MUMBAI: The Gujarat High Court on Thursday rejected a public interest litigation apprehending disruption of Navratri garba by the police at the instance of Indian Performing Rights Society Ltd (IPRS) for alleged violation of copyrights during musical performance.
Dismissing the PIL filed by Devendra Dwivedi, a division bench of Chief Justice KS Radhakrishnan and Justice AS Dave observed that the ‘petitioner filed the plea more for publicity than for espousing any public cause or interest’.
Dwivedi had raised an objection to a warning published by IPRS, which has ownership of copyrights of musicians, lyricists and issues licences for public performances, that performing the music belonging to its members without permission during Navratri would amount to infringement of copyrights.
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Although the petitioner claimed that Section 52(1) of Copyright Act exempts performance of such musical work during religious festivities, he told the court that during the garba programmes entry fee is imposed on participants, say media reports.
The judges did not make any direct comment on whether such performances should be called religious or commercial, but made it clear that any such function where entry fee is charged is for commercial purpose.
Upholding IPRS’ contention that playing music of its 1,500 members without permission would amount to breach of law and the IPRS’s rights must be protected, the judges refused to pass any order in favour of the petitioner. The court made it clear that the question of violation of law depends on the kind of performance, and without details of a case, it cannot be judged.
The court dismissed the PIL terming it as based on presumption that the authorities would disrupt festivities, whereas the state government has not received even a single complaint in this regard.
On the eve of Navratri, the IPRS had launched a state wide campaign in Gujarat, for the first time ever, to ensure that ‘garba’ and ‘dandiya’ event organisers take the requisite licenses for playing copyrighted songs. According to IPRS head Rakesh Nigam, the awareness drive has paid off and a number of prominent event organisers in Surat, Ahmedabad and other cities have opted to pay up license fees to the IPRS this Navratri.
