Kerala court restrains Kantara makers from playing 'Varaha Roopam' song on copyright suit by Thaikkudam Bridge

A Kerala court on Friday restrained the makes of the recently released Kannada film 'Kantara' from playing the song 'Varaha Roopam' in the movie without the permission of popular Kerala based music band, Thaikkudam Bridge..According to an Instagram post by the music band, the Principal District and Sessions Judge, Kozhikode passed the order on a suit for injunction moved by the band alleging copyright infringement of its song 'Navarasam'The Instagram post stated that the Court injuncted the producer, director, music composer and streaming platforms such as Amazon, Spotify, YouTube, Wynk Music, Jiosavan and others from playing Varaha Roopam in the film without the permission of the band..Released on September 30, 2022, Rishab Shetty's blockbuster Kannada movie Kantara, and its music composer B Ajaneeshh Loknath soon faced allegations of copyright infringement around the song 'Varaha Roopam'.Thaikkudam Bridge, alleged that the song was a rip-off of one of its songs released over five years ago called 'Navarasam'.The band quickly took to social media and informed its listeners that Thaikkudam Bridge was in no way or form affiliated with the film and that they would be initiating legal action."The unavoidable similarities between our IP "Navarasam" and "Varaha Roopam" in terms of audio is therefore a blatant infringement of copyright laws. From our standpoint the line between "Inspired" and "Plagiarized" is distinct and indisputable and therefore we will be seeking legal action against the creative team responsible for this," the band's Instagram post read.It further stated that there has been no acknowledgement of their rights over the content and that the song was released as if it was an original piece of work by the movie's creative team..Navarasam, which was released on the Youtube channel of Mathrubhumi Kappa TV 5 years ago has around 53 lakh views.Varaha Roopam, which was released on the YouTube channel of Hombale Films only 9 days ago, has already garned 1.7 crore views..Thaikkudam Bridge was represented by advocate Satish Murthi. .Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.