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Synopsis

In a notable development concerning the dispute between Tamil music legend Ilaiyaraaja and the private recording company, Echo Recording Studio, the Madras High Court said on Wednesday that Ilaiyaraaja cannot claim sole ownership of songs as lyrics play a vital part in them.

The bench of Justices Mahadevan and Muhammad Sadiq said that Ilaiyaraaja's claim to exclusive ownership of songs cannot stand alone and all commercial agreements entered into by him with music streaming platforms will hinge upon the outcome of the appeal filed by Echo Recording Studio regarding song ownership.

The division bench is seized with an appeal preferred by Echo, which claimed the ownership of 4500 songs composed by the composer.

The appeal challenges a single-judge order affirming Ilaiyaraja's special and moral rights over his musical compositions under Section 57 of the Copyright Act. According to the single judge bench ruling, Ilaiyaraja could claim authorship and undertake measures to uphold the integrity of his work.

However, while adjudicating upon the issue, the division bench emphasized that a song comprises various elements such as the singer's voice, among others, indicating that the composer cannot assert absolute ownership over it.

In appeal, Echo's argument is that the rights to the songs belong to the film producer since they employ the composer and provide compensation for the work. Therefore, Echo contends that in the present matter, Ilaiyaraaja, being a composer, only holds rights over the melody of the song.

Contrarily, Ilaiyaraaja's claim is that the song's ownership extends to anyone who conceives the melody.

Till now, the high court has observed that while the composer owns the melody rights, exclusive ownership of the entire composition cannot be claimed.

The next hearing is scheduled for the second week of June.

Case Title: M/s Echo Recording Company Pvt Ltd v Ilaiyaraja and Others