Is license required to screen hindi movies in office premises

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Licence for Communication to public, Public Performance of Music recordings is Mandatory.

Subject to the Copyright Act of 1957, it is mandatory for all those who play Pre-recorded music in the form of Gramophone Records, Music cassettes or CDs or Radio or TV or Audio-visual etc. for non-private purpose or in public places and/or commercial establishments and/or non-commercial establishments, to take prior licence from Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL). in respect of the repertoire its music labels. PPL owns and/or exclusively controls public performance rights in repertoire of many reputed music labels, encompassing all major Indian languages, including Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Gujarathi, Malayalam, Bhojpuri, etc. (both film and non-film music like devotional/spiritual, Ghazals, Classical, folk, Indi-pop, etc) and English/International songs. Consequently, any communication or performance of Indian or International music from Sound Recordings of PPL for non-Private purposes or in Public Places or Commercial Establishments such as Hotels, Restaurants, Cinema Halls, Discotheques etc, or non-commercial establishments such as campus without first having obtained a Licence from PPL, constitutes an Infringement of copyright under The Copyright Act of 1957. Such violation of copyright is Cognizable & Non-bailable offence, attracting heavy Penalties.

Licensing Streams

The value of music is indisputable. Music is everywhere around us: on radio and television, in films, bars, clubs, discotheques, gyms, restaurants, hotels, offices, shopping malls, concerts, fetes, festivals, airplanes and taxis. Recordings of music are manufactured, sold, and distributed on a large scale. Music is an important facet of modern life.

Advocate Siddhant Sharma LawRato