A music company has accused some prominent singers, including AR Rehman, Adnan Sami, and A Hariharan, of piracy and infringement of trademark and copyrights.
An FIR has been registered at the Versova police station against these singers on the basis of a complaint by Magnasound Filmcraft and Advertising Private Limited. The FIR also names Shubha Mudgal, Chitra, and Baba Sehgal. The Versova police station transferred the case to the social service branch (SSB) of the Mumbai Police because of its sensitive nature. The SSB, in turn, asked the crime branch control of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to probe the case. "We registered the FIR last month, and the case was transferred to the social service branch, which generally looks into cases of piracy," senior inspector Suresh Nalavde said. The singers have been cited under the Indian Penal Code and other provisions of the Copyright and Trademarks Act for cheating, he said. The FIR has also named a few television channels and former directors of Magnasound, Nalavde said. The complainant, Vineet Saxena, director of the company, said the singers had been violating copyright for years. Many songs of these singers were released by Magnasound. They have to seek its permission before singing the songs at any private show or concert, he said. "As per the contract, if the company grants the permission, the singers have to pay a royalty to the company," Saxena said. Neither have they sought permission for singing the songs nor have they paid any royalty, he said. http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1216945 -- regards, Vithur
