MUMBAI: Music major T-Series has filed a legal notice against Span Communications, a Delhi based advertising agency which has used the popular song ‘Pappu Cant Dance’ from the 2008 Hindi feature film Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na for the election campaign sanctioned by the Election Commission.
The glitch however is that though the agency has changed the wording from ‘Pappu Cant Dance’ to ‘Pappu Cant Vote’, the basic tune and rhythm of the song hasn’t been changed. Thus it becomes an infringement of the copyright of T-Series.
T-Series has contended that the copyright and the underlying literary and musical works of the sound recording titled Pappu Can’t Dance… from the OST of Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Naa… are owned and controlled by it. The agency, it says, has without license, created another sound recording titled Pappu Cant Vote.. that is being broadcast several times over several radio station(s) of Radio Mirchi and Red FM across India.
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The music company has sold the rights of the Slumdog Millionaire track Jai Ho to the Congress for its election campaign.
T-Series says the ad agency has not asked for the relevant licenses to use the Pappu song however. Consequently, the agency, under the provisions of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957, is liable to pay damages and also face criminal prosecution.
T-Series has claimed damages of Rs 2.5 million, failing which the company plans to initiate legal action against the agency.
According to reports, the Election Commission used the track Pappu Can’t Vote during the Delhi assembly elections, and is now using the Pappu Vote Daal Le during the current elections. The agency meanwhile has reportedly said that the mandate has come from the EC itself and that it is not a party to the buying of rights to the same.
Meanwhile, Yash Raj Films has denied having sold the rights of its Dance Pe Chance track from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi to the Election Commission. The EC had reportedly refrained from buying the Rock On track Socha Nahi To Socho Abhi, because the title holders Big Music were asking for Rs 2.5 million for the track.
