egendary composer Ilaiyaraaja has suffered a setback in his ongoing copyright battle with music label Saregama, after the Delhi High Court issued an interim restraining order against him. The court has barred the composer, along with anyone acting on his behalf, from using, licensing, or commercially exploiting several musical works for which Saregama claims ownership.

As per reports, the restriction applies to sound recordings and related literary and musical works from 134 films. The order also comes in connection with the long-running dispute over the song En Iniya Pon Nilave from the 1980 film Moodu Pani, with the court ruling in favour of Saregama.

Saregama argued that agreements signed with film producers between 1976 and 2001 granted the company perpetual global rights over these recordings. The label further alleged that Ilaiyaraaja recently uploaded and authorised the use of some of these compositions on streaming platforms while asserting ownership over them.

Observing that continued exploitation could cause irreparable loss to the company, the court passed the interim order, effectively preventing the composer from issuing licences or making ownership claims over the disputed works until further proceedings.