The Court examined the ownership of the copyright in the song, focusing on the agreement between SIL and the producer of Moodu Pani, dated February 25, 1980. It ruled that SIL, as the assignee of the copyright from the producer of Moodu Pani, held the rights to the sound recordings and musical works in the song. It noted that Ilayaraja, as the music composer, did not have the authority to license the lyrics, as he was not the author of the literary work (the lyrics). The Court also rejected the argument that the 2012 amendment to the Copyright Act applied retroactively to grant Ilayaraja additional rights.
“It is undisputed that the defendant no. 3 (Ilayaraja) is only the music composer and not the lyricist of the song in question. Therefore, the defendant no. 3 by no terms, can be considered as the author of the lyrics of the song in question, which forms part of the sound recording, in which the plaintiff has copyright in terms of agreement with the producer of the film in question. Thus, the defendant no. 3 had no authority to assign any right for use of the lyrics of the song, on which he has no copyright.”
