On Friday, MRT Music, a Bengaluru-based music company, launched a copyright infringement lawsuit against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Supriya Srinate, and Jairam Ramesh. The company has alleged that the Congress party utilized songs from the Hindi version of the Kannada super-hit film KGF: Chapter 2 without permission to produce video content for the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra of the party led by Rahul Gandhi. It is notable that while Lahari Music and T-Series own the music rights for the South Indian versions of the movie, MRT owns the rights to the Hindi version.
According to the reports, the company mentioned in its complaint that it had spent a lot of money to attain the rights to the songs in the South Indian super-hit film KGF 2 in Hindi. Narasimhan Sampath, the music platform’s attorney confirmed that the music company had filed a suit against the Congress, represented by general secretary Jairam Ramesh, Supriya Shrinate, and Rahul Gandhi, for violation of copyrights belonging to MRT Music.
𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬.. 𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬.. 𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬..! 𝐈 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐈𝐭. 𝐈 𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝,
— MRT Music (@Mrtmusicoff) April 22, 2022
𝐁𝐮𝐭, 𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐞..! 𝐈 𝐂𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐀𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝.
A Monstrous 1⃣5⃣0⃣ Million+ views for #KGFChapter2 Songs Across All Languages @YouTube 💥
Listen here ▶️: https://t.co/56aVTcuIBg pic.twitter.com/FbjxRxENQK
“The complaint mainly pertains to the unlawful fraudulent and illegal actions of the members of the steering committee in so far as violating the copyrights owned by MRT Music. The INC has created a video by unlawfully downloading and synchronizing and broadcasting the songs about the movie KGF Chapter 2 in Hindi and portraying it to be owned by the INC. They have also used a logo namely “Bharath Jodo Yatra” in the said video and have broadcasted the same on their official social media handles,” Sampath was quoted.
The company also released a statement to slam the Congress Party for committing unlawful actions amid the Bharat Jodo Yatra. “These unlawful actions committed by a national political party reflect their blatant disregard to the rule of law and the rights of private individuals and entities while they are conducting this Bharath Jodo Yatra to seek an opportunity to govern the county and frame legislation for protecting the rights of the common man and businesses”, the statement added.
The attorney stated that MRT Music’s primary asset is the copyrights it holds and that the firm filed the case merely to enforce its statutory rights. He added that the company has ‘no ambitions to destroy the reputation of any political party’. The matter meanwhile was also taken cognizance by BJP leader Amit Malviya who slammed the party for stealing the content.
“After illegally using a picture of Kannada actor Akhil Iyer in their campaign, Congress sued again. This time by MRT Music, which owns the popular music label of KGF2. Congress picked up songs from the movie for Bharat Jodo Yatra without seeking the firm’s permission. Theft every time, everywhere”, Malviya tweeted.
After illegally using picture of Kannada actor Akhil Iyer in their campaign, Congress sued again. This time by MRT Music, which owns the popular music label of KGF2. Congress picked up songs from the movie for Bharat Jodo Yatra without seeking the firm’s permission.
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) November 5, 2022
हर जगह चोरी! pic.twitter.com/Kg1YWFmrgn
According to the complaint, the Congress party posted two videos of the Bharat Jodo Yatra on Twitter. “Rahul Gandhi has resorted to getting videos created showcasing his heroism and to portray to the general public at large that he is a mass leader. For this reason, he has portrayed himself in the infringing video particularly considering the fact that the movie and more particularly the songs and the audio visual clippings of the two songs in the movie KGF chapter two have gained mass appeal and acceptance”, the complaint read.
The songs used by the party to portray Rahul Gandhi as a ‘hero’ are ‘Falak Tu Garaj Tu’ and ‘Sulthan’ from the movie KGF chapter 2. An FIR has been registered against the party, in general, and the three Congress leaders, in particular, under sections 403 (dishonest misappropriation of property), 465 (punishment for forgery), 120 (concealing design to commit an offence punishable with imprisonment) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC, Section 66 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and under Section 63 of the Copyrights Act, 1957.
आओ, तुम्हें ‘सपनों के भारत’ की ओर लेकर चलें…#BharatJodoYatra pic.twitter.com/4sZinLl8sS
— Congress (@INCIndia) October 11, 2022
इन आँखों में चट्टानों से लड़ने की ताक़त जो है 🔥#BharatJodoYatra pic.twitter.com/gMEWlfw5IB
— Congress (@INCIndia) October 16, 2022
Earlier in September, the Congress party had illegally used a poster of a Bengaluru-based actor named Akhil Iyer in the Bharat Jodo campaign. Iyer had flagged the issue and had alleged that the campaign used his photo illegally and without his consent, and promised legal action on the matter.
I am appalled to see that my face is being used illegally and without my consent for “40% Sarkara” – an @INCIndia campaign that i have nothing to do with.
— Akhil Iyer (@akhiliy) September 23, 2022
I will be taking legal action against this.@RahulGandhi @siddaramaiah @INCKarnataka request you to please look into this pic.twitter.com/y7LZ9wRXW9
The Congress party had used the actor’s photo without authorization in its ‘40% Sarkara’ campaign against the BJP government in Karnataka. Akhil Iyer had said that he was appalled that his photo was used without his consent in a campaign that he has nothing to do with.
