Your Wedding Sangeet Can Drag You To The Court ? is a very interesting question. Let us find the answer to the question that whether Your Wedding Sangeet Can Drag You To The Court?
In India, the bond of marriage is considered very sacred and when marriages take place, it is done in a very pompous manner. Very colorful is accompanied by very fashion and music is very important in marriage. Be it the religious song or item number. All kinds of songs are there in Indian marriage, so are we breaking any law? By playing these songs at the wedding or by putting these songs.
Now we know that we have been made a time limit to save these songs. There is a time limit for any function after which we cannot play the song on DJ. But do we have the right if play any songs during the day? then if we can play that song during the day, are we breaking any law by playing songs during the day? and if we are breaking any law then what is that law?
So let’s see which law we are breaking by playing songs in marriage or not breaking? (Your Wedding Sangeet Can Drag You To The Court ?)
Section 51(a) in the Copyright Act, 1957
(a) when any person, without a license granted by the owner of the copyright or the Registrar of Copyrights under this Act or in contravention of the conditions of a license so granted or of any condition imposed by a competent authority under this Act does anything, the exclusive right to do which is by this Act conferred upon the owner of the copyright constitutes an infringement of the copyright.
We all know that if any person makes something personally then he also takes the copyright for that. And once the owner of that thing takes the copyright on that, then no other person can use that thing without the permission of the owner. Section 51 (a) says that if A is the owner and if B has not taken permission/license to use the thing then here A breach the copyright Act and breaches the law.
You know that the production house of all the songs that are takes their (songs) Copyright. And most of all, the one who is the singer of that song, has the right/copyright to his song. Now we use these songs in our events like marriages, birthdays in hotels, and restaurants for commercial purposes.
Now it is seen that in hotel or restaurant where very good songs are played, then people think that hotel restaurant has very good vibes. That is why we go to that restaurant/hotel, stay there and also like to eat there. So what is happening now that these hotels and restaurants are using these songs for commercial purposes.
Example:-
A restaurant is a public space using music for commercial purposes and requires pay – royalty to the Performer.
It needs to get a No – Objection Certificate from ISRA, Indian Singers ‘ Rights Association and pay the price of ” the least priced drink on the menu card ” per day to each singer whose song it plays.
Thus, if a restaurant at which the cheapest beer costs, say, Rs 200, plays Sonu Nigam’s Deewana tera every evening of the year, it has to pay the singer an annual royalty of Rs 73,000.
license from the Indian Performing Rights Society Ltd. ( IPRS ), having exclusive authority over public performance rights and radio broadcasting rights.
We understood here that if we want to use the songs for commercial purposes then we have to get a license from IPRS or NOC certificate from ISRA (Indian Singers ‘ Rights Association)
Your Wedding Sangeet Can Drag You To The Court
Let us see whether we can play songs in the Marriages? or Your Wedding Sangeet Can Drag You To The Court ? we can find the answer to this question in Section 52 of the Copyright Act.
Section 52 ( 1 ) ( za ) wherein, the performance of a literary, dramatic, or musical work or the communication to the public of such work or of a sound recording in the course of any bona fide religious ceremony or an official ceremony held by the Central Government or the State Government or any local authority is not infringement.
Marriage procession and its associated social festivities are included within the ambit of ” religious ceremonies ” for a better understanding of the provision.
But this Section is not been properly interpreted to date and some situations are not defined correctly in Section 52 (1) (za). For this reason, confusing questions get created. Let us see with an example of case law and with notification of August 27, 2019.
Copyright Registry on August 27, 2019, released a public notification. makes it clear that IPRS will grant a Free of Cost License ( FOC )
( a ) in an enclosed room or hall meant for the common use of residents in any residential premises ( not a hotel or similar commercial establishment ).
( b ) as part of the activities of a club or similar organization which is not established or conducted for profit.
This notification speaks about you can play songs in a hall, room, or residential premises but not in a hotel or commercial establishment. Therefore this Section is contradictory and does not have a clear interpretation of these laws.
Hotels, banquet halls, lawns, etc. are not permitted to perform music publicly by any medium without a license, upon the payment of a royalty fee. The tariff varies for A Class cities such as Mumbai, Delhi / NCR, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad / Telangana, Goa, Ahmedabad, Pune, Chandigarh, Jaipur, and Udaipur, and the rest depending upon the hotel per room tariffs.
Interpretation of law and ground reality
In Mumbai in Oct 2021, The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India ( HRAWI ) initiated a campaign to raise awareness of the copyright issue faced by the hotels and other venues overplaying recorded music. This Hotel has to say that it has been made absolutely clear in the Copyright Sections that there is no copyright infringement if songs are played at weddings in the hotels.
In 2022 to interpret these Sections Delhi High Court Appoints Law Expert To Assist On Fair Use Of Sound Recordings In Marriage Ceremonies U / S 52 ( 1 ) ( za ) Of Copyright Act by Justice Pratibha M Singh.
The Court was dealing with a suit filed by Phonographic Performance Limited engaged in the business of issuance of licenses for public performance. The case of Plaintiff was that Defendant was using sound recordings in respect of which the Plaintiff had rights, at various social events managed and organized by it at commercial venues, on a regular basis.
Justice Pratibha M Singh was of the view that the issue raised would have large-scale implications. ” This Court is of the opinion that, in the Indian context, music is an integral part of any wedding or marriage ceremony.
From the notification of 2019, a confusing situation has come here, so let’s see its conclusion. Because it has not been categorized here that most the marriages take place in hotels, either in open halls or at restaurants, in these laws, it has been said that if the marriage takes place in hotels So where is the justice if the marriage takes place in hotel then a license has to be taken and if the marriage takes place in the closed room then the license will not have to be taken?
Now it is not even interpreted who will have to get a license. The one who is getting the marriage done will have to take a license which means the event management has to take the license, or the party who is getting married will have to take the license or where the marriage is taking place as the hotel authority, whether the hotel authority has to take the license to play the songs?
We will get the answers to these questions and the answer to the question Your Wedding Sangeet Can Drag You To The Court ? in the judgment of the case named Phonographic Performance Limited. The matter will now be heard on 6th July 2022.
Conclusion on Your Wedding Sangeet Can Drag You To The Court?
I believe that music is the only thing that makes us Happy and changes the environment itself. Music brings a lot of happiness and enjoyment to our functions and marriages. There are all kinds of music played in marriages like Sad Happy, Dancing, Rock, Pop, and Joy Music.
The song changes our mood. Now in marriages, we ourselves feel that we should enjoy dance in marriage. We all want to dance in marriages, if the songs will not be played, then how will it work, then if there will be such a technical process that the one who is getting married will have to get a license for each particular song, then how will this possible with this technical work?
