The Supreme Court on Monday postponed to July 18 the hearing on a plea filed by legendary music composer Ilaiyaraaja seeking transfer of a copyright dispute from the Bombay High Court to the Madras High Court.
The matter came up before a bench of Justices K Vinod Chandran and N V Anjaria, but was deferred without detailed hearing.
The dispute originates from a 2022 lawsuit filed by Sony Music Entertainment India in the Bombay High Court, wherein the company sought an injunction against Ilaiyaraaja Music N Management Pvt Ltd (IMMPL), restraining it from using 536 musical works. Sony claims to have acquired rights over these compositions through Oriental Records and Echo Recording — companies long engaged in copyright litigation with Ilaiyaraaja.
However, IMMPL contends that 310 of these 536 compositions are already the subject of a pending suit before the Madras High Court, which Ilaiyaraaja himself filed in 2014. That earlier case challenges Echo Recording’s ownership claims and seeks recognition of Ilaiyaraaja’s moral and economic rights under the Copyright Act.
The Madras High Court, in a 2019 judgment, upheld Ilaiyaraaja’s special and moral rights as a composer — a landmark decision in Indian copyright jurisprudence.
Ilaiyaraaja, one of India’s most celebrated music composers, has composed over 7,500 songs for more than 1,500 films.
