JAYPEE BROTHERS MEDICAL Vs. RAMYA RAGHU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE plaintiff has instituted the suit for declaration that the plaintiff is the owner of copyright in a book, authored by the defendant No. 1 with the assistance of the defendant No. 4 and published by the defendants No. 2 and 3, for the reason of the defendant No. 1 having assigned copyright therein to the plaintiff even before the book had come into existence and on the plea that such assignment has taken effect on the book coming into existence. The plaintiff has also sought consequential relief of injunction restraining the defendants from distributing, selling or in any manner exploiting the said book and for damages etc. On IA. No. 4247/2007 filed by the plaintiff alongwith the plaint for interim relief, vide ex parte order dated 23rd April, 2007 the defendants were restrained from selling, distributing or exploiting the book.

(2.) IA. NO. 6613/2007 has been filed by the defendants under Order 39 Rule 4 cpc. Vide order dated 27th February, 2008 the said ex parte order was modified permitting the defendants to go ahead with the sale of the book, subject to keeping accounts. The plaintiff preferred an appeal to the Division Bench which vide order dated 27th May, 2008 set aside the order dated 27th February, 2008 and restored the ex parte injunction dated 23rd April, 2007 till the disposal of the applications.

(3.) THE plaintiff has based its case on the plea of assignment of copyright in a future work by the defendant No. 1 and the plaintiff consequently being the owner of the copyright on the work coming into existence. The plaintiff thus claims the defendants to be in infringement of the plaintiff"s copyright. The plaintiff has not sued for specific performance of the agreement with the defendant No. 1 or for preventing breach of the same, save with respect to the assignment of copyright as aforesaid.