Super Cassettes Industries Pvt. Ltd. and Ors. V. Trimurti Films Pvt. Ltd and Ors.

Courts have settled on requisite mechanisms under copyright infringements in the current digital marketing scenario for securing the rights of the original makers in accordance with the public policy. Even after such well-established and stringent frameworks, trivial matters keep occurring in the court of law. The Division Bench in Super Cassettes Industries Pvt. Ltd. and Ors. Vs. Trimurti Films Pvt. Ltd. and Ors. upheld the judgment given by the Single Bench of Bombay High Court to restrain the appellant to release the film “Badshaaho” due to its infringing song “Keh Doon Tumhe”. The appellants had procured the right to use the sound recording from the respondent. The appellant was of the belief that when the sound recording rights are obtained, the arrangement in that regard would subsume the original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work. The court observed that the appellants had only the sound recording rights as per the agreement and not literary and musical rights. This case is important as it re-iterated that sound recording, literary and musical works are different works entitled to separate copyright protection, selling the rights in sound recording do not include rights in literary or musical works