| The petitioner, NRI Film Production Associates Private
Limited, had moved an injunction contending that pending the settlement
of another case on copyright infringement involving the movie, it
should not be aired on Star Movies throughout this month, as scheduled.
According to information available with indiantelevision.com, the
principal district judge of Mysore court G V Hegde, in an order
earlier this week stated that the court felt it was not necessary
to grant an interim injunction for a short period.
Hegde, after listening to the arguments on the short-term injunction
being sought by the plaintiff last week, had reserved his judgment.
In a case filed in a Mysore court, Veda Nayak of the NRI Film Production
Associates has alleged that 20th Century Fox Film Corporation (News
Corp's movies arm) infringed on the copyright of a script written
by him, called Extra Terrestrial Mission, by producing and
releasing the film Independence Day in 1996.
Since Star Movies was scheduled to re-telecast the film of 8, 12,
17 and 25 November, Nayak had sought temporary relief from the court
saying that the movie channel, also part of Rupert Murdoch's News
Corporation, should not be allowed to re-telecast the film.
However, the Mysore court made the following observations even
as Star Movies has gone ahead and screened the movie on 8 and 12
November:
* The court did not grant the injunction sought for by the plaintiff
during the remaining pendency of the suit, since the final orders
on the permanent injunction of the suit will be made shortly. Therefore
at this stage, the court felt that it was not necessary to grant
an interim injunction for a short period.
* The court will pass final orders on the permanent injunction
and other relief sought for in the suit on or before 26 November,
2003 - a time limit that has been fixed by the high court of Karnataka
for conclusion of the suit.
The plaintiff, Nayak's company, has brought to the notice of the
court that the defendants, according to information available on
the Internet, have already made over $ 800 million from the film
throughout the world thus far, whereas the production cost of the
film was only $ 75 million.
Nayak has argued that the defendants could not have made such huge
profits but for the important dramatic events and incidents they
had copied in Independence Day from Extra Terrestrial
Mission, written by Nayak and registered by him too in the US
when residing there.
The copyright infringement suit has been keenly contested between
the parties since November 1998 in US courts too.
Also Read:
Court
silent on Star Movies' 'Independence Day' screening
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