Tamil musician Ilaiyaraaja’s legal battle with Echo Recording Company, that bought the rights to his compositions, has sparked the question — who owns a song? Is it the film producer who pays the music composer, lyricist and singer, the music director who composes a song or the lyricist who writes it? According to the Copyright Act 1957, the producer is the first owner.

On April 24, the Madras High Court came to the conclusion that the musician cannot claim the sole rights to his discography that includes over 4,500 songs, because lyrics are an integral part of a song too. The two-judge bench stated that the 80-year-old only has a right on the melody.

When we speak to composers and lyricists from the Indian music industry, they agree with the court’s decision, stating that a song is a collaborative effort and cannot belong to just one artiste.

I don’t have a take on the case. I also can’t comment on who gives the companies the copyright in this case. I share a good rapport with Ilaiyaraaja. The intellectual property remains with the creator and the producer uses it for their film. What the court has done is reiterating the Copyright Act and stated that everyone needs to follow the law.

I feel everyone involved in creating a song is indispensable. A music director makes the tune for the lyrics that is written by the lyricist and the singers get to sing it. When an award is given, three people are always talked about — the composer, the lyricist and the singer. I feel a song is made by these three together and it’s hard to decide who has more stake in a song.

India has a Copyright Act and everything has been written very clearly so that there is no misunderstanding between the author, composer or producer. The rights belong to the producer. If somebody is claiming they have got 100% rights, I don’t think this is the right approach. It’s okay if Ilaiyaraaja is ready to fight, but you have to follow the law. You can’t not obey the law of the land. I always stand by the court’s decision.

When you are working on a movie, you’ve been hired to do the music for it. You can, as the composer and lyricist, claim royalties. Unless there is documentation to show your own rights, a producer automatically sells the rights of the song to record companies. So, unfortunately, the complete ownership of a song is not possible when doing a film contract. Whether in India, or the US, it’s the same.

Now, Ilaiyaraaja has sent a legal notice to Sun Pictures, the producers of Rajinikanth-starrer Coolie, over unauthorized use of his song, according to a report by India Today. The notice states that a segment from the song Vaa Vaa Pakkam Vaa from the 1983 Tamil film Thanga Magan has been used without his permission.