New Delhi, March 16 -- The Delhi High Court's interim order in favour of Saregama India Ltd has reignited a debate over who truly owns a song. The order restraining music composer Ilaiyaraaja from exploiting copyrighted works claimed by Saregama India in 134 films underscores a foundational but often misunderstood principle of Indian copyright law: authorship and ownership are not synonymous, particularly in the context of sound recordings released before 2012.

Industry experts note that while a composer is undoubtedly the author of the musical work, the economic rights to that work are often assigned to producers or music labels under contractual arrangements.

Disputes arise when legacy agreements are vague or silent on new exploitatio...