Court Order Out: Will Legendary Ilaiyaraaja Slow Down?

In the recent past, legendary music composer, Ilaiyaraaja has been in the middle of several controversies as he had been serving legal notices to filmmakers who are using his songs illicitly.

Now, the copyright battle between legendary composer Ilaiyaraaja and music label Saregama has taken a serious turn. The Delhi High Court recently passed a restraining order against Ilaiyaraaja, stopping him from using songs from 134 films.

This came after Saregama approached the court claiming that it owns the copyrights to the songs from these films and that the composer does not have the legal right to commercially exploit them without permission.

In the past few months, Ilaiyaraaja had sent legal notices to several film producers and production houses, objecting to the use of his compositions in new projects, re releases, and digital platforms without his consent.

He had also reportedly demanded royalty payments for the reuse and streaming of his songs, asserting his moral and author rights as the original composer. These notices created widespread debate in the film industry, especially in the South, where many filmmakers argued that audio rights had already been assigned to music companies decades ago.

With the court’s latest order, the dispute has now entered a more intense legal phase. The final outcome will likely have a long term impact on music rights, royalties, and composer protections in Indian cinema.