Sarasavi Publishers (Pvt) Limited vs Dharma S. Samaranayake (Publis Silva Case) – SC CHC APPEAL NO.60/2013-2023

Brief
In the case between Dharma S. Samaranayake (Plaintiff-Respondent) and Sarasavi Publishers (Pvt) Limited (Defendant-Appellant), the court addressed the issue of copyright ownership in relation to the Sinhala cook book “ගල්කිස්ස හෝටලයේ පබ්ලිස් සිල්වාගේ විවෘත රසදිය බිව්ව කෘතිය.” The determination was made regarding whether the copyright vested with Dharma S. Samaranayake, who claimed authorship as an editor, or with Publis Silva, whose name appeared with the copyright notice. The court held that the plaintiff had not established authorship sufficient to claim copyright, and accordingly, the prior finding in favor of the plaintiff was set aside. The principle reaffirmed was that the burden of proof lies with the party asserting copyright ownership, and clarity is required regarding the r