Case Note & Summary
The Bombay High Court was seized of a batch of commercial IP suits filed by Novex Communications Pvt Ltd and Phonographic Performance Ltd seeking perpetual injunctions against various defendants for publicly performing or communicating sound recordings without obtaining licences. The plaintiffs claimed ownership of sound recordings by virtue of assignments. The defendants raised a preliminary objection that the plaintiffs could not carry on the business of issuing licences without being registered as a Copyright Society under Section 33(1) of the Copyright Act, 1957. The court, per R.I. Chagla J, heard submissions on this preliminary issue. Mr. Darius Khambata, senior counsel for Novex, submitted that copyright is an exclusive right under Section 14, and ownership can be acquired by the author as first owner under Section 17, by employment, by assignment under Sections 18 and 19, or by testamentary disposition under Section 20. He argued that an assignee is as much an owner as any other, and the plaintiffs should not be termed mere aggregators. Mr. Ravi Kadam, senior counsel for PPL, supported these submissions. The matter was reserved on 10 November 2023 and pronounced on 24 January 2024. The provided excerpt does not include the court's final decision or further reasoning.
Headnote
A) Copyright Law - Licensing by Copyright Owners - Section 33(1) Copyright Act, 1957 - The preliminary issue was whether plaintiffs, as assignees of sound recording rights, could issue licences without registration as a Copyright Society; plaintiffs contended they were full owners by assignment under Sections 17-20 and not mere aggregators (Paras 1-6).
Issue of Consideration
Whether PPL and Novex are entitled to seek reliefs without being registered as a Copyright Society under Section 33(1) of the Copyright Act, 1957.
Law Points
- Copyright is an exclusive right under Section 14
- Ownership of copyright can be acquired by author under Section 17
- assignment under Sections 18-19
- testamentary disposition under Section 20
- assignee is full owner
- Copyright Society registration may be required for issuing licenses under Section 33(1)
Case Details
2024 LawText (BOM) (01) 144
Commercial IP Suit No. 264 of 2022 along with Commercial IP Suit No. 363 of 2019 and other connected matters
Mr. Darius Khambata, Sr. Adv., Mr. Ravi Kadam, Sr. Advocate, Mr. Sameer Pandit, Ms. Sarrah Khambati, Mr. Mihir Govande, Dr. Virendra Tulzapurkar, Sr. Adv., Mr. Hiren Kamod, Mr. Rashmin Khandekar
Novex Communications Pvt Ltd and Phonographic Performance Ltd
Trade Wings Hotels Limited and others (multiple defendants across connected suits)
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Nature of Litigation
Copyright infringement suits seeking perpetual injunction against defendants from publicly performing or communicating sound recordings without licenses.
Remedy Sought
Plaintiffs sought perpetual injunction restraining defendants from publicly performing or communicating assigned sound recordings without obtaining licenses from them.
Filing Reason
Defendants allegedly performed or communicated sound recordings without obtaining licenses; plaintiffs claimed ownership via assignment and sought to enforce licensing.
Issues
Whether PPL and Novex are entitled to seek reliefs without being registered as a Copyright Society under Section 33(1) of the Copyright Act, 1957.
Submissions/Arguments
Defendants raised preliminary issue that plaintiffs cannot carry on business of issuing licenses without being registered as a Copyright Society under Section 33(1).
Mr. Darius Khambata for Novex submitted that copyright is an exclusive right under Section 14, and ownership can be acquired by the author as first owner under Section 17, by employment, by assignment under Sections 18 and 19, or by testamentary disposition under Section 20; an assignee is as much an owner as any other, and plaintiffs are not mere aggregators.
Judgment Excerpts
A preliminary issue has been raised by the Defendants in the above suits namely that Novex and PPL cannot carry on the business of issuing licenses without being registered as a Copyright Society under Section 33(1) of the Copyright Act, 1957
Thus the issue which falls for determination prior to going into merits of each of the above suits, is whether PPL and Novex in the above suits are entitled to seek reliefs as sought for in the plaint without being registered as a Copyright Society under Section 33 (1) of the Act.
Mr. Khambata has submitted that the aforementioned categories confer full and absolute ownership on the author/owner/assignee, as the case may be. Thus, the owner of the copyright could be an assignee. All the incidents of rights that are available to an owner are also available to an assignee.
Procedural History
Plaintiffs filed suits seeking perpetual injunction against defendants for public performance or communication of sound recordings without licenses. Defendants raised preliminary objection that plaintiffs cannot issue licenses without Copyright Society registration under Section 33(1) of the Copyright Act, 1957. The matter was heard by R.I. Chagla J., reserved on 10 November 2023, and pronounced on 24 January 2024.
Acts & Sections
- Copyright Act, 1957: 33(1), 14, 17, 18, 19, 20
