Novex Communications Private Limited vs Bandr Leisure Private Limited

Gauri Godse, J

By this application the applicant seeks the following reliefs :

“a) that pending the hearing and final disposal of this Suit, this Hon'ble Court be pleased to issue a temporary order of injunction against restraining Defendant, its directors, their servants, employees, agents, assignees, licensees, representatives, and/or any person claiming through them or acting on their behalf, from publicly performing or in any manner communicating the sound recordings of the songs assigned and authorised to the Plaintiff or allowing their premises or any premises under their control to be used for the said purposes or otherwise infringing the copyright in any work owned and protected by the Plaintiff;

b) that pending the hearing and final disposal of the Suit, the Court Receiver, High Court, or some other fit and proper person be appointed as a Receiver to seize with the assistance of Police all the sound recordings stored in disks, CDs, laptops, mobile phones, SD cards, flash drives, hard disks, computers and/or in any other form and/or media containing the Plaintiff copyrighted works and used by the Defendant and in the possession of the Defendant and file a report disclosing all the sound recordings found in possession of the Defendant;

c) that pending the hearing and final disposal of the Suit, this Hon'ble Court be pleased to appoint a Court Commissioner or such other fit and proper person as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit for the purposes of attending the events to be organized or conducted by the Defendant with all powers including the power to:

(i) Enter the premises of the Defendant and/or the venue at which any events are organized or conducted by the Defendant at any time and to break open the lock/s, access systems etc. if any, should the need arise and;

(ii) make recordings of the entire event or such part thereof of as the Commissioner may deem fit and produce the same before this Hon'ble Court.

(iii) seize disks, CDs, laptops, mobile phones, SD cards, flash drives, hard disks, computers and/or in any other form and/or media containing the Plaintiff copyrighted works and used by the Defendant and in the possession of the Defendant.

(iv) To do the acts as stated in prayer clauses e(i) to e(iii) including to prepare site panchanama/ report and take signature of the persons present at the site, and avail requisite police assistance from the concerned local police station;

d) In alternative to prayer clause (c) above, pending the hearing and final disposal of the Suit, the Defendant herein be ordered and directed to maintain recordings of all sound recordings played by the Defendant at every event organized or conducted by the Defendant and place the same on record before this Hon’ble Court on quarterly basis or at such time/times as may be directed by this Hon’ble Court.

(e) that pending the hearing and final disposal of the Suit this Hon'ble Court be pleased to pass an order and direction directing the Defendant to deposit a sum of Rs.50,00,000/-(Rupees Fifty Lakhs only) in this Hon'ble Court being the requisite consideration towards grant of non-exclusive on ground public performance rights in sound recordings for the events to be conducted by the Defendant as set out in the Plaint:

(f) For ad-interim reliefs in terms of prayers (a) to (e) above;

g) For costs; and

h) For such other and further orders and reliefs as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the nature and circumstances of the case may require.”

After arguing the matter for some time, learned counsel for the defendant, on instructions, states that without prejudice to the rights and contentions of the defendant, the defendant undertakes to deposit a sum of Rs.2,25,000/- in this court on/or before 2nd January 2024 towards the claim of the plaintiff, with respect to the event to be held on 31st December 2023, at the premises mentioned in the suit.

Learned counsel for the plaintiff on instructions states that without prejudice to their rights and contentions the plaintiff is agreeable for permitting the defendant to play sound recordings which is subject matter of the suit on 31st December 2023.

In view of the aforesaid, no specific directions are necessary at this stage. The respective statements made on behalf of both the parties without prejudice to their respective rights and contentions is accepted.

The defendant is at liberty to file reply within a period of two weeks from today with an advance copy to the plaintiff.

Stand over to 15th January 2024.

[GAURI GODSE, J.]

This order is corrected/modified as per speaking to minutes order dated 30.12.2023