No single person owns a Bollywood song. One three-minute track carries at least four separate copyrights plus the singer's performer's right, and each of them can sit with a different owner: the lyricist owns the words, the composer owns the tune, the person who paid for the recording usually owns the sound recording, and the film producer owns the film. That is why a song everyone has heard a thousand times can still be the subject of litigation between two companies that each genuinely believe they own it.
Part of the intellectual property practice at S Jain & Attorneys, Bangalore.
This guide sets out who owns what under the Copyright Act, 1957, what the 2012 amendment changed permanently for lyricists and composers, how assignments and licences actually work, and what you need to clear before you use a film song in a reel, an advertisement, a restaurant, a cover version or a re-release. The pattern is visible in the 2026 dispute in which Vashu Bhagnani's Puja Entertainment obtained interim court protection against Tips Music over the alleged unauthorised exploitation of its film and music catalogue, including a recreated version of an older song. Reported as a fight about "legacy rights", it is really a fight about what decades-old contracts did and did not transfer.
The short answer: four copyrights and one performer's right
Section 13 of the Copyright Act, 1957 protects three classes of work: original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works; cinematograph films; and sound recordings. A film song manages to be several of these at once. Section 13(4) then says the thing most people miss: copyright in a film or a sound recording does not affect the separate copyright in the works from which it was made. The tune and the lyrics keep their own life even after they are baked into a track.
Section 2(d) tells you who the "author" of each layer is. For a musical work it is the composer. For a cinematograph film or a sound recording it is the producer.
| Layer | What it is | Author under the Act | Who usually ends up owning it | Term of protection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Literary work | The lyrics as words | The lyricist | Author, subject to assignment to the producer or label | Author's life plus 60 years (s. 22) |
| Musical work | The composition, the music itself, apart from words | The composer (s. 2(d)(ii)) | Author, subject to assignment | Author's life plus 60 years (s. 22) |
| Sound recording | The recorded track you actually hear | The producer of the recording (s. 2(d)(v)) | The music label, or the film producer | 60 years from the calendar year after publication (s. 27) |
| Cinematograph film | The picturised song sequence and the film | The producer of the film (s. 2(d)(v)) | The film producer or its assignee | 60 years from the calendar year after publication (s. 26) |
| Performer's right | The singer's and musicians' performance | The performer (ss. 38, 38A) | Producer enjoys it in the film once consented in writing, but royalty right survives | 50 years from the year after the performance (s. 38(2)) |
Key takeaway. Clearing "the song" means clearing layers, not a single asset. A licence from the label covers the sound recording. It does not automatically cover the lyrics, the composition, the visuals from the film, or the singer's performance rights. Ask which layer each licence actually grants and get it in writing.
Who is the first owner under Section 17
Section 17 begins with the default that the author of a work is its first owner. The provisos then move ownership in several situations, and two of them matter for film music:
- Proviso (b): where a cinematograph film is made for valuable consideration at the instance of any person, that person is the first owner of copyright in the film, in the absence of an agreement to the contrary.
- Proviso (c): where a work is made in the course of employment under a contract of service, the employer is the first owner, again in the absence of an agreement to the contrary.
That structure is why the Supreme Court, in Indian Performing Right Society Ltd. v. Eastern India Motion Pictures Association, AIR 1977 SC 1443, held that a producer who commissions a composer or lyricist for valuable consideration becomes the first owner of the copyright in the film and its soundtrack, unless the contract says otherwise. For nearly four decades that decision defined the commercial reality of Hindi film music.
The 2012 amendment then added a proviso at the end of Section 17: in the case of any work incorporated in a cinematograph work, nothing in clauses (b) and (c) shall affect the right of the author in a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work. In plain terms, the film producer's ownership of the film no longer swallows the lyricist's and composer's rights in the underlying works.
The 2012 amendment: the royalty right that cannot be signed away
This is the single most important change in Indian music law in a generation, and it is still routinely ignored in contracts. The Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012 inserted provisos into Section 18 and new sub-sections into Section 19:
- Section 18, third proviso: the author of a literary or musical work included in a cinematograph film shall not assign or waive the right to receive royalties, to be shared on an equal basis with the assignee, for utilisation of the work in any form other than communication to the public of the work along with the film in a cinema hall. The only permitted transfers are to the author's legal heirs or to a copyright society for collection and distribution. Any agreement to the contrary is void.
- Section 18, fourth proviso: the same protection applies where the literary or musical work is in a sound recording that is not part of a film, and there the carve-out for the cinema hall does not even arise.
- Section 19(9) and 19(10): no assignment made for the purpose of a film or a non-film sound recording can affect the author's right to claim an equal share of royalties for utilisation in any other form.
So the theatrical run of the film belongs to the producer. Almost everything after that, streaming, radio, ringtones, television, public performance, in-store and event play, triggers an equal royalty share for the lyricist and the composer, whatever the assignment deed says.
The Bombay High Court applied this squarely on 28 April 2023, when Justice Manish Pitale restrained FM radio broadcasters in Indian Performing Right Society Ltd. v. Rajasthan Patrika Pvt. Ltd. and the connected Music Broadcast Ltd. matter from broadcasting songs without paying royalties to the authors of the underlying works, holding prima facie that the legal position had changed with the 2012 amendment (reported by Live Law). The earlier position, that a licence for the sound recording was enough on its own, had been affirmed for the pre-2012 regime by the Supreme Court in International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) v. Aditya Pandey, (2017) 11 SCC 437. Read the two together and the dividing line is the 2012 amendment, not the type of use.
Assignment against licence: what Section 19 actually requires
An assignment transfers ownership. A licence only grants permission to use. Content creators, brands, event companies and restaurants almost always need a licence, not an assignment. Section 19 imposes real formalities on assignments, and they are frequently breached.
| Requirement | Provision | What happens if it is missed |
|---|---|---|
| Must be in writing, signed by the assignor or authorised agent | s. 19(1) | The assignment is not valid |
| Must identify the work and specify rights, duration and territory | s. 19(2) | Scope becomes contestable; gaps are filled by the defaults below |
| Must specify royalty and other consideration payable to the author or heirs | s. 19(3) | Common ground for later disputes over unpaid royalty |
| Rights not exercised within one year of assignment | s. 19(4) | Assignment of that right is deemed to have lapsed, unless the deed says otherwise |
| Period of assignment not stated | s. 19(5) | Deemed to be five years, not perpetuity |
| Territory not specified | s. 19(6) | Presumed to extend within India only |
| Assignment contrary to rights already given to a copyright society the author belongs to | s. 19(8) | Void |
Deadline warning. Section 19(4) and Section 19(5) are silent killers. A buyer who takes a bundle of rights and then sits on some of them for a year can lose those rights by operation of law, and a deed that forgets to state a term is treated as a five-year deal, not a permanent one. If you are acquiring music rights, exercise them or expressly contract out of the deemed lapse; if you are an author, check whether the rights you signed away have already fallen back to you.
What "legacy rights" disputes are really about
Catalogue fights over films from the 1990s and 2000s usually have nothing to do with who wrote the song. They turn on the second proviso to Section 18, inserted in 2012: an assignment shall not apply to any medium or mode of exploitation that did not exist, or was not in commercial use, when the assignment was made, unless the assignment specifically referred to it.
A 1997 agreement granting "audio rights" was signed in a world of cassettes and CDs. Whether it carries over to on-demand streaming, short-form video, in-app sound libraries or AI-assisted recreations is exactly the question a court has to decide, and the answer depends on the words of that old deed rather than on general notions of fairness. That is the commercial nerve running through the Puja Entertainment and Tips Music litigation, and through most catalogue disputes of the last few years.
There is one more structural rule people forget. Under the second proviso to Section 33, the business of issuing or granting licences in respect of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works incorporated in a cinematograph film or a sound recording must be carried on only through a copyright society registered under the Act. That is the statutory basis on which societies such as IPRS operate in this space, and it is one reason a private side-letter with an individual author is often not the clearance a user thinks it is.
Four points explain what a legacy rights fight is actually about.
Not about authorship
Catalogue fights over films from the 1990s and 2000s usually have nothing to do with who wrote the song. They turn on the words of an old deed.
Second proviso to Section 18
An assignment does not apply to a medium or mode of exploitation that did not exist, or was not in commercial use, when it was made, unless it was specifically referred to.
The old audio rights deed
A grant of audio rights signed in a world of cassettes and CDs may or may not carry over to streaming, short-form video or AI-assisted recreations.
Second proviso to Section 33
Licensing the literary and musical works incorporated in a film or a sound recording must be carried on only through a copyright society registered under the Act.
How to clear a film song lawfully
Whether you are cutting a reel, scoring a brand film, running a restaurant playlist or planning a live event, the sequence is the same.
- Write down exactly what you are doing with the song: the medium, the territory, the duration of use, whether it is commercial, and whether you are using the original recording or making a new one.
- Identify the layers you are touching. Playing the original track engages the sound recording plus the underlying lyrics and music. Using the film clip engages the cinematograph film as well. Re-recording it engages the lyrics and music but not the original sound recording.
- Trace the current owner of each layer. Start with the label or producer credited on the release, then check the copyright society repertoire for the underlying works.
- Ask for the chain of title in writing. A licensor should be able to show the assignment or licence under which it claims, not merely assert ownership.
- Take a written licence that states the work, the rights granted, the territory, the term and the fee. Verify that it covers the specific medium you are using rather than a generic "all media" phrase in an old document.
- Where the underlying literary or musical works are involved, confirm how the author's equal royalty share under Sections 18 and 19 is being satisfied, and by whom.
- For a cover version, follow the statutory licence route in Section 31C: prior notice in the prescribed manner, advance copies of covers and labels, advance payment of royalty at the rate fixed, no misleading packaging, and a statement on the cover that it is a cover version made under that section.
- Keep the licence, the correspondence and the payment record for the full period of use. If a takedown or a notice arrives, the paperwork is the defence.
When you may not need a licence
Section 52(1)(a) permits fair dealing with a work, other than a computer programme, for private or personal use including research, for criticism or review, and for reporting current events and current affairs. A genuine review or a news report is treated differently from a mood-setting background track on a commercial page. Section 31D provides a statutory licence for broadcasting organisations, on prior notice and payment of royalties at the fixed rate, and Section 31C provides the cover version licence described above. None of these is a general licence to use popular music for free, and the burden of showing that an exception applies is on the user.
Common mistake. Assuming that crediting the artist, keeping the clip under thirty seconds, or adding "no copyright infringement intended" creates a defence. None of those is a recognised exception in the Copyright Act, 1957. The realistic protections are a licence, a genuine fair dealing purpose under Section 52, or a platform's own licensed music library used within that platform's terms.
What happens when you get it wrong
Section 51 sets out when copyright is infringed. Section 55 gives the owner civil remedies, injunction, damages and accounts of profits, with a limited defence for an innocent infringer who did not know and had no reasonable ground to believe copyright subsisted, in which case the remedy narrows to an injunction and a share of profits. Section 63 makes knowing infringement a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment of not less than six months, extendable to three years, and a fine of not less than fifty thousand rupees, extendable to two lakh rupees, with a proviso allowing a lower sentence where the infringement was not made for gain in the course of trade or business. Section 57 separately preserves the author's moral rights to claim authorship and to restrain distortion or mutilation prejudicial to honour or reputation, and those survive assignment of the copyright itself. Our guide on copyright infringement remedies in India goes through the litigation route in detail.
What we tell clients
Almost every music dispute we see is a documents problem, not a law problem. Producers come in certain they own "everything" because they paid for the film, and the deed turns out to be two pages from 1999 that mention audio rights and nothing else. Creators come in certain they signed everything away, and the 2012 provisos mean they did not. Labels come in with a chain of title that has one missing link, usually an assignment that was never signed or never specified a territory. Before anyone sends a notice, we ask for the actual paper: the original assignment, every subsequent transfer, the society registration, and the royalty statements. Where the paper is thin, the sensible commercial move is very often a licence on agreed terms rather than an injunction application, because interim relief in these matters tends to freeze a release schedule and both sides then negotiate anyway, only with costs already spent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who owns the copyright in a Bollywood song?
A song contains several copyrights: the composer is the author of the music, the lyricist of the words, and the producer is the author of the sound recording and of the film. Singers have separate performers' rights. Contracts usually consolidate the commercial control with a producer or label, but since 2012 the authors' royalty share cannot be consolidated away.
Can I use a popular song in my YouTube video or Instagram reel?
Generally only with a licence from the rights holders or through the platform's own licensed music library, used within that platform's terms. Using it without permission can lead to takedowns, content claims, or civil and criminal proceedings.
Do composers and lyricists still earn after selling their songs?
Yes. Under the provisos to Section 18 and Sections 19(9) and 19(10), authors of the literary and musical works are entitled to an equal share of royalties for uses other than the exhibition of the film in a cinema hall, and any agreement to the contrary is void. Collection is normally through a registered copyright society.
How long does copyright in a song last?
Lyrics and music are protected for the author's life plus 60 years from the beginning of the calendar year after death (Section 22). Sound recordings and cinematograph films are protected for 60 years from the beginning of the calendar year after publication (Sections 26 and 27). Performers' rights last 50 years from the year after the performance (Section 38).
What is the difference between assigning and licensing a song?
Assignment transfers ownership and must be in writing, identifying the work and specifying the rights, duration and territory. Licensing only grants permission to use for stated purposes. If a deed omits the period it is deemed to be five years, and if it omits territory it is presumed to cover India only.
The label gave me a licence for the recording. Is that enough?
Not necessarily. A licence to use the sound recording does not, by itself, deal with the authors' royalty entitlement in the underlying lyrics and music, or with the film footage if you are using visuals. Ask the licensor in writing to confirm which layers its grant covers and how the authors' share is being met.
Can I make my own cover version of a film song?
Yes, but only through the statutory licence in Section 31C, which requires prior notice in the prescribed manner, advance copies of the cover and labels, advance payment of royalty at the fixed rate, packaging that does not mislead about identity, and a statement on the cover that it is a cover version made under that section. Uploading a cover without following that route is not automatically lawful.
What are "legacy rights" in these Bollywood disputes?
It is shorthand for the argument that an old assignment cannot stretch to media that did not exist when it was signed. The second proviso to Section 18 supports that reading: an assignment does not apply to a medium or mode of exploitation that was not in existence or not in commercial use at the time, unless the assignment specifically referred to it.
Does registration with the Copyright Office matter?
Copyright arises on creation and registration is not a precondition to protection, but an entry in the Register of Copyrights is prima facie evidence of the particulars entered (Section 48), which makes proving ownership considerably easier in a dispute.
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws change and every situation is different; please consult a qualified advocate about your specific matter.
