Kerala court restrains creation of Minnal Murali spin-off movies, graphic novels, merchandise (for now)

A Kerala Court on Thursday temporarily restrained the making of films, graphic novels, merchandise, or spin-off films, featuring characters from the Malayalam superhero movie 'Minnal Murali' [Arun AR & Anr. v. Weekend Blockbusters Pvt. Ltd. & Ors.]..The Ernakulam District Court issued the order of temporary injunction on a copyright infringement suit filed by the scriptwriters of Minnal Murali, Arun AR and Justin Mathew."This Court doth order that an interim injunction be awarded to restrain the defendants, their agents,, their representatives, or anyone acting on their behalf from infringing the plaintiff's copyright in 'Minnal Murali', [and other core characters] Brucelee Biji, Josemon, PC Siby Pothan, SI Sajan, PC Shinoj, and Shibu, in any manner including but not limited to the production, distribution, and commercialisation of characters, graphic novels, merchandise, or spin-off films or exploitation of the same in any manner until further orders," the September 12 order states.The defendants in this case include Weekend Blockbusters Pvt. Ltd., Netflix India, Amar Chithra Katha, Spirit Media, and producer Sophia Paul, among others. .The suit moved by Arun and Mathew stated that the duo conceptualised the characters and story of Minnal Murali, which is the tale of a superhero Jaison, a young tailor who gains superpowers after being struck by lightning and transforms into the eponymous superhero. It further said that they started working on the script on the suggestion of Sophia Paul who at the time had not committed to producing the film but had indicated that she liked the characters. Arun and Mathew claimed that a total of ₹33,17,650 was paid to them by the production company behind the movie, Weekend Blockbusters Pvt. Ltd. "Thus, the Plaintiffs are the joint-authors of the original work, comprising the story, screenplay, characters, and dialogues behind the cinematograph film ‘Minnal Murali’ and the first owners of the copyright therein," the suit stated. The writers contended that since the copyright on screenplay is separate from the copyright on cinematograph film, the copyright of the screenplay vests with them as they are the first authors.Arun and Mathew alleged that despite the copyright belonging to them, Weekend Blockbusters partnered with Amar Chithra Katha and Spirit Media to publish a graphic novel ‘Minnal Murali Strikes Again’ retailing at ₹299 and sold on various e-commerce platforms.Similarly, it is alleged that Weekend Blockbusters entered into deals for merchandising as well. The writers argued that they ought to have been paid royalties from the sale of the graphic novel and merchandise. They also claimed that there is now a deal with Netflix India to create a spin-off movie with the characters of the original movie. "As the original authors and copyright holders of this character, the Plaintiffs assert that any such agreement, entered into without their consent or involvement, constitutes a clear infringement of their copyright", the suit said. Arun and Mathew also contended that the production company has illegally registered the trademark for the work Minnal Murali and has been unlawfully utilising it. They, however, submitted that they would challenge the same in separate legal proceedings. Moreover, they alleged that there has been a misallocation of funds from the film that may require the scrutiny of the Enforcement Directorate. .On these grounds, Arun and Mathew have sought a declaration that the copyright of the story and screenplay of the movie as well as the character Minnal Murali and other core characters vests with them.They have also sought a permanent prohibitory injunction restraining the creation or distribution of any rights related to their work and for payment of royalties earned thus far from the graphic novel and merchandise. .The plaintiffs (writers) were represented by Senior Advocate PB Krishnan assisted by advocates Georgie Johny, and Anita Ann George.