Delhi High Court: In a case wherein the suit was filed by Super Cassettes Industries (P) Ltd. in respect of exploitation of the audio-visual songs from fourteen movies by Goldmines Telefilms (P) Ltd., Prathiba M. Singh, J., opined that considering the nature of the disputes raised, in the meantime, the defendant should not upload any further additional audio or audio-visual works from the suit films, apart from those which had already been uploaded on YouTube, till the next date of hearing.
The present suit was filed by the plaintiff, Super Cassettes Industries (P) Ltd. against the defendant Goldmines Telefilms (P) Ltd. seeking a permanent injunction restraining infringement of copyright, tortious interference, damages, etc. qua plaintiff’s sound recordings, cinematograph films (to the extent they cover audiovisual songs), inter alia musical works embodied in the sound recordings and audiovisual songs. The suit had been filed in respect of exploitation of the audio-visual songs from the movies (‘suit films’), namely, (a) Diljale; (b) Main Aisa Hi Hoon; (c) Vaastav; (d) Bees Saal Baad; (e) Ek Chaddar Maili Si; (f) Guru; (g) Hisaab Khoon Ka; (h) Jungbaaz; (i) Pati Patni Aur Tawaif; (j) Pyaar Ka Mandir; (k) Tahakla; (l) Muddat; (m) Indaniyat ke dushman; and (n) Oonche Log.
The plaintiff claimed to be one of India’s leading music production companies, owning copyrights to a vast collection of songs The plaintiff’s grievance was against the defendant which had uploaded YouTube videos of audio-visual songs from the suit films. The plaintiff contended that it had acquired and owned prior assignment deeds in respect of audio-visual works, including the literary, artistic, dramatic, and musical works, and the cinematograph films for the songs, and the defendant did not have rights to authorize the uploading of these songs from the suit films on YouTube.
The plaintiff submitted that it noticed various instances of infringement in the past, and complaints were lodged on YouTube, pursuant to which some videos were blocked. However, several videos continued to remain accessible on YouTube. It was further submitted that a legal notice dated 20-06-2023 was issued to the defendant, asking the defendant to cease from infringing the plaintiff’s copyright works in the suit films, but the defendant refused to comply with the plaintiff’s requisitions. Hence, the plaintiff filed the present suit. The defendants submitted that the defendant also obtained assignments of rights in these cinematograph films from the producers of the suit films or parties linked to them. Thus, the defendant claimed that it was entitled to exploit the said audio-visual songs as well. It was further submitted that while the defendant enjoyed rights which could be traced back to the producer, the agreements of the plaintiff did not trace back to the actual producer.
The Court noted that issues for consideration before it were:
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Whether the plaintiff holds exclusive rights in the audiovisual songs of the suit films, and if so, to what extent?
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Whether the defendant had the right to exploit the audio-visual songs which were a part of cinematograph films, independently, on YouTube and other platforms?
The Court opined that these were issues that would require the Court to analyze each of the assignment deeds qua each of the suit films for both sides, and then pass appropriate orders.
The Court further opined that considering the nature of the disputes raised, in the meantime, the defendant should not upload any further additional audio or audio-visual works from the suit films, apart from those which had already been uploaded on YouTube, till the next date of hearing. The current status quo should be maintained till the injunction application was decided by this Court.
The matter would next be listed on 11-09-2023.
[Super Cassettes Industries (P) Ltd. v. Goldmines Telefilms (P) Ltd., 2023 SCC OnLine Del 4777, Order dated 01-08-2023]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
For the Plaintiff: Amit Sibal, Geetanjali Visvanathan, Harsh Kaushik, Abhilasha Nautiyal, Mukul Kochhar, Shivansh Tiwari, Rishabh Sharma, Darpan Sachdev, Saksham, Advocates;
For the Defendant: Sandeep Sethi, Senior Advocate; Aurup Dasgupta, Rohan Thawani, Aakriti Vikas, Advocates.
