News & Media 13th Feb 2024
The recent Bombay High Court judgement upholding the authority of Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL) and Novex Communications Pvt Ltd to issue licences as copyright owners could pave the way for royalties for playing music at weddings, restaurants and other public places.
Lata Jha from Live mint writes on “Bombay HC strikes right note for music industry, but grey areas remain” talking about the implementation is a challenge considering the sheer scale and geographical expanse of such events. Plus, the verdict is somewhat limited in its scope and some aspects are yet unresolved.
Dinesh Pednekar, Partner, Economic Laws Practice (ELP) says, “the judgement has been rendered only on the preliminary objection on whether Novex and PPL can issue licences to third parties for exploitation of copyright without being registered as a ‘Copyright Society’ under the Copyright Act, 1957.”