Song copyright owner’s nod enough, says HC

Radio stations, restaurants and event organisers, who have acquired licences from film copyright owners to play music, need not get separate authorisation from lyricists or composers of those tracks, the Delhi high court has ruled.

Radio stations, restaurants and event organisers, who have acquired licences from film copyright owners to play music, need not get separate authorisation from lyricists or composers of those tracks, the Delhi high court has ruled.

The court held that if an author or composer of a musical work authorises a producer to include it in a movie soundtrack, he cannot subsequently complain of copyright infringement if the latter plays it in public or licenses other agencies to do the same.

HT Image

The court, however, maintained that musical or literary works cannot be otherwise performed in public without gaining due authorisation from the lyricist and composer.

The bench was hearing an appeal by the Indian Performing Right Society (IPRS), a

group of lyricists, composers and other publishers of music that issues licences to users of music and collects royalties from them.

The society had challenged a single-judge bench order passed last year, whereby the court had refused their petition for rights independent from that of the producers.