Mere registration of film title won't guarantee right over name: Madras HC

The Madras High Court has said mere registration of a film title will not guarantee right over the name, if the production work has not commenced within one-and-a-half years of the registration.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddhose also held that "the title is not a copyright" and it is only the entire work which is protected by copyright.

Originally, J Manimaran of JS Screens, claiming ownership of the title 'Karu,' moved the high court urging it to restrain Lyca productions from infringing on the copyright of his title 'Karu,' registered in November 2011.

On February 20, a single judge had passed an order restraining Lyca Production company from using the title.

Aggrieved by the interim stay, Lyca filed the present appeal.

When the matter came up on Thursday, the first bench observed that the material before the court show that 'pooja' was performed by Manimaran only on September 9, 2013 for the film titled 'Karu,' which he had registered in 2011.

Generally, the registration with the production council would give exclusive rights only for a year and six months grace period thereafter.

Besides, there is no statute, rule or regulation requiring the registration of a title for production of a film, the bench said.

If Lyca and JS Screens were members of the same organisation, they may have been contractually bound by the internal rules and regulations of the organisation, but they are members of different producers associations, the bench added.

Referring to provisions of the Copyright Act, the bench said, "What is protected under the Act is the work which is relatable to a cinematography film, that is to say the visual recording, including sound recording, produced by process analogous to cinematography."

"The title which may be commonly used word, cannot be protected under the law of copyright, it is the entire work which is protected by copyright," it said.

In the absence of any statutory or contractual right, JS Screens cannot prevent others from using the title, the court said, adding in any case, the title used by Lyca is different preceded by 'Lycavin Karu'.