Bombay High Court: No Copyright in Film Titles, Even if Registered with Industry Associations

The Bombay High Court has clarified that film titles cannot be protected under copyright law, even if they are registered with film industry associations. The Court made this observation while dismissing an interim plea filed by Sunil Darshan Saberwal, producer of the 1993 Hindi film Lootere.

Saberwal sought to stop the release of a web series titled Lootere on Disney+ Hotstar (now JioHotstar). He argued that since he had registered the title Lootere with the Western India Film Producers Association (WIFPA) in 2010, he had exclusive rights over it. He also pointed out that his company, Shree Krishna International, had earlier produced a film by the same name in 1993.

Justice Sandeep Marne, however, rejected the plea, ruling that the mere registration of a film title with an association does not create statutory rights against non-members. The Court highlighted that under the Copyright Act, the title of a book or a film is not considered a “work” and therefore cannot be protected.

The Court further noted that such internal association registrations are only private arrangements and have no legal force outside the association. Since Star India (now JioStar India Pvt. Ltd.), which produced the series, is not a member of WIFPA, it cannot be bound by those rules.

The Court also pointed out that Saberwal delayed filing the case—despite knowing about the web series since 2022—and that the series had already been released and was streaming. Given this, the relief sought had become infructuous.

In its judgement, the Court reaffirmed that titles alone cannot be copyrighted and rejected the plea for an injunction.