MUTHUSWAMY Vs. V VENUGOPALAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE defendants in O. S No. 9 of 1962 on the file of the District Judge, West thanjavar,are the appellants. The plaintiff-respondent instituted the suit for an injunction restraining the defendants from reprinting a Tamil Drama called 'kalangarai Deivam' in any form and for recovery of Rs. 14,000/- as damages and for certain other relief's. He claimed to have registered under the Copyrights Act, 1957 (Central Act 14 of 1957) his Tamil Novel 'maruthiyin Kathal'. He contended that the first defendant adopting the theme, characterization, narration and development of the story as found in 'maruthiyin Kathai' wrote under the caption ' kalangarai deivam' in the form of a drama, which was published in series in ananda Vikatan, a weekly Tamil magazine, of which the editor and Publisher was the second defendant. The substances of his complaint was that the defendants committed infringement of his copyright and prayed for the relief's indicated above. The defendants denied the plaintiff's claim contending inter alia that there were vital differences in matters the theme, characterization, etc, between the plaintiff's novel and the first defendant's drama and that the plaintiff was in no way damnified so as to entitle him to claim damages.

(2.) THE trial Judge accepted the plaintiff's case holding that his copyright in his novel 'maruthiyin Kathal' had been infringed by the publication of the first defendant's drama 'kalangarai Deivam' in the second defendant's weekly journal ananda Vikatan. The trial Judge further found that the plaintiff was entitled to damages which he assessed at Rs. 6250. In the concluding portion of his judgment

(3.) IN view of the said abatement, the counsel for the respondent plaintiff contended that the entire appeal had abated and that the first defendant was not entitled to prosecute appeal. This, he raised as a preliminary point by giving notice to the counsel for the first defendant-appellant, and we heard arguments on that point. The question for consideration is whether the appeal, even as regards the first appellant cannot be proceeded with.