Background

The fallout from the Azure litigation discussed in my earlier post https://rnaip.com/phonographic-performance-limited-ppl-stumbles-in-a-music-licensing-dispute/ has put PPL in a tight spot. The dispute started over royalty payments for sound recordings licensed to PPL. The Single Judge of the Delhi High Court ruled in favour of PPL and stopped Azure from playing PPL’s copyrighted works without a license. Azure appealed this decision to the Division Bench (DB).

Key Points from DB Ruling

The DB ruled that while there’s no restriction on PPL licensing the sound recordings assigned to it, PPL would need to be a registered copyright society or a member of one to do so. The court noted that PPL is not a registered copyright society, although it was in the past. As an interim measure, the court allowed PPL to license the sound recordings for public performance, but under the terms and tariff rates of The Recorded Music Performance Ltd. (RMPL), as if PPL were an RMPL member. The court saw this as a fair arrangement.

SC Puts hold on the DB Decision

PPL challenged this direction in the Supreme Court (SC). The SC stayed the operative part of the DB judgment and that of the Single Judge. The big question now is whether this applies only to the Azure case or to all future cases.

Road Ahead

PPL has now filed a new suit at the Delhi High Court against, Sagar Kumar CS(COMM) 418/2025, seeking royalties for playing their sound recordings. In response to PPL’s legal notice, Sagar Kumar argued that PPL has no right to take action until the Supreme Court decides the Azure matter. PPL filed a copyright infringement suit against Sagar Kumar seeking an injunction from playing its sound recordings. Given the status of Azure case and considering the ‘stay’ of its order by the Supreme Court , the Single Judge of the High Court declined to grant an interim injunction in favour of PPL.

Thus, until SC clarifies the scope of the stay, PPL’s authority to grant licenses and collect royalties is in question. PPL to clear the position has already moved the Supreme Court SLP 13597/2025. The SC granted the leave and issue notice to Sagar Kumar returnable on 19th May, 2025. Watch this space as this saga unfolds.