Goldmines Telefilms Pvt. Ltd. v. Achla Sabharwal
(2021) 3 AIR Bombay R 748 : AIR 2021 Bom 184
In the High Court of Bombay
IA 4402/2021 and Comm. (IP) Suit 4398/2021
Before Justice G.S. Patel
Decided on April 21, 2021

Relevancy of the Case: Ascertaining the true assignee of the copyright of a movie

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Copyright Act, 1957 (Section 2, 14, 17, 18, 19)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The movie in dispute is a 1987 Hindi motion picture titled Sheela. The Hindi version is a remake of the original Kannada movie with the title Africadalli Sheela.
• The plaintiff is a media entertainment company, while the defendant is the sole proprietor of a firm in the same line of business as the plaintiff. Both parties have claimed to have an assignment of the movie’s copyright.
• The plaintiff has claimed a derivative title through intervening assignees. On the other hand, the defendant has a direct assignment agreement with the movie’s producer. However, the defendant obtained this assignment much later than the plaintiff.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

• The plaintiff’s counsel submitted that their documents must be read as a whole.
• The defendant’s counsel submitted that the movie producer is a necessary party to this case. Without him, the court should not grant the relief to the plaintiff. Further, it is the plaintiff’s responsibility to demonstrate their rights with reasonable satisfaction.

Opinion of the Bench

• Both the parties have sent legal notices to each other. However, they have not responded to each other’s notices.
• To make their case, the plaintiff must demonstrate a case of superior title. Mere spending money or purporting to exploit rights will not give the rights.
• The plaintiffs are claiming their rights through a complicated set of documents over the last twenty years. The defendant’s claim is much tidier and clearer.

Final Decision

• The court dismissed the interim application and did not accept the plaintiff’s prayer. However, the court directed the defendant to maintain accounts of all commercial transactions she and her firm enter into for this movie.