FIR registered against YRF for collecting Rs 100 crore worth music royalties

The Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police has registered an FIR against Yash Raj Films (YRF) on charges of collecting approximately Rs 100 crore worth music royalties from members of Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS) in an unauthorised manner.

The IPRS filed the FIR against YRF for taking the royalties of the artists who worked for them.

As per the Copyright Act, 2012, the production house, under the Right to Royalty clause is supposed to share 50 per cent of whatever royalty it receives with the original composer.

According to the IPRS complaint, YRF shared very minimal value with the artists, members of IPRS.

The FIR has been registered under Sections 409 (criminal breach of trust) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The amount of royalty that has been pocketed by YRF is as of now worth Rs 100 crore, according to the complaint. The FIR mentions names of YRF company and its directors Aditya and Uday Chopra, an official said.

According to EOW sources, IPRS has been asked to give a list of all their members who did not receive the royalty that is due to them. EOW will record the statements of IPRS members and then verify the amount that they are claiming.

EOW will track down the transactions by YRF to determine the exact amount, sources added.