Court Temporarily Bars Use of Ilaiyaraaja Songs in ‘Dude’

The Madras High Court on Friday temporarily restrained the makers of Dude from using Ilaiyaraaja’s songs. Justice N. Justice N. Senthilkumar granted an interim injunction on the composer’s plea, rejecting Mythri Movie Makers’ request for seven days to remove the tracks.

Earlier, Ilaiyaraaja had reportedly sought a permanent injunction against the use of his copyrighted songs Karuttha Machhan and Nooru Varusham in the film.

Senior Advocate P.V. Balasubramaniam argued that Mythri Movie Makers had acquired the rights from Sony Music, which holds the copyrights to both songs, noting they were composed before the Copyright Act amendment that makes producers the first owners.

The court has asked the producers to respond and adjourned the case to January 7.

Highlight: Senior Advocate P.V. Balasubramaniam said Mythri Movie Makers legally obtained the songs’ rights from Sony Music and that the producer holds copyright under the earlier law.