Overview
- Justice Tejas Karia held Rakshit Shetty and Paramvah Studios liable for infringement and willful disobedience and ordered an exemplary Rs 5 lakh payment to purge contempt within two weeks.
- MRT Music sued over two tracks used without permission in the Kannada film Bachelor Party and produced an assignment deed to show ownership of the sound recordings and underlying works.
- The court rejected the filmmakers’ de minimis claim, noting one song ran for about 31 seconds and the other for about 7 seconds, and cited Section 14’s exclusive rights for copyright owners.
- The judge declined to impose jail time after the defendants filed a regret affidavit, choosing a monetary sanction that the label will receive instead.
- An earlier interim order required a Rs 20 lakh deposit and takedown, which was paid later and will go to MRT Music, bringing payouts across orders to Rs 25 lakh.