No copyright protection for film title even if it's registered with film association: Bombay High Court

The mere registration of a film title with an association does not confer any protection under copyright law, held the Bombay High Court on Monday while dismissing an interim copyright injunction plea filed by the producer of the 1993 Hindi film Lootere [Sunil S/o Darshan Saberwal v Star India Pvt. Ltd]..The plea sought to restrain the release and streaming of a web series bearing the same title on Disney+ Hotstar (now JioHotstar). The plaintiff, Sunil Darshan Saberwal, argued that he had obtained registration of the title ‘LOOTERE’ from the Western India Film Producers Association (defendant no. 4) in September 2010. He claimed that this entitled him to restrain Star India and others from using the same title. .However, a single-judge Bench of Justice Sandeep Marne ruled against any interim relief stating that such a registration did not give him any statutory rights against third parties. “Mere registration of title with Defendant No.4-Association or by any other Association does not create any statutory right in favour of the Plaintiff to restrain Defendant Nos.1 and 2 from using the title ‘LOOTERE’ for making of their web series ... Since title of a book or a film does not constitute a ‘work’ within the meaning of Section 2(y) of the Copyright Act, no copyright can subsist in a mere title," it said. .Saberwal, operating under the banner of Shree Krishna International, claimed to have produced a Hindi feature film titled LOOTERE in 1993. He asserted that he held a valid copyright registration for the film and had also secured title registrations with the Western India Film Producers Association (WIFPA) for feature films, TV serials, web series, and web films.In September 2022, he discovered that a web series titled LOOTERE, produced by JioStar India Private Limited (formerly Star India Pvt. Ltd.), was being promoted for release on Disney+ Hotstar..Although aware of the series in 2022, the Saberwal (plaintiff) filed the current suit only in March 2024, just days before the web series was set to release.He argued that his registration of the title LOOTERE and copyright ownership granted him exclusive rights over the title, which the defendants (makers of the web series) were infringing upon.Star India, however, maintained that there can be no copyright in a mere title. It also argued that the plaintiff’s association-based registrations held no legal sanctity, especially since Star India was not a member of the said association..Dismissing the interim relief plea, the Court held that the plaintiff had failed to establish a 'prima facie case' as film titles are not copyrightable.“The position is thus fairly well settled that there cannot be a copyright in mere title of a film. Therefore, Plaintiff cannot claim any rights in mere title of the film 'LOOTERE'. Prima facie therefore no injunction can be granted in Plaintiff ’s favour on the basis of his copyright infringement claim," it said..The Court added that internal registrations between members of associations are purely private arrangements having no sanctity in law and that such arrangements can be enforced only between the members of the Association.Noting the plaintiff's delay in filing the suit and the fact that the web series had already been released and was actively streaming, the Court also concluded that the relief of a temporary injunction had become infructuous..Advocate Ashok M Saraogi with Advocate Siddharth Singh appeared for Saberwal.Senior Advocate Ashish Kamat with advocates Thomas George, Tanvi Sinha, Navankur Pathak, Neeti Nihal and Bhargavi Baradhwaj instructed by Saikrishna & Associates appeared for Star India Pvt Ltd..[Read Order]