Who owns the golden age? Delhi HC clarifies no licences needed for pre-1965 Bollywood songs

India’s Golden-Age film music — sung by legends such as Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle — continues to be widely heard across hotels, events, television and digital platforms. A large part of this Golden-Age repertoire is historically associated with and owned by Saregama India Ltd., which today makes these songs available to listeners on leading digital platforms such as Spotify and YouTube, among others.

What is less widely known, however, is that copyright in sound recordings does not last indefinitely.

Under Section 27 of the Copyright Act, 1957, copyright in a sound recording lasts 60 years from the beginning of the calendar year following its first publication. Once this period expires, the recording enters the public domain, meaning that no licence is required for use of the sound recording itself.

In practical terms, this means that sound recordings released in the late 1950s and early 1960s have already crossed, or are now crossing, this statutory threshold. A recording first published in 1965, for instance, completes its copyright term at the end of 2025.

This has relevance for many well-known Hindi film songs released in the 1950s and early 1960s, including titles such as “Abhi Na Jao Chhodkar”, “Lag Ja Gale” and “Chaudhvin Ka Chand Ho”.

In October 2025, Bignet Solutions LLP, a private event organiser approached the Delhi High Court after being asked to obtain a licence from Novex Communications Pvt Ltd for playing a limited set of pre-1965 songs (Bignet Solutions LLP vs. Novex Communications Pvt Ltd (CS(COMM) 1094/2025).

The Delhi High Court, by its order dated October 10, 2025, permitted Bignet’s event to proceed without any licensing cost, after recording Novex’s statements that it does not enforce rights in works not owned by it or already in the public domain. Bignet undertook to play only the listed pre-1965 songs and to file post-event verification.

At the subsequent hearing on November 21, 2025, Novex reiterated that it does not assert copyright over sound recordings published prior to 1965, nor does it expect any entity to obtain licences for such recordings. By this stage, Bignet had apparently identified a significantly large number of songs or instances where copyrights in sound recordings had expired in terms of Section 27 of the Copyright Act.

However, since Bignet’s event had already taken place smoothly, without interference or payment of any license fee to Novex, the Court held that the cause of action stood satisfied and disposed of the suit, while keeping broader contentions open.

The proceeding has brought attention to a broader and important issue: as time passes, more Golden-Age sound recordings will naturally cross their statutory copyright term.

Given the sheer size of India’s vintage film music catalogue, this transition is not marginal. For users, organisers and businesses, clear information on which recordings remain protected and which have entered the public domain is essential to ensure lawful use. Greater transparency would help reduce confusion and support compliance with the law.

In particular, the publication of accurate, up-to-date information regarding original release years would enable users to independently assess whether a sound recording continues to enjoy copyright protection or has lawfully become free for use.

India’s Golden-Age music is a shared cultural heritage. As intended by law, some of it is now beginning to belong to the public — a quiet transition that merits wider awareness.

About the authors: Saurabh Balwani is an Advocate-on-Record and the Managing Partner of Balwani Law Chambers. Chirag Pathor is an Senior Associate at the Firm.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s). The opinions presented do not necessarily reflect the views of Bar & Bench.

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