Hotels get notices over pirated music

[Len]

India - A lawsuit has been filed against 12 well-known hotels for playing pirated music.

Novex Communications Pvt Ltd, a Mumbai based company, filed two separate suits in the city civil court, seeking a permanent injunction restraining infringement of copyright of the company. Lenoia Holistic Destinations (a resort), Daspalla Hotels, Secunderabad Club, Radisson Hotel, Country Club and others were found to be playing music owned by Novex.

The court sent notices to these hotels to seek a licence from Novex to play the music. The hotels are yet to respond.

A representative of Novex Communications said that Novex is engaged in the business of licensing public performance rights in sound recordings. “Exploitation of sound recordings, which Novex licences, includes public performance in hotels, restaurants, lawns, discotheque, resorts, malls and other venues for communication to the public on a commercial basis of the following music labels: Zee Entertainment Enter-prises Ltd, Yash Raj Films Pvt Ltd, Shemaroo Entertainment and Eros International Media Ltd.”

He said that 14 hotels in the city were playing music to which Novex has the copyright. “When we approached these hotels, they refused to seek event licences. This is a violation. Out of the 14, two have now agreed to seek an event licence, while 12 have refused. “

Being a civil matter, a suit was filed before a civil court and legal notices have been sent to the hotels as well,” the representative added.

The second additional chief judge of the civil court passed an ad interim injunction order restraining the hotel owners and management from “publicly performing or in any manner communicating the sound recordings/musical composition of the songs assigned and authorised to the petitioner, or allowing their premises, or otherwise infringing copyright in any work owned and protected by the petitioner, till 18th January 2018.”