The mere registration of a film title with an association does not confer any protection under copyright law. The Bombay high court passed this order on August 18 while dismissing an interim copyright injunction plea filed by producer Suneel Darshan for his 1993 film, Lootere. The plea sought to restrain the release and streaming of a web series of the same title on Disney+ Hotstar (now JioHotstar).
The plaintiff (Darshan) argued that he had registered the title Lootere with the Western India Film Producers Association in September 2010, and this entitled him to restrain Star India and others from using the same title. However, Justice Sandeep Marne ruled against any interim relief stating that such a registration did not give him any statutory rights against third parties. “Since title of a book or a film does not constitute a ‘work’ within the meaning of section 2(y) of the Copyright Act, no copyright can subsist in a mere title,” Justice Marne said.
Although Suneel Darshan became aware of the web series in 2022, he filed the current suit only in March 2024, just days before the web series was set to release. He argued that his registration of the title and copyright ownership granted him exclusive rights over the title, which the defendants were infringing upon. Star India, however, maintained that there can be no copyright in a mere title. It also argued that the plaintiff’s association-based registration held no legal sanctity, more so because Star India was not even a member of the said association.
Dismissing the interim relief plea, the Bombay high court held that the plaintiff had failed to establish a prima facie case as film titles were not copyrightable. The court added that internal registrations between members of associations are purely private arrangements having no sanctity in law and that such arrangements could be enforced only between the members of the association.
Advocate Ashok M. Saraogi with advocate Siddharth Singh appeared for Suneel Darshan. Senior advocate Ashish Kamat with advocates Thomas George, Tanvi Sinha, Navankar Pathak, Neeti Nihal and Bhargavi Bhardwaj instructed by Saikrishna & Associates appeared for Star India Pvt. Ltd.
