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The Delhi High Court has imposed a fine of ₹5 lakh on Rakshit Shetty and Paramvah Studios for the unauthorised use of two songs in the Kannada film Bachelor Party. The court held Justice Tejas Karia held the studio liable for copyright infringement and willful disobedience of court directions, rejecting the filmmakers' defence that the musical usage was too "minimal" to require a licence.
The court noted that the songs were used for substantial periods, with "Omme Ninnanu" incorporated for 31 seconds and "Nyaya Ellide" used for 7 seconds. The judge found that the songs were carefully selected to drive the movie's narrative, highlighting the protagonist's plight and making a deliberate creative decision.
MRT Music, the music label, claimed ownership over the two songs and alleged that they were used without obtaining a licence. The defendants had deposited ₹20 lakh during the proceedings, but the court imposed an additional ₹5 lakh penalty for failing to meet the original deposit deadline.
The court directed the Registry to release the ₹20 lakh deposited by Shetty and Paramvah Studios to MRT Music and imposed the additional ₹5 lakh penalty to purge the contempt committed. The court rejected the argument that the uses were "incidental" or "irrelevant", finding that the songs were used for commercial gain and to match the script. The total financial mandate consists of the release of ₹20 lakh to MRT Music and the ₹5 lakh penalty.
Peddi special song shoot from this time