Copyrights Act Violation: No Relief From Trial for Film Director Koratala

The Telangana High Court has upheld the trial court's decision to proceed with trial proceedings under the Copyrights Act against the renowned film director and screenwriter Koratala Siva. The case revolves around allegations of copyright infringement related to the story and screenplay of the 2015 Mahesh Babu-starrer 'Srimanthudu.' However, the court dismissed the accusations of criminal conspiracy against Siva.

The complaint was filed by novelist R.D. Wilison, also known as Sarath Chandra, who claimed that the film was based on his award-winning novel 'Chachentha Prema,' published in a Telugu magazine in February 2012. Siva, Yerineni Naveen, and G. Maheshbabu Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. were named as defendants in the lawsuit.

The trial judge, after recording the complainant's testimonies, invoked Section 63 of the Copyright Act and Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code against the accused, leading to the issuance of summons. In 2017, Siva, Naveen, and Maheshbabu Entertainment approached the High Court to overturn the trial court's decision for a criminal trial.

Upon reviewing the evidence, Justice K. Surender declined to register criminal complaints of cheating and forgery against Siva and others. The court also quashed the trial court proceedings against them, except for the copyright infringement charges against Siva. However, he was exempted from the criminal conspiracy proceedings.