The Madras High Court recently passed a strong judgment regarding the rights dispute over film songs between a private recording company, Echo, and renowned music composer Ilaiyaraaja. The High Court bench, which consisted of Justice Mahadevan and Justice Muhammad Sadiq, asserted that Ilaiyaraaja cannot claim sole ownership of songs as lyrics play an important role in them.
The bench stated that there are no songs without lyrics, and several factors contribute to a song, including the voice of the singer. Hence, Ilaiyaraaja cannot claim to own the song completely.
The court was hearing an appeal filed by music company Echo regarding the copyright of around 4500 songs composed by Ilaiyaraaja. Reportedly, Echo had purchased the copyright of the songs composed by Ilaiyaraaja from the filmmakers. The petition was filed by the company to contest a previous single judge’s decision that granted special sole ownership of the songs to Ilaiyaraaja.
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Post that, Echo filed an appeal against the High Court single bench verdict, and argued how once the producer appoints a music director to compose music for a film’s songs, the producer too gets the rights to the songs. Hence, Echo bought the rights to the songs from the filmmakers. Echo also further asserted that the composer, in this case Ilaiyaraaja, has rights over the melody of the song only.
On the other hand, Ilaiyaraaja’s lawyers claimed that he had sole ownership of the 4500 songs which has led to a legal dispute. His side claimed that the song is owned by anyone who comes up with the melody.
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Hearing both sides, the court passed the judgment that the rights over the melody certainly are with the composer, but the person can’t claim the whole rights. The court further added any financial transactions regarding the songs would be the subject of the appeal. The court will further hear the petition in detail in the next hearing scheduled for the second week of June.
Nonetheless, Ilaiyaraaja is the first South Asian to compose a full symphony. He has composed over 7,000 songs, along with film scores for over 1,000 films. He is often referred to as ‘Maestro,’ the title conferred by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London.
