The Bombay High Court on Thursday restrained film producer Rakesh Roshan from releasing the movie Krazzy 4 with certain songs that jingle-composer Ram Sampath had contended were plagiarised from tunes he had composed earlier. Soon after his court-room victory, Sampath reached a settlement with Roshan and consented to the film releasing on Friday with all its songs intact.

Sampath had moved court claiming that his tunes for a cellphone brand’s advertisements had been copied by music composer Rajesh Roshan in four songs of Krazzy 4. On Thursday afternoon, however, Sampath reached a settlement with Roshan, and both parties approached Justice D G Karnik for revocation of his earlier order.

Sampath had sought damages of Rs 2 crore and an interim stay to the film’s release. The court, in its interim order in the morning, had accepted his case that his tunes were plagiarised for the title track Krazzy4 and Break-Free, and their remixed versions.

During the course of arguments earlier, Justice Karnik heard both the jingle and the film’s songs.

Subsequently, the judge observed: “To my untrained ear, both the musical works appeared to be similar.”

“I was unmistakably reminded of the work of the plaintiff after listening to songs in the film,” Justice Karnik said.

He then stated that this was precisely the test as to whether the song reminds the layman of an earlier work. If yes, then it amounts of infringement of copyright.

Justice Karnik further observed that in every song there is a “catch-phrase or hook-phrase” which reminds the listener of the song every time he/ she listens to it. Sampath’s tune and the film’s songs shared such a catch-phrase, the judge observed.

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