The Bombay High Court, in a recent Order dated August 13, 2024,^[1] struck down the Goa Government’s Circular dated January 30, 2024 (‘Circular’) which stated that no permission or no objection certificate (‘NOC’) was required to use sound recordings in religious ceremonies, including wedding or marriage ceremonies. The Circular further stipulated that demands for the procurement of such authorization or NOC was a violation of Section 52(1)(za) of the Copyright Act, a provision that permits unauthorized use of sound recordings in any bona fide religious ceremonies including festivities associated with marriages.

Phonographic Performance Limited (‘PPL’), a company that controls the public performance rights of over 400 music labels, challenged the Circular in the Court on the ground that it unlawfully restricted PPL’s right to exert its copyright against infringers, and that the Government lacked the power and authority to interpret and broaden the scope of Section 52 (1)(za) of the Copyright Act. While the Government argued that the Circular was issued in public interest, the Bombay High Court disagreed with this view and struck down the Circular, holding that the Circular had overreached the provisions of the Copyright Act as there were already adequate provisions within the Copyright Act that govern the unauthorized use of sound recordings. The Court held that the Copyright Act permitted the use of copyrighted works for the purposes of ‘bona fide religious ceremonies’, which must be strictly interpreted and the Circular’s broadening of this ambit to include terms such as ‘wedding’ was beyond the executive powers of the Government. The Court further held that whether the ambit of ‘religious ceremonies’ under the Copyright Act included ‘weddings’, ‘marriages’ or such other ceremonies was to be decided on a case-to-case basis and not by a blanket regulation under a Government Circular. Further, the Circular’s directives to initiate strict action against copyright societies or hotels that demand royalties or fees was also held to be in interference with the enforcement mechanisms provided within the Copyright Act.

[1] Phonographic Performance Limited v. State of Goa, Writ Petition No. 253 of 2024.