Chennai: The Chennai High Court has directed three companies, including INRECO, to respond to an appeal filed by composer Ilayaraja against a ban on the use of music from 20 Tamil films released in the 1980s.
Indian Record Production Company (INRECO) has sought a ban on Ilayaraja’s use of music for these films, as he composed and composed music for 20 Tamil films released in 1978-80, 5 Telugu, 3 Kannada and 2 Malayalam, for a total of 30 music compositions. The case was pending in the Chennai High Court.
A separate judge heard the case and in February 2020, banned Ilayaraja and two other music companies from using the music for the 30 films, claiming that the music belonged to an Indian record company.
In that petition, the Indian Record Production Company could not issue a favorable order on the basis of the agreement made with the filmmakers. The filmmakers have the sole copyright of the film. They are not the first owners for musical works. Also, since this matter is related to trade, it is up to the session to hear the cases related to it. The order of the individual judge is beyond the jurisdiction. It was therefore requested that the order of the separate judge should be quashed and that order should be quashed.
The appeal came up for hearing before a bench of Justices Duraisamy and Tamilchelvi. The trial judges adjourned the case, ordering three companies, including the Indian Record Company, to respond to the petition within four weeks.