SC transfers Ilaiyaraaja’s copyright suit against Sony Music

The Supreme Court on Monday transferred a copyright suit filed by music composer Ilaiyaraaja from the Madras High Court to the Bombay High Court. A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Vinod K Chandran allowed a petition by Sony Music Entertainment India Pvt Ltd for the transfer of the suit filed by Ilaiyaraaja last year in the Madras High Court.

During the hearing, senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Sony Music, argued that since the suit before the Bombay High Court had been filed earlier, the later proceedings in the Madras High Court should be transferred to avoid the possibility of conflicting decisions by the two high courts on the same dispute.

However, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Ilaiyaraaja, opposed the contention and questioned the jurisdiction of the Bombay High Court. He submitted that the agreements between the parties contained jurisdiction clauses providing that disputes would fall within the jurisdiction of courts in Madras.

Sibal further contended that the composer was not using the sound recordings in question but only performing his own musical compositions, and alleged that the proceedings initiated by Sony Music were not correct.

During the hearing, Justice Kumar observed that Ilaiyaraaja had not sought any relief against the institution of the suit before the Bombay High Court and suggested that the matter be transferred there. 

The bench then allowed the transfer petition of Sony Music as Sibal sought liberty to raise all objections, including those relating to jurisdiction, before the Bombay High Court. The top court recorded that all issues in the dispute, including the question of jurisdiction, would remain open for consideration by the Bombay High Court. Sony Music had earlier filed a copyright infringement suit before the Bombay High Court on January 13, 2022, for a permanent injunction to restrain the music composer from infringing its alleged copyrights in certain sound recordings and related literary and musical works.

Subsequently, Ilaiyaraaja approached the Madras High Court with a similar suit against Sony Music, Echo Recording Company Pvt Ltd and Oriental Records, seeking to restrain them from exploiting his sound recordings and musical works. He also challenged the claim of Sony Music’s ownership and rights over the song recordings.

Last year, Ilaiyaraaja Music N Management Pvt Ltd had approached the top court for transfer of Sony Music’s copyright infringement suit from the Bombay High Court to the Madras High Court. However, the apex court had dismissed that plea.