The Bombay high court on October 24 declined urgent interim relief to Everest Entertainment claiming copyright infringement by Mahesh Manjrekar’s Marathi film, Punha Shivajiraje Bhosale, paving the way for its release today (October 31). The court observed that the name ‘Shivaji Maharaj’ cannot be the subject of exclusivity in any form. The court also said that given the film’s release date, there was a “gross and inordinate delay” in approaching the court, which was unexplained and “calculative”, and intended to put the court and the filmmaker under pressure.
The suit for infringement of intellectual property rights against the film was filed on October 10 by Everest Entertainment LLP, producers of Mee Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy. The high court did not accept the claim by Everest that the Marathi film-going audience would think that Punha Shivajiraje Bhosale was a sequel to its film (Mee Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy). “The well-informed and tasteful audience of Marathi films, prima facie, is not going to be confused or deceived by any of the factors alleged, including the film title,” said Justice Amit Jamsandekar in his October 24 judgement. He added, “Courts have consistently taken a view that if the plaintiff does not take prompt steps to approach the court, the court will not be inclined to grant ad interim relief, particularly when this is about the release of a film in a couple of days.”
Declining a plea to stay the release, the court found no merit in allegations of copyright infringement made by Everest which claimed that it had sole rights to a film on the same subject released in 2009. “From the record, it appears that the film produced by the defendants is an entirely new work,” the judge remarked, adding that Everest could not claim goodwill or exclusivity for the names ‘Shivajiraje Bhosale’ or ‘Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’.
Rejecting immediate relief, the court posted the matter for final hearing in the week commencing November 17.