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The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought a response from Ilaiyaraaja Music N Management Pvt Ltd (IMMA) on a plea by Sony Music Entertainment to transfer a fresh copyright dispute to the Bombay High Court, after the music composer’s firm filed a new case in the Madras High Court.
The bench, comprising Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran, noted submissions by senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Sony Music, that IMMA had initiated a fresh lawsuit following the top court’s dismissal of a similar matter earlier.
According to a PTI report, the Supreme Court was informed that Sony Music had purchased rights to over 500 of Ilaiyaraaja’s musical compositions and that the fresh litigation in Madras appeared to be an attempt to re-litigate issues already addressed in Bombay. “He is a music composer and I purchased the rights of his music. Now a fresh lawsuit has been filed in the Madras High Court,” Singhvi told the bench, emphasising that the previous plea by IMMA for transferring the Bombay case to Madras had already been dismissed.
Singhvi added that the fresh lawsuit concerned different films and compositions from those involved in the earlier Bombay proceedings and requested a stay, citing the ex-parte nature of the Madras case. Chief Justice Gavai suggested that the counsel make the prayer directly before the Madras High Court, noting that Sony Music was already represented there. The bench, however, did not immediately agree to transfer the case to Madras.
The legal dispute between Sony Music and IMMA traces back to a 2022 lawsuit filed by Sony Music India in the Bombay High Court, seeking an injunction to prevent IMMA from using 536 musical works. Sony Music claims to have acquired the rights to these works through Oriental Records and Echo Recording, companies involved in long-standing litigation with Ilaiyaraaja.
Ilaiyaraaja, often hailed as one of India’s most prolific composers, has created over 7,500 songs across 1,500 films, making him a towering figure in the Indian music industry. The Supreme Court has now issued notice to IMMA, making the matter returnable in six weeks.
