No relief for Rahul Gandhi, others in KGF copyright case
The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday declined to quash the FIR against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh, and Supriya Shrinate over the alleged unauthorized use of music from the Kannada film KGF Chapter 2 during the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra (BJY). The leaders, on the other hand, filed a joint petition challenging the FIR's legality. The HC reserved its order on June 23.
Why does this story matter?
During the Karnataka leg of the BJY in November, the Congress allegedly tweeted two videos from the pan-India march with KGF's immensely popular theme music playing in the background. Bengaluru-based MRT Music, the owner of the music from the blockbuster hit film, lodged the FIR. Following this, a Bengaluru court directed Twitter to take down the videos and block the accounts for copyright infringement.
Copyright of complainant taken for granted: HC
The single-judge panel of Justice M Nagaprasanna observed, "Petitioner appeared to have tampered with source code, which would amount to infringement. Copyright of the complainant is taken for granted and therefore prima facie all this requires investigation." The Congress leaders were booked for offenses under the Copyright Act, the Information Technology Act, and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Appellant didn't violate copyright 'knowingly': Congress leaders' counsel
Appearing for the Congress leaders, Senior Advocate Vikram Huilgol argued that Section 63 of the Copyright Act has a heightened threshold of infringement, while the complainant has preferred a suit under Section 55. He argued Section 63 speaks of "knowingly" infringing the copyright; however, it isn't mentioned in the complaint. He said that the video doesn't amount to the appellant knowingly infringing the copyright.
BJP also used KGF music but no action: Congress workers
Furthermore, Congress workers pointed out that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which was in power in Karnataka then, used KGF's music in videos posted by the party's official social media accounts. However, the company didn't act against those videos. They alleged that the BJP was trying to stymie the march because of its success. The Congress defeated the BJP in Karnataka elections last month.
