HC slams Rs1 crore blow to Shah Rukh Khan’sRa.One
Published: Friday, Oct 21, 2011, 12:57 IST | Updated: Friday, Oct 21, 2011, 15:09 IST
By DNA Correspondent | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA, PTI
By DNA Correspondent | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA, PTI
The Bombay high court on Friday held that prima facie, Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Ra.One was a copy of a concept created and developed by scriptwriter and producer Yash Patnaik and that it violated provisions of the Indian Copyright Act.
The court asked Khan’s company Red Chillies Entertainment to deposit Rs1 crore in the registry failing which it would stay the film’s release, scheduled for Wednesday. Khan and his producer-wife Gauri have agreed to deposit the amount.
Patnaik moved court contending that he was the original copyright owner of the concept and content on which Ra.One is based. He had registered the concept with the Film Writers Association in 2006 and gave several presentations to Mushtaq Sheikh, scriptwriter of Ra.One. Sheikh did not start the project with Patnaik but sold the idea to Khan.
In his petition, Patnaik sought a stay on the release of the film till he got due credit for the concept of a superhero in the future. By way of damages, he wants 10% of the profits of the film if he is not given credit for the concept.
“Prima facie, the first plaintiff (Patnaik) has copyright in the concept, including the material, graphic illustrations and drawings, monograms and scenes and pictures of the flying robots in the gadgets,” a division bench of chief justice Mohit Shah and justice RS Dalvi said in its order.
Reacting to Khan’s argument that Patnaik sought help from the court very late with the intention of blackmailing the producers at the last moment, the court said: “We find substance in the submissions of the plaintiff (Patnaik) that the defendants (Khan and others) started promoting Ra.One in January. Only when more content and visuals from the film were released in the public domain that Patnaik found credible evidence to connect the content created by him.”
Article Link
No comments:
Post a Comment