Ilaiyaraaja's Copyright Battle: Supreme Court Hearing Postponed to July

Supreme Court Delays Hearing on Ilaiyaraaja's Copyright Case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has postponed the hearing regarding a copyright dispute involving renowned music composer Ilaiyaraaja to July 18. This case concerns the transfer of over 500 of his musical works from the Bombay High Court to the Madras High Court.

The matter was brought before a bench led by Justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria on Monday.

The legal proceedings began when Sony Music Entertainment India filed a lawsuit in 2022 at the Bombay High Court, seeking an injunction to prevent Ilaiyaraaja Music N Management Pvt Ltd (IMMPL) from utilizing 536 of his musical compositions.

Sony claims it obtained rights to these works through Oriental Records and Echo Recording, with which Ilaiyaraaja has been in a long-standing legal dispute.

IMMPL contends that 310 of the 536 contested works are already under examination in a separate case at the Madras High Court. This case was initiated by Ilaiyaraaja in 2014 against Echo Recording, challenging their claim over his compositions and asserting his moral and economic rights under the Copyright Act.

The 2014 lawsuit in Madras resulted in a landmark judgment in 2019, affirming Ilaiyaraaja's moral and special rights as a composer.

Ilaiyaraaja is celebrated as one of India's most prolific composers, having created over 7,500 songs for approximately 1,500 films.