The Supreme Court of India has dismissed a petition filed by legendary music composer Ilaiyaraaja. His company, Ilaiyaraaja Music N Management Pvt Ltd (IMMPL), had asked for a copyright case filed by Sony Music Entertainment India in the Bombay High Court to be transferred to the Madras High Court.
The case involves rights to 536 of Ilaiyaraaja’s songs. Sony claims it bought the rights from Oriental Records and Echo Recording Company. Sony says Ilaiyaraaja’s company used these songs without permission and has filed a case in Bombay.
Ilaiyaraaja’s company said that a similar case is already going on in the Madras High Court since 2014, involving 310 of the same songs. They argued that having two cases in two different courts on the same songs could cause confusion and give conflicting judgments.
The Supreme Court, however, said that Sony filed the case in Bombay first, and that case will continue there. The court rejected the request to transfer it to Chennai.
The copyright issue now continues in both courts — with the Bombay High Court looking into Sony’s case and the Madras High Court handling Ilaiyaraaja’s case against Echo.
This legal battle is about who has the right to use Ilaiyaraaja’s famous songs — the music composer himself, or the companies that claim to have bought the rights.