Case Note & Summary
The matter arises from a copyright dispute over the iconic Hindi film 'Zanjeer' (1973). Plaintiffs Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, acclaimed writers, claim authorship and ownership of the story, screenplay, and dialogues of the original film. They assert that they conceived and wrote the literary works prior to being approached by the late film producer and director Prakash Mehra, who produced the film under his banner Prakash Mehra Productions. According to the plaintiffs, they granted only a one-time permission to make the 1973 film and retained all other rights, including the right to remake the story in any language, as there was no written assignment of copyright. They point to their contemporaneous grant of remake rights in South Indian languages to a Tamil producer in 1973, which resulted in the film 'Sirithu Vazha Vendum', as evidence of their retained rights. In April 2012, the plaintiffs learned through press releases that Prakash Mehra's sons and legal heirs (defendant nos. 1-3) had authorized defendant no. 4, Adai Mehra Productions Pvt. Ltd., to produce a remake in Hindi and Telugu. The plaintiffs claimed they informed defendant no. 3 in a meeting that a license was required, which he allegedly agreed to seek. Subsequently, the plaintiffs' advocates sent a notice dated 16 April 2012 asserting their copyright and demanding licensing. Defendants' advocates replied on 15 May 2012 and 6 June 2012, denying the plaintiffs' rights and asserting that all intellectual property rights in the film 'Zanjeer' vest with the producer and, after his death, with his legal heirs. In January 2013, the plaintiffs filed a complaint with the Film Writers' Association (FWA), which then referred the matter to the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE). While the matter was pending, defendant no. 4 filed Suit (L) No. 179 of 2013 against the plaintiffs seeking to restrain them from claiming rights in the story. In response, the plaintiffs filed the present Suit (L) No. 283 of 2013 along with the Notice of Motion (L) No. 768 of 2013, seeking a permanent injunction and interim relief to prevent the defendants from exhibiting, releasing, or proceeding with the remake film 'Zanjeer' in Hindi and Telugu. The plaintiffs contended that the story, screenplay, and dialogues are original literary works within the meaning of the Copyright Act, 1957, and that as joint authors, they hold copyright therein under Sections 2(d) and 2(f). They argued that under Sections 17 and 13(1)(a), the author of a literary work is the first owner of copyright, and any assignment must be in writing as per Sections 18 and 19. They maintained that the producer's rights were confined to the cinematograph film of 1973 and did not extend to the underlying literary works. The defendants opposed the motion, asserting the producer's rights. The Bombay High Court, single bench of Justice S.J. Kathawalla, heard the Notice of Motion and reserved judgment on 14 August 2013, delivering it on 2 September 2013. The provided excerpt of the judgment ends abruptly at paragraph 12, without recording the court's analysis, findings, or final decision on the interim application. Therefore, the ratio decidendi, specific holding, and operative directions are not available in the given text.
Issue of Consideration
Whether the plaintiffs, as authors of the story, screenplay and dialogues of the 1973 film 'Zanjeer', hold copyright in the literary works independent of the cinematograph film, and whether the defendants' remake in Hindi and Telugu infringes their rights under the Copyright Act, 1957, particularly in the absence of a written assignment under Sections 18 and 19.
Case Details
2013 LawText (BOM) (09) 55
Notice of Motion (L) No. 768 of 2013 in Suit (L) No. 283 of 2013
For Plaintiffs: Mr. Ravi Kadam, Mr. V.R. Dhond, Mr. Chirag Mody, Ms. Pooja Kshirsagar, Mr. Ashok Purohit, Ms. Shalaka Mali, Ms. Ketki Kulkarni; For Defendant Nos. 1 and 2: Mr. D.D. Madon, Mr. Rajiv Kumar, Ms. Snehalata Paranjape, Ms. Sneha Phene, Mr. J.P. Kapadia, Mr. Fozan Lakdavala, Mr. Sajid Ali; For Defendant Nos. 3 and 4: Dr. Veerendra V. Tulzapurkar, Mr. Ameet Naik; For Defendant No. 5: Mr. Janak Dwarkadas, Mr. Ankit Lohia, Ms. Gowree Gokhale; For Defendant No.6: Mr. D.J. Khambata, Mr. S. Iyer
Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar
Sumeet Prakash Mehra, Puneet Prakash Mehra, and others
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Nature of Litigation
Civil suit for permanent injunction restraining copyright infringement by the remake film 'Zanjeer' in Hindi and Telugu languages, based on the plaintiffs' claimed ownership of the literary works (story, screenplay, dialogues) underlying the original 1973 film.
Remedy Sought
Plaintiffs sought a permanent mandatory injunction and interim injunction from exhibiting, releasing, displaying, or communicating to the public the remake film 'Zanjeer' and its trailers, and from proceeding with any production work related to the remake.
Filing Reason
Plaintiffs learned in April 2012 that defendant nos. 1-3, as legal heirs of producer Prakash Mehra, had authorized defendant no. 4 to produce a remake without obtaining a license or consent from them as authors of the literary works. They claimed copyright ownership was never assigned to the producer.
Issues
Whether the plaintiffs, as authors of the story, screenplay and dialogues of the 1973 film 'Zanjeer', retain copyright in the literary works independent of the cinematograph film, and whether the defendants' remake in Hindi and Telugu without their consent constitutes infringement of copyright.
Submissions/Arguments
Plaintiffs argued they are the original authors and joint owners of the literary works; the works were created prior to and independently of the producer's involvement; only a one-time permission was granted to make the 1973 film; there was no written assignment of copyright; under Sections 18 and 19 of the Copyright Act, an assignment of copyright must be in writing; therefore, remake rights remained with the plaintiffs; the defendants' remake without license infringes their rights; the fact of licensing remake rights to a Tamil producer in 1973 demonstrates the plaintiffs' continuous assertion of rights.
Judgment Excerpts
The Plaintiffs are the authors and owners of the story, script, dialogues and screenplay of the film titled 'Zanjeer', exhibited and released in 1973. This constitutes and embodies a literary work within the meaning of the Copyright Act, 1957.
All the rights including the right to make (remake) a cinematographic film based on the literary work, in any language in the absence of any assignment under Sections 18 and 19 of the Act continues to remain with the Plaintiffs and no remake film can be made based on the said literary work by the Defendants, without the written consent of the Plaintiffs.
According to the Plaintiffs, Shri Prakash Mehra was granted one time permission to make the said film as per the literary work. All other rights in the literary work were retained by the Plaintiffs.
Procedural History
Plaintiffs filed Suit (L) No. 283 of 2013 along with Notice of Motion (L) No. 768 of 2013 seeking interim injunction against the defendants' remake film. Prior to filing, the plaintiffs' advocates sent a notice dated 16 April 2012 to defendant no. 3 and Prakash Mehra Productions, asserting copyright and demanding license. Defendants replied on 15 May 2012 requesting documents and on 6 June 2012 denying the plaintiffs' rights and asserting that all intellectual property rights vest with the producer's legal heirs. On 9 January 2013, plaintiffs filed a complaint with the Film Writers' Association (FWA), which referred the matter to the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE). On 1 March 2013, defendant no. 4 filed Suit (L) No. 179 of 2013 with Notice of Motion (L) No. 474 of 2013 seeking to restrain the plaintiffs from claiming rights in the story. The present notice of motion was heard and judgment reserved on 14 August 2013, pronounced on 2 September 2013.
Acts & Sections
- Copyright Act, 1957: Sections 2(d), 2(f), 13, 14, 17, 18, 19
- Companies Act, 1956:
