The Delhi High Court on Tuesday stayed an interim
order in a copyright case against music composer A R Rahman and the makers of
the film "Ponniyin Selvan 2" over a musical composition.
A bench of Justices C Hari Shankar and Ajay Digpaul,
however, directed Rahman and the makers of the film to deposit within 10 days
Rs 2 crore with its registry, as directed by the single judge.
On April 25, a high court single judge in the
interim also ordered for inserting a slide in the film on all OTT and online
platforms to give due credit to Junior Dagar Brothers -- Late Ustad N
Faiyazuddin Dagar and Late Ustad Zahiruddin Dagar -- for the composition.
The division bench stayed this direction too.
Rahman's stay application and the appeal challenging
the single judge's order was posted on May 23.
The single judge awarded Rs 2 lakh costs to the
family member of the late artists.
In the interim order, the single judge ruled from a
listener's point of view, the core of Rehman's song "Veera Raja
Veera" in the film was "not just inspired but is, in fact,
identical" in notes, emotion and aural impact to the "Shiva
Stuti".
It was in violation of the rights of the original
composers of the musical tribute to Lord Shiva, his order added.
Ustad Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar, the son of
Faiyazuddin Dagar and nephew of Zahiruddin Dagar, contended in the lawsuit that
he held the copyright in all original compositions of Junior Dagar Brothers,
including "Shiva Stuti", which the defendants had unlawfully infringed
upon.
"In the ultimate analysis, therefore, this
court holds that the impugned song is not merely based on or inspired from the
suit composition Shiva Stuti but is, in fact, identical to the suit composition
with mere change in lyrics. The adding of other elements may have rendered the
impugned song more like a modern composition but the basic underlying musical
work is identical," the single judge held.
Rahman, Madras Talkies and Lyca Productions were,
therefore, ordered to deposit Rs 2 crore with the court to be kept in a fixed
deposit subject to the final outcome of the lawsuit.
The plaintiff was found to have a prima facie case
for copyright infringement by the defendants and the court observed in the
absence of an interim order "irreparable injury would be caused to the
creative rights and moral rights of the original composers who are no longer
alive".
The balance of convenience was therefore held to be
in favour of the plaintiff.
Rahman's counsel argued "Shiva Stuti" was
based on the traditional dhrupad genre which was in the public domain, and
since the manner of singing and the composition itself was not original, it was
not capable of copyright protection.