The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to interfere with a Delhi High Court ruling that music composer Ilaiyaraaja did not hold copyright over the lyrics and sound recording of the popular song En Iniya Pon Nilave from the Tamil film Moodu Pani.
A Bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice K Vinod Chandran declined to entertain Ilaiyaraaja’s appeal against the Delhi High Court’s May 26 order in Ilaiyaraaja v. Saregama.
The dispute arose after Vels Film International used a recreated version of En Iniya Pon Nilave in its film Aghathiyaa. Vels claimed that it had obtained a licence from Ilaiyaraaja for using the song.
Music label Saregama, however, objected to the use, asserting that it owned the relevant rights pursuant to an assignment from the original producer of Moodu Pani.
The Delhi High Court had held that Ilaiyaraaja retained copyright only in the musical component or tune of the song and not in its lyrics or sound recording.
A Single Judge had earlier ruled on the issue, and the finding was subsequently upheld by a Division Bench of the High Court on May 21.
Ilaiyaraaja thereafter filed a review petition challenging the correctness of the Division Bench judgment.
The High Court dismissed the review petition on May 26, prompting Ilaiyaraaja to approach the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court has now declined to interfere with the High Court’s ruling, leaving intact the finding concerning the scope of Ilaiyaraaja’s copyright in En Iniya Pon Nilave.
En Iniya Pon Nilave is a song from the 1980 Tamil film Moodu Pani, for which Ilaiyaraaja composed the music. The copyright dispute arose decades later when a recreated version of the song was used in Aghathiyaa.
At the heart of the dispute was the question of whether Ilaiyaraaja, as the composer, could authorise the use of the lyrics and original sound recording, or whether those rights had been assigned to Saregama by the film’s original producer. The Delhi High Court distinguished the composer’s rights in the musical work from the rights in the lyrics and sound recording, leading to the present challenge before the Supreme Court.
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