Copyright on Kuchipudi style? Kerala court grants interim relief; orders Facebook to take down content infringing work of Vempati Ravi Shankar

A Kerala court on Friday granted interim relief in favour of widow of Kuchipadi maestro late Vempati Ravi Shankar in relation to use of Ravi Shankar's original sound recordings in relation to Vempati Ravi Shankar style of Kuchipudi. .The District Court, Thiruvananthapuram directed social media giant, Facebook to take down links of works allegedly infringing copyright over Ravi Shankar's works..The suit filed by Sweety Priyanka Vempati Ravi Shankar (plaintiff), who is the widow of Ravi Shankar, submitted that Ravi Shankar had developed his own sound recordings, dance moves and dramatization of many plays in Kuchipudi. After his death, Priyanka has been carrying forward the legacy of Vempati Ravi Shankar through the institute, Sri Vempati Ravi Shankar School of Kuchipudi, the suit said. "She has been involved in carrying forward the true essence of Kuchipudi and the Vempati and Vempati Ravi Shankar styles of Kuchipudi for the generations to come," the suit further stated. .Importantly, the suit highlighted that Priyanka has been granted copyright in respect of four sound recording works composed by Ravi Shankar, i.e., Swathi Thirunal Nrutyam, Vempati Ravishankar Nruthyam, Vempati Ravishankar Nruthyam – 2 and Vempati Ravishankar Nruthyam – 3. More applications are expected to be approved of in favour of the plaintiff very soon, it added. .It was alleged that several unknown persons, who claim to be practicing Kuchipudi, have been communicating to the public the original sound recordings, without any authorization or permission from the plaintiff, who holds copyright over the works of late Ravi Shankar."These people have also been using the Vempati Ravi Shankar style of Kuchipudi without any authorization or permission from the Plaintiff. This leads to distortion of the most authentic form of Vempati Ravi Shankar style of Kuchipudi," the suit said. This is a clear violation of the plaintiff’s right under Section 14(e) of the Copyright Act, 1957 and also a violation of plaintiff’s moral rights under Section 57 of the Copyright Act, 1957, it was contended. .Several unknown persons have been continuously misusing the title ‘Vempati Ravi Shankar’ as well as his copyrighted works and these works have been published on social media platforms, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, it was submitted. While YouTube honoured the plaintiff’s notices for copyright infringement and took down the content which violated the copyright of the plaintiff, Facebook and Instagram are yet to take down infringing content, the suit said. .The plea stated that the goodwill and reputation of artists need to be protected. Interestingly, it was also submitted that a large list of personal attributes, contributes in the making of the unique personality of a celebrity, all of which need protection, including their name, nickname, stage name, picture, likeness, image, identity, act, traits, walk, habits, style, history, statistics, facts concerning professional careers, signature, or any other identifiable personal property..The plea, therefore, sought a permanent prohibitory injunction restraining Facebook and other unknown persons from infringing the plaintiff’s copyright over the original sound recording works and dramatized works of late Vempati Ravi Shankar.The suit also sought an injunction restraining the use of the title ‘Vempati Ravi Shankar’ without the prior written consent of the plaintiff..The Court on Friday granted temporary injunction directing Facebook to take down infringing content. Advocate Raghul Sudheesh along with advocates CR Sudheesh, Lakshmi J, Glaxon KJ and Amal Jees Alex appeared on behalf of the plaintiff.Advocate Pazhania Pillai represented Facebook.