In Brief
The Supreme Court disposed of appeals challenging an interim order that required event organisers to obtain separate licences from both sound recording companies and performing rights societies (IPRS/PPRS) for public broadcasting of songs. The Court held that once a lyricist or musician licences a sound recording company to use their work, the producer acquires independent copyright in the sound recording and may communicate it publicly without further permission from the original authors—unless the licence agreement explicitly restricts this. However, the Court clarified that the 2012 amendments grant authors equal royalty rights. The Court upheld the High Court's interim order as a reasonable interim solution and directed that the main suits be expedited and decided within one year.
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