Kannada actor-filmmaker Rakshit Shetty appeared before the Yeshwantpur police station officials on August 2 and recorded his statement in the complaint filed against his banner, Paramvah Studios, claiming copyright violation in the film Bachelor Party. MRT Music had filed the complaint and a First Information Report (FIR) had been recorded in the case in mid-July, following which Paramvah Studios decided to tackle the issue in court and secured anticipatory bail for Rakshit.

Speaking to the media outside the police station, Rakshit reiterated his banner’s stance in the matter, as has already been stated in an open letter put out on social media. Paramvah Studios will fight the matter in court, as they don’t believe there’s been a copyright infringement, but if it is found to be so, the banner is looking at using the case to give clarity to themselves and other filmmakers about what will and will not constitute copyright infringement.

In the film Bachelor Party, two old Kannada songs were used for a few fleeting seconds, one, in an instance of the song playing on a television in the background, and another, of a student singing a few lines in school. Rakshit admits that his banner had been in conversation with MRT Music about the usage of these songs, but added that the discussion, which also included a huge royalty amount, did not lead anywhere, with the latter failing to respond after a point.

Rakshit’s contention in the matter is that the songs in question have not been used extensively with the purpose of benefitting monetarily from it. “When we make films, we try to depict life as realistically as possible. People listen to music, but does it mean that we can’t show that because of these rules? If we are, say, remixing a song and trying to make money of it, then that is a different issue. Here, that is not the case,” says Rakshit.

The actor also claimed that there are 3-4 music companies that routinely file cases against Kannada films, even, for instance, for using a song as a mobile phone ringtone. Rakshit is hopeful that this case will provide clarity to the entire industry on copyright claims. “We have no knowledge about this, which music companies use to their advantage. This case will give us the know-how on copyright and how we can use Kannada film music,” he says, adding that there should be clear-cut rules on the royalty payment structure too. There is no question of a compromise this time, he maintained.

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