The Court established that composers working within traditional frameworks can create original, copyrightable works.
Justice Singh elaborated on this concept by drawing a parallel between Saptaswara and English literary works.
“All Classical music compositions are based on the eight Swaras – Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni, Sa. Similarly, all English literary works would be based upon the same English alphabet A – Z. Every Raga is based on the principles prescribed for a Raga. Similarly every language is bound by the rules of grammar too.”
Thus, the Court clarified that while no one can claim ownership of a raga itself, the specific creative expression within that framework can be protected, much like how no one owns grammar but authors own their novels.
