FIFA World Cup
Broadcast, Other Cable Feed& Playing Of Recorded Music in Hotels &
Restaurants Need No Additional Licenses
June, Mumbai: The Hotel and Restaurant Association of
Western India (HRAWI) has welcomed the judgment of The Hon’ble Bombay High Court on Thursday restraining Novex Communication
from obtaining license or payment of license fee in respect of any copyrighted
works or broadcast reproduction rights. Café Leopold and Hotel Unicontinental
had filed a suit in the Bombay High Court after receiving notices by Novex.
“We are
pleased with the verdict. This is a landmark order by the Hon’ble Bombay
High Court with great ramifications. It is a victory not only for the hoteliers
but also the large number of hotel guests and diners who visit restaurants for
entertainment,” said Mr. D.S.Advani, President, HRAWI.
Earlier,
Novex Communications Pvt Ltd had sent notices to hotels that Novex had been
authorized to administer and grantPublic Performance Rights for various audio,
musical compositions and sound recordings from the libraries of (1) M/s. Yash
Raj Films Private Limited, (2) M/s. Shemaroo Entertainment Private Limited, (3)
M/s. UTV Software Communications Limited and (4) M/s. Big Net Communications
Private Limited, and that commercial establishments will have to pay them a
license fee to play or telecast of such material.
“Contesting the notification,
Café Leopold and Hotel Unicontinental had approached the High Court, which granting an ad-interim Injunction/Stay Order against
Novex Communications, restrained it from making any demands for obtaining
license or payment of license fee. The order also restrained collection of
license fee on the broadcast reproduction rights of Multi Screen Media Pvt.
Ltd./ MSM Discovery Pvt. Ltd which includes the channel SONY SIX on which the
FIFA World Cup matches are being telecast,” said Mr. Pradeep Shetty, Chairman Legal
Sub-Committee HRAWI.
Re-emphasizing the fact that
Novex communication itself was undertaking illegal act he added, “the
Association has always been of the view that Novex Communication has no
authority to make any of the above demands, and the same are unlawful. The
order of the Hon’ble Bombay High Court has vindicated the stand of the
Association that Novex has been illegally carrying on the business of a
copyright society without obtaining any registration under the Copyright Act,
1957, and has been making wrongful demands on hotels and restaurants across the
country.”
“In so far as playing recorded music in the establishment is concerned, we
have advised all our members to obtain appropriate licenses from the registered
copyright society or the Copyright owner directly, as the case may be,” says
Mr. Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, Vice-President, HRAWI.
“As fordisplaying
cable feeds at the establishment is concerned, our members have paid necessary
fees to the Local Cable Operator/ DTH operator. They are part of the amenities
or facilities being offered to the guests. Novex’s demand for additional
license fees over and above the fees being paid to the cable operators is
unjustified and illegal,” he added.
The
exceptions to the rules of broadcasting at any commercial establishment are
that, these establishment if are selling tickets or charging entry fee to
display the cable feed such as the FIFA World Cup matches or if they are
recording the cable feed and are playing the same at a later date, then they
may be required to pay separate fees for the same.
“People go
to restaurants or hotels to relax and generally have a good time and pay for
services that we render. Watching a match, in the course of their stay or while
enjoying their meals should not be something that should be commercially exploited.
The order from the HC comes as a great relief to the entire hotel industry. For
now, we are requesting all our members from refraining to pay any monies to
Novex and have requested those who may have already paid any to inform us about
the same for us to take further action,” concluded Mr. Kamlesh Barot, immediate
past-President, HRAWI.
About Hotel &
Restaurant Association Western India (HRAWI)
The Hotel and
Restaurant Association (Western India) is a 64 years old Association of Hotels
and Restaurants in Western India. Its members include Hotels up to 5-Star
Deluxe categories like The Taj, Trident, Hyatt, J.W. Marriott and The Leela who
are some of the prominent members of our Association. With around 1300 members
across Western India, HRAWI covers Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh, Goa and the Union Territories of Daman, Diu &Silvassa is
considered to be the voice of the Hotel Industry. The association is part of
the national body of Federation of the Hotels & Restaurants Associations of
India (FHRAI), located in New Delhi, which was originally founded in Mumbai in
1950 by the late Mr. J.R.D. Tata.
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