THOMAS K. O. Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) 'Ratri Sooryan'. This is the title of a Christian devotional song. Infringement of its copyright is the issue in a private criminal prosecution. The same is sought to be quashed under section 482 of the Crimial P.C. The ground urged at the time of hearing was that the copyright in the song was not registered.

(2.) Is registration of copyright mandatory to sustain a prosecution under section 63 of the Copyright Act ? This is the question to be answered to decide the Crl.M.C.

(3.) C.C.30/2010 is a complaint case. It is pending in the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ernakulam. The 3rd respondent in the Crl.M.C is the complainant. The petitioner is the accused. Parties are referred to in this order as shown in the memorandum of Crl.M.C.