Bombay High Court: In a commercial IP suit concerning infringement of copyright in sound recordings, a Single Judge Bench of Sharmila U. Deshmukh, J., held that Phonographic Performance Ltd. (PPL) had established a prima facie case of apprehension that its copyrighted sound recordings would be publicly performed without authorisation during scheduled matches. The Court noted that past procurement of licences and an undertaking dated 23 December 2023 acknowledged PPL’s exclusive rights and therefore granted ad interim relief restraining unauthorised use until the next hearing date.
Background
The application sought urgent relief restraining the respondents from publicly performing or communicating the plaintiff’s copyrighted sound recordings or allowing their premises to be used for the said purposes. The plaintiff submitted that the respondents were aware that the plaintiff has exclusive right to grant licence in respect of copyrighted sound recordings and pointed out to the licence which had been obtained in the past whenever matches were arranged.
It was further pointed out the undertaking dated 23 December 2023 given by the Operation Manager of respondent undertaking that whenever the plaintiff’s sound recordings are used for communication to the public at premises and events owned/controlled/conducted by it, licence shall be procured, and that the undertaking is valid in respect of any premises to be acquired.
It was further submitted that, prior to the commencement of matches, no licence was obtained. A legal notice dated 4 February 2025 was therefore issued, but no response was received, giving rise to the apprehension that the plaintiff’s copyrighted sound recordings would be played during the matches. In support of this apprehension, a copy of the Fixture of 2026, showing matches scheduled almost daily, was placed on record.
Analysis and Decision
The Court emphasised that, prima facie, the procurement of licence by the respondent in the past would indicate the knowledge of the respondents that, for the purpose of communicating the plaintiff’s copyrighted sound recordings, it is necessary to obtain the licence from the plaintiff.
The Court noted that the undertaking of 23 December 2023 acknowledges the plaintiff’s right in sound recordings of which the plaintiff is the owner/exclusive licensee. The Court observed that the copy of the Fixture of 2026 placed on record shows that matches are scheduled on an almost daily basis.
The Court highlighted that the action in the present case is a quia timet action, and the apprehension that the plaintiff’s copyrighted sound recordings will be played at the matches appears to be well-founded, as in the past licence was procured.
Consequently, the Court granted ad interim relief to PPL, directed that the matter stands over to 8 April 2026, and ordered that the ad interim relief granted earlier shall continue until the next date.
[Phonographic Performance Ltd. v. Absolute Legends Sports (P) Ltd., Interim Application (L) No. 27758 of 2025, decided on 12-3-2026]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For the Plaintiff: Amogh Singh, Jeenal Upadhyay, Aditya Upadhyay, Pranali Tulankar, Koohika Gupta