Script-writer Jyoti Kapoor has won a case of copyright violation and breach of confidence against Bollywood director-producer Kunal Kohli of Amir Khan-starrer Fanaa fame. The Supreme Court in a landmark verdict on Monday ruled there were similarities between the storyline of Kohli’s under-production film ‘Phir Se’ and Jyoti’s script titled ‘RSVP’. The court ordered that Kohli pay Jyoti a compensation of Rs 25 lakh and give her credit for ‘story/idea.’The verdict brought to end an eight-month battle which took Jyoti from multiple industry dispute resolution mechanisms to the High Court and then to the Supreme Court. Her victory could well redefine the station of script writers in the industry dominated by stars and powerful production houses.While Jyoti, who spoke to Mumbai Mirror over the phone from Karnal in Haryana, described the Supreme Court verdict as a vindication of her stand, Kohli tweeted that he was happy to bring the matter to a close and focus on releasing the film. “The judges asked us to go for a settlement and I agreed, as I don’t believe in fighting with members of my fraternity. Judges felt that creative people should settle to promote creativity and culture. Case is finally over. Release date to be announced soon,” he tweeted.Jyoti said the verdict has brought a sense of closure after eight months of back-breaking work that at times left her disillusioned. “The compensation will take care of the lawyer’s fees. This is a professional, legal and moral victory for my fraternity and me. A friend who had given up on a copyright case half-way through called to say he was reopening the case,” Jyoti said.She said the first thing she did after the verdict was announced was polish off the dabba a relative had packed for her in the morning. “I was ravenous. Now I’ve come home to my parents in Karnal and my mother has cooked a delicious dinner for me,” she said.Jyoti’s ordeal began when her agent emailed her script to Kunal. He met her and they discussed money and credit. She wanted top billing since she had given him a bound, 90-page script. But Kunal wanted certain changes and wanted to buy the script without giving any credit to her. The deal fell through. Jyoti then opened negotiations with another producer with whom she signed an agreement and was given an advance.Meanwhile, Kunal started his film, which will mark his acting debut, and from what she read in the papers, Jyoti detected an uncanny resemblance with her script. Subsequently, she filed a complaint with the Film Writers Association.The Dispute Settlement Committee of the Film Writers Association ruled in Jyoti’s favour, but Kohli appealed at the Appellate Tribunal, which comprises three senior writers. The Tribunal compared the two scripts without being told who had written which one. The Tribunal too detected major overlap in the two scripts. Since Jyoti had registered her script with the Film Writers Association before Kohli began work on his film, the Tribunal declared that it was a clear case of copyright violation.The case then moved to the Joint Dispute Settlement Committee which comprises members of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees to which all 22 trade associations are affiliated. The representatives of the producers association (IMPPA) met with those of the Federation to sort out the issue. “But just before the case came up for hearing, some calls were made seeking confidential information about who was on board prompting Jyoti to move the Bombay High Court asking for a stay on Kohli’s film shoot,” said Anjum Rajabali, activist of the Film Writers Association.The Bombay High Court asked for a guarantee of Rs 50 lakh from Kunal but vacated the stay. That was a dark day for Jyoti who recalls breaking down in court and crying all the way home to Versova in the cab.Many friends from the industry told her to drop the case. They said she stood the risk of being blacklisted. “Bills were mounting and I wanted to be able to focus on my writing. For a moment, the thought of giving up the fight crossed my mind. But then, my husband, Harsh Warrdhan, who’s also a freelance writer, and I decided to move the Supreme Court which in two hearings gave its verdict. Today, I feel vindicated for all those who’ve been through a similar situation and thank my family, friends, the fraternity and even strangers for their unstinting support,” she said.Anjum said the judgement is a shot in the arm for writers who will be encouraged to take their fight for copyright to court now. “Jyoti is not a hugely successful writer, nor does she have plenty of funds behind her,” he said, “but she is a girl with considerable talent and spirit and has shown the fraternity the way ahead.” Kunal has been asked to withdraw the defamation case against Jyoti. He has called her names in the media like ‘extortionist’ and ‘publicity hungry’.