Bombay High Court Declares Radhakrishna Productions Sole Owner of Rights Of 'Will You Marry Me' Film

A single-judge bench of Justice Arif S. Doctor passed the judgment on January 5, 2026. He held that the copyright assignment and financing agreements placed on record by Radhakrishna Productions clearly vested all rights of the film with it, and that breaches of these agreements by rival companies had resulted in infringement.

Although Will You Marry Me was produced by Ikkon Films Pvt. Ltd., the company had agreed as early as April 2010 to assign all worldwide rights in the film to Radhakrishna Productions Pvt. Ltd. under a written term sheet. This was followed by a formal copyright assignment executed in May 2010.

Radhakrishna Productions paid substantial amounts under these agreements, but disputes arose when Ikkon Films and its associates later attempted to separately deal with the film's music and distribution rights. This prompted Radhakrishna Films to approach the Bombay High Court in 2012.

During the trial, Radhakrishna Productions led evidence to establish its ownership and the subsistence of its rights. The court noted that none of the rival companies had led any evidence or cross-examined the witness produced by the production house.

Drawing an adverse inference, the court accepted the version placed by Radhakrishna Productions regarding the assignment of rights and the alleged breaches. It observed, “The law is well settled that where a party fails to enter the witness box or challenge material evidence, the Court is entitled to accept the opposing party's version as proved.”

Holding that the conduct of Ikkon Films and others showed a clear attempt to defeat the contractual and statutory rights of the production house, the Court ruled, “In light of the findings that the Plaintiff is the lawful assignee of copyright and related rights in the film “Will You Marry Me”, and that the Defendants have acted in breach of contract and infringement of the Plaintiff's rights, the Plaintiff is clearly entitled to permanent injunctive relief.”

While Radhakrishna Productions had also sought damages, the Court declined to award compensation for mental or emotional trauma, observing that such a claim is not maintainable for a private limited company. However, taking note of the conduct of the rival companies and the costs incurred in pursuing the litigation, the court awarded Rs 10 lakh as costs.

Accordingly, the court decreed the suit, confirming Radhakrishna Productions' ownership of the film and restraining any unauthorised use or exploitation of the film rights.

Case Title: Radhakrishna Productions Pvt. Ltd. v. Ikkon Films Pvt. Ltd. & Ors.

Citation: 2026 LLBiz HC (BOM) 13

Case Number: Commercial IP Suit No. 98 of 2012

For Plaintiff: Advocates Bhupesh Dhumatkar and Simon Mascarenhas instructed by Mulla & Mulla and Craigie Blunt & Caroe