Bengal

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court has ruled that music contracts signed in the 1970s for gramophone records cannot automatically decide who owns a song on digital platforms today.

Vacating an injunction on the Odia devotional number “Sathi Pauti Bhoga”, the court observed that copyright “is a bundle of rights” and its assignment must be limited to what the parties intended at the time of the agreement.

The bench of Justice Ravi Krishan Kapur, in his detailed order, said that Inreco Entertainment Pvt Ltd had failed to make out a prima facie case of continuing ownership over the work. The company had claimed that it acquired the rights through agreements executed between 1977 and 1980 with singer Bhikari Bal and lyricist Radhanath Das. It alleged that the Bhikari Bal Foundation and

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