CBFC Certificate Only Prima Facie Evidence Of Who Produced the Film In Copyright Dispute: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has recently held that a Central Board of Film Certification certificate is only “prima facie evidence” of who produced a film and cannot be determinative in a copyright suit when weighed against other material on record.

A bench of Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy made the observation while deciding a copyright dispute between R. Kishore Kumar, proprietor of Anna Therasa International Films, and Durairajan and Rafiq of R.R. Cine Productions over the ownership of a Tamil film released under multiple titles, including “MANI”, “MONEY” and later “DHADHA”.

The court said, "While it constitutes strong evidence that the film was completed and that it was viewed by the Examining Committee, it is no more than prima facie evidence as regards the producer. This piece of evidence is required to be considered with the remaining evidence before drawing conclusions.”

The case arose from competing claims over who produced the film, which features actors including Nithin Sathiya, Gayathri and comedian Yogi Babu.

One side relied on a CBFC certificate issued in its name to assert ownership and control over the film's release. The other pointed to agreements with actors and technicians, records of payments made during shooting, and possession of the original bound script.

Durairajan and Rafiq, operating through R.R. Cine Productions, argued that they had financed the film and that the CBFC certificate reflected the true producer.

They also questioned Kumar's financial capacity and alleged that vouchers and records had been misused.

Kumar, in response, maintained that the certificate alone could not establish production and relied on contemporaneous records and agreements to show that he had taken responsibility for making the film.

Examining the material, the court found that the CBFC certificate could not outweigh stronger evidence on record. It noted that several agreements relied upon by R.R. Cine Productions were unreliable since they were purportedly executed by a firm before it came into existence. It also found inconsistencies in the funding claims.

On the other hand, the court placed weight on Kumar's documents, including the original script and payment records, observing that the ledger entries “appear to have been made contemporaneously in course of shooting”.

It concluded that the person who took the initiative and responsibility for making the film would qualify as its producer under law and therefore as the first owner of copyright. Applying this test, the court held that R. Kishore Kumar is the producer of the film and its first owner of copyright and restrained the rival claimants from exhibiting it.