiated by Sony Music Entertainment India in 2022 before the Bombay High Court. Sony has sought an injunction to restrain Ilaiyaraaja Music N Management Pvt Ltd (IMMPL) from using 536 musical works. The company claims it acquired the rights to these works through Oriental Records and Echo Recording, the entity with which Ilaiyaraaja has long been embroiled in litigation. The IMMPL, however, alleged that 310 of the 536 disputed works are already under judicial scrutiny in a parallel case before the Madras High Court. That case, originally filed by Ilaiyaraaja in 2014 against Echo Recording, challenges the latter's claim over his compositions and seeks recognition of the composer's moral and economic rights under the Copyright Act. The 2014 Madras suit led to a significant 2019 judgment, which upheld Ilaiyaraaja's moral and special rights as a composer. Ilaiyaraaja is one of India's most prolific composers with over 7,500 songs across 1,500 films.
