Kolkata, The Calcutta High Court has dismissed appeals filed by Vodafone Idea Limited in a copyright dispute related to music royalties and said that an agreement with the Indian Performing Right Society Limited (IPRS) is required for offering songs as caller tunes or ringtones.
The dispute pertained to Vodafone’s value-added services, including caller tunes and ringtones, where the telecom operator had argued that it had secured rights through agreements with music label Saregama India Ltd and was therefore not liable to separately pay royalties to IPRS for underlying literary and musical works.
A division bench comprising Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md Shabbar Rashidi upheld an earlier order of a single judge and ruled on May 8 that a separate licence from IPRS is required whenever underlying musical and literary works are commercially communicated to the public.
IPRS said it represents more than 22,000 authors, composers and publishers of musical and literary works across India.
The division bench said that the 2012 amendments to the Copyright Act “have ushered in a paradigm shift in the rights of owners of literary and musical rights. They are now protected and entitled to receive royalties for the use of their literary and musical works incorporated in the sound recordings.”
The amendments “allow IPRS to claim royalties in respect of musical and literary works in a sound recording when such sound recording is commercially exploited”, the court said, adding that agreements between Vodafone and Saregama cannot affect the right of IPRS.
The court ordered the release of around Rs 30 crore deposited by Vodafone before the court to the IPRS, subject to the final outcome of the suit.
The IPRS had moved the court in 2018 seeking an injunction on Vodafone from authorising the public performance or communicating to the public its repertoire of musical and literary works, or doing any act infringing the copyright of IPRS in any of the non-Saregama works. Vodafone had sought interim relief in several applications.
Responding to the development, IPRS chairman Javed Akhtar described the ruling as a “landmark moment” for creators in India and said the judgment recognised the value of authors’ and composers’ work and the need for fair compensation, according to a statement of the society.
IPRS board member and lyricist Mayur Puri said the judgment would help secure better livelihoods and dignity for artists.
The organisation would continue taking legal recourse when users failed to obtain valid licences, IPRS CEO Rakesh Nigam said.
Vodafone Idea did not immediately respond when asked for comment.
