BANGALORE / MUMBAI:  Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL), the apex licensing arm of the Indian music industry, has won three prominent cases of music copyright violations against Event and Entertainment Management Association (EEMA), Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) and Bangalore Fashion Week (BFW).

In the first case, the Delhi High Court, in its judgment on 25 May, dismissed a petition by EEMA that sought directions for framing of �appropriate and objective standards towards the determination and levying of royalties of various copyrighted works administered' by the PPL. The petitioners also wanted directions on the �mode of enforcing and administering such royalties'.

The High Court negated the contention of EEMA and was of the opinion that PPL had the right to formulate their own tariffs. If there was a grievance against the tariff schemes, the petitioners were free to approach the Copyright Board for fixing a reasonable royalty rate.

In the second case, the FHRAI, the apex body of the hospitality industry, approached the High Court claiming that PPL should not charge petitioners' an additional exorbitant fee for license of special events organised by hotels on occasions like Christmas eve, New Year eve, Valentine Day etc, since the licensee would have already paid the demanded fee for the entire calendar year.

The court dissolved the appeal against PPL because it is an amalgamation of conglomeration of individuals/owners who are fully entitled to claim a suitable premium on copyrighted music. The court rejected the argument of FHRAI, where it had contended that exorbitant rates charged by the PPL without any regulation, are violative of the fundamental rights of the petitioners.

THE PPL also put up a case against Dream Merchants and The Ottera Hotel, the organisers of Bangalore Fashion Week, who were seen violating the copyright law since 2009, by not paying the requisite music fee for the music played at the fashion shows organised in July 2009 and January 2010.

According to PPL, it launched an FIR against Dream Merchants and The Ottera Hotel in Electronics City police station because the hotel did not have a valid licence to play the music during the shows between 23 and 26 July, 2009. Consequently, PPL filed a suit for injunction orders in the city civil court of Bangalore.

However, no interim order was passed by the lower court that asked the defaulters to submit Rs 175,000 in the Court. Thereafter PPL appealed to the High Court of Karnataka at Bangalore. In its order, the court set aside the order of the City Civil court of Bangalore on the violation of copyright law by the BFW organisers.

Commenting on these successive wins, PPL country head-events Sowmya Chowdhury  said, Music has always played an integral part of our lives. We can't imagine our special occasions without music.Organizers charge a considerable component of the sum from the consumers for music which is an essential element of entertainment. Yet, when it comes to paying for the commercial use of music, they choose to evade the licence fee. This big win against the three titans of the Indian event and Hospitality industry reinforces PPL's position as the rightful authority on music licensing and yet again prove the need for taking lawful licenses for commercial playing of copyrighted music....

Pressed by a leakage in revenues due to non-payment of licence fees, the PPL has been fighting relentlessly against the violation of music copyrights that has damaged the health of the music industry.