Gujarat court fines local singer for copyright infringement

Ahmedabad, Jan 17 : A local court in Ahmedabad, Gujarat has imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on popular Gujarati singer Kinjal Dave.

The penalty has been imposed after Dave flouted a previous court directive, which prohibited her from performing her hit song Char Char Bangadi Wali Gaadi amid an ongoing copyright dispute initiated by a music company.

The legal tussle began in 2019 with Red Ribbon Entertainment Pvt Ltd filing a copyright infringement lawsuit.The dispute hinges on the original creation of the song.

Red Ribbon has alleged that Kartik Patel first uploaded the song from Australia on his YouTube channel Kathiyawadi Kings.

However, Dave has said that the song was written by Manubhai Rabari and composed by Mayur Mehta before RDC Medias release.

In October 2022, the city civil court had issued an injunction against Dave, restraining her from singing the contentious song.The order also extended to two music companies, RDC Media and Studio Saraswati, restricting them from selling the disputed song in cassettes and CDs.

Despite the courts restraining order, Red Ribbon accused Dave of continuing to perform the song publicly, reportedly around 20-25 times.This led to a call for her to be held accountable under Order 39, Rule 2A of the Civil Procedure Code for defying the courts ruling.

In her defense, Dave cited unawareness of the legal implications, a claim dismissed by the court, emphasising her educational background and self-made status.

Her argument that her international performances fell outside the courts jurisdiction was also rejected, with the court clarifying that the order was personally against her and valid worldwide.

janvi/dan