Bombay HC Denies Interim Relief To Shemaroo In Copyright Infringement Case Against T-Series

In a recent development, Shemaroo Entertainment Pvt Ltd faced a setback as the Bombay High Court refused to grant interim relief in its copyright infringement suit against T-Series. The court observed that Shemaroo had prima facie failed to present a compelling case in its favor.

Shemaroo had filed a plea alleging that T-Series was publishing audio-visuals of film songs on its YouTube channel, despite Shemaroo holding the copyrights for those songs. However, Justice Manish Pitale, in his observation, stated that Shemaroo had not been able to establish a prima facie case, thereby undermining the significance of the alleged grave and irreparable loss in the absence of a temporary injunction. Consequently, the court dismissed Shemaroo's application.

Shemaroo claimed to be the absolute owner of the copyright over the films, particularly the audio-visual songs, based on agreements executed by various entities. It asserted that all rights had been duly assigned to it by the original owners/producers through these agreements. On the other hand, T-Series argued that it had rights based on agreements executed in its favor by the original producers/owners. T-Series also stated that the original producers had never objected to its exploitation of the audio-visuals of the songs in question.

T-Series mentioned that between 1985 and 1990, it had obtained assignment deeds regarding certain films mentioned in the suit. Shemaroo countered this by claiming that audio rights were assigned to T-Series. Between 2004 and 2016, various film producers executed assignment deeds in favor of Shemaroo, granting it sole, exclusive, and absolute ownership of the films, including negative rights.

Initially, Shemaroo had issued a cease and desist notice to T-Series in an attempt to amicably resolve the dispute. T-Series suggested resolving the matter amicably, but according to Shemaroo, T-Series continued to exploit the works in which it claimed exclusive copyright. As a result, Shemaroo approached the High Court seeking an urgent restraining order against T-Series.

The court observed that even if Shemaroo possessed an assignment deed granting it exclusive copyrights, it had failed to establish a strong prima facie case for an interim injunction.