‘Pinibara Yame’ dispute ends with justice for lyricist Lucian Bulathsinhala

Colombo, April 1 (Daily Mirror) - In a significant ruling affirming the rights of authors and creators, and reinforcing the legal protections afforded under Sri Lankan law, the Supreme Court has ordered Torana Music Distributors (Pvt.) Ltd. to pay Rs. 1 million in damages to veteran artist Lucian Bulathsinhala for infringing his economic rights in the lyrics of the song ‘Pinibara Yame’.

Delivering the judgement, a three-judge bench comprising Justices A.H.M.D. Nawaz, Kumudini Wickremasinghe and Shiran Gooneratne dismissed an appeal filed by Torana Music, thereby affirming the earlier ruling of the Colombo Commercial High Court.

The apex court held that Torana Music had violated the economic rights of Bulathsinhala, the author of the lyrics, rejecting the company’s challenge against the award of damages.

In his judgement, Justice Nawaz observed that the evidence clearly established Bulathsinhala as the author of the lyrics, noting that no consent had been granted by him either to Torana Music or to renowned musician Sunil Edirisinghe to reproduce and commercially distribute the song.

The case relates to a concert held in December 2009 titled “Sandakada Pahana Abiyasa” at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall, where Sunil Edirisinghe performed 22 songs, including “Pinibara Yame.” The performance was recorded in audio-visual format and later handed over to Torana Music for conversion into DVD format for commercial release.

The defendant company subsequently produced and released the DVD to the market in November 2011, prompting Bulathsinhala to institute legal action in the Commercial High Court on May 4, 2012. He contended that the reproduction and distribution of the recording without his consent constituted a violation of his economic rights under the Intellectual Property Act No. 36 of 2003.

Rejecting the arguments advanced by the Defendant, Justice Nawaz emphasized that obtaining permission from a performer alone does not negate the requirement to secure authorization from the copyright holder of the underlying lyrics.

“The position of the Defendant… is contrary to the plain text of Section 9(1) of the Act, contrary to its purpose, contrary to Sri Lanka’s obligations under the Berne Convention, and contrary to established principles of copyright law,” Justice Nawaz observed.

Counsel M.S.A. Wadood, Palitha Subasinghe and Hashane Mallawarachchi appeared for the Defendant. Counsel Charith Galhena with Umagiliya Gamage Savidya Thathsarani, Yasara Senaratne and Shalani Jayasinghe appeared for the Plaintiff.