The Supreme Court of India has transferred Ilaiyaraaja’s copyright suit from the Madras High Court to the Bombay High Court in the ongoing dispute with Sony Music Entertainment India.
The Court said the dispute should be heard in Bombay since the original copyright case was already pending there.
The Supreme Court on Monday allowed a transfer petition filed by Sony Music Entertainment India in a copyright dispute involving legendary music composer Ilaiyaraaja’s company, Ilaiyaraaja Music N Management Pvt Ltd. The Court agreed to transfer the copyright suit filed in the Madras High Court to the Bombay High Court, as a related matter was already pending there.
As per the latest update, the Supreme Court was hearing a plea filed by Sony Entertainment seeking transfer of the case from the Madras High Court to the Bombay High Court. The matter was heard by a bench comprising Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice Vinod K Chandran.
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During the hearing, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Sony, submitted that since a prior suit had already been filed before the Bombay High Court, the present suit should also be transferred there to avoid multiple proceedings in different courts. On the other hand, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Ilaiyaraaja’s firm, objected to the jurisdiction of the Bombay High Court.
The Supreme Court noted that the respondents had not sought any relief against the institution of the suit before the Bombay High Court earlier. Justice Kumar suggested that the suit be transferred to Bombay in view of the prior proceedings already pending there.
Accordingly, the Court allowed Sony’s transfer petition and ordered that the copyright suit filed before the Madras High Court be transferred to the Bombay High Court.
The dispute between the parties relates to rights over a large number of musical works composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The legal battle dates back to 2022 when Sony Music Entertainment India filed a lawsuit before the Bombay High Court seeking an injunction to restrain Ilaiyaraaja Music N Management Pvt Ltd from using 536 musical works.
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Sony claimed that it had acquired the rights to these works through Oriental Records and Echo Recording, entities that were previously associated with Ilaiyaraaja and have been involved in long-standing litigation with the composer.
Earlier, Ilaiyaraaja had approached the Supreme Court seeking transfer of the copyright dispute from the Bombay High Court to the Madras High Court. However, on July 28 last year, the Supreme Court dismissed the composer’s plea and allowed the matter to continue before the Bombay High Court.
The Court had then observed that the dispute involved rights that the company claimed to have legitimately purchased and noted that Ilaiyaraaja’s firm appeared to be attempting to relitigate issues that were already being considered in Bombay.
With the latest order, the Supreme Court has now ensured that both related copyright disputes between the parties will be heard by the Bombay High Court, thereby avoiding parallel proceedings and conflicting decisions.
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Ilaiyaraaja is one of India’s most celebrated music composers, having composed over 7000 songs for more than 1000 films and performed over 20,000 concerts worldwide in a career spanning more than five decades. The outcome of this copyright dispute is expected to have significant implications for music rights, ownership disputes, and copyright litigation in the Indian music industry.
This case is important from a legal perspective because it deals with copyright ownership, assignment of music rights, and jurisdiction of courts in intellectual property disputes. The Supreme Court’s decision to transfer the case also highlights the importance of avoiding multiple cases in different High Courts on the same issue, which can lead to conflicting judgments and unnecessary delays.
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