ORDER :

Anita Sumanth, J.

1. These five writ petitions challenge a show cause notice/orders-in-original issued by the Service Tax Department to producers/purchasers of cinematograph films who have assigned some part of their copyright in the cinematograph films to television channels, invoking the provisions of the Finance Act, 1994 (in short 'Act'), relating to 'Intellectual Property Right' service.

2. Heard the detailed submissions of Mr. Joseph Prabakar, for Vendhar Movies, (WP Nos. 30085 of 2018), Super Good Films Private Limited (W.P. No. 14425 of 2018) and Wunderbar Films Private Limited (W.P. No. 29206 of 2018 & W.P. No. 5131 of 2019), Mr. AR.L. Sundaresan, learned Senior Counsel, for Ms. Radhika Chandrasekhar, learned counsel for AGS Entertainment Private Limited (W.P. No. 1199 of 2019), Mr. V. Sundareswaran, learned Senior Panel Counsel, Mr. Noorullah learned Standing Counsel and Ms. Seetha Lakshmi, learned Standing Counsel, for the respondents. The writ petitions, annexures and the case laws cited at the Bar have been studied and considered in detail.

3. I must, at the outset, make it clear that the veracity or otherwise of the impugned show cause notice and orders-in-original are taken up for examination, solely since they appear to adopt a stand not in consonance with the relevant provisions of law, both those in the Act as well as in the Copyright Act, 1957 (in short 'CR Act'). This Court has not concerned itself with any factual particulars, except for the limited purpose of appreciating and adjudicating upon the legality of the impugned notice and orders. It is solely on the aforesaid basis that I proceed to advert to the rival contentions advanced by both parties.

4. 'Taxable Services' under service tax law include services provided to any person by a holder of 'intellectual property rights' (in short 'IPR'). The journey of taxation of IPR services commenced on 10.09.2004 with the introduction of Section 65(55b) when the transfer of an IPR, either permanent or otherwise, or the permitting of the use or enjoyment of an IRP was brought under the ambit of levy of service tax for the period till 15.05.2005. Thereafter, for the period 16.05.2005 to 30.06.2012, Section 65(55b) brought to tax income from the service of temporary transfer or permitting the use or enjoyment of IPR.

5. After the introduction of the negative list with effect from 01.07.2012, IPR service was a declared service in terms of Section 66E(c). Taxable services were defined in terms of section 65(105) and clause (zzzzt) thereof reading as follows:

'65(105)(zzzzt): "Taxable service' means any service provided or to be provided to any person, by any other person, for-

(a) transferring temporarily; or

(b) permitting the use of enjoyment of,

any copyright defined in the Copyright Act, 1957, except the rights covered under sub-clause (a) of clause (1) of section 13 of the said Act.'

6. Section 13 of the CR Act enumerates the following classes of work as those in which copyrights subsist: (a) Original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work; (b) Recording of cinematograph films; (c) Sound recordings. The works referred to in (a) have been kept outside of the tax net and only those works referred to in (b) and (c) have been made taxable under service tax law.

7. The petitioners are engaged in the production of cinematograph films. In the regular course of business, the petitioners enter into various agreements with distributors, exhibitors and television channels assigning to them exclusive rights for broadcast and exhibition of various cinematograph films, both produced as well as purchased by them. The rights include satellite television broadcast, direct to home broadcast, direct satellite service, terrestrial television broadcast and all other rights connected therewith including exhibition of the film by means of wireless diffusion and by wire for communication to the public through television broadcast.

8. The salient features of the arrangements entered