Copyright Society Entitled To File Infringement Suit

With respect to, the right of a Copyright Society to institute a suit in its own name for infringement of Copyright, an appeal was filed to the earlier decision rendered by the Delhi High Court in Phonographic Performance Ltd. v. Hotel Gold Regency & Ors. [2008 (37) PTC 587 (Del.)]. This decision in appeal declared that a Copyright Society was held not liable to institute a suit for copyright infringement without making the copyright owner a party to the same. The present matter is an appeal to the same filed via PPL v. Hotel Gold Regency & Ors. (RFA (OS) No. 57 & 58 of 2008, in pursuance of which an application under Order VII Rule 11 of the Civil Procedure Code was filed.

Phonographic Performance Ltd. (PPL) is a company duly incorporated and registered under the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 and registered as a Copyright Society under Section 33 of the Copyright Act, 1957. Owners of Copyrights in various sound recordings music have entered into agreements