The News Minute | March 5, 2015 | 6.07 PM ISTI would have been Bill Gates by now had I got all the royalty that was due to me, the legendary music director Ilaiyaraaja said. The comment came after the High Court of Madras said that no company or website or mobile provider could use any of the 4,500 odd musical compositions of his without paying the royalty, the New Indian Express reported.The maestro had gone to the court last year seeking this when he found that companies were using his compositions illegally. The court which had then put an interim ban on such usage on Wednesday said that they could be used only if the royalty was paid to Ilaiyaraaja. The court said that the audio companies could hold the rights over the compilations only upto a period of five years. “The first owner of any work of art is the author. But unfortunately nobody paid me royalties all these years. But now, no one can infringe on my songs or use them illegally. From today whoever wants to use it has to get the producers councils’ permission and mine, anyone who fails to do so will have to face the consequences,” Ilaiyaraaja said. Ilaiyaraaja has composed music for over 4,500 songs in about 1,000 movies. He is currently working on his 1000th movie Tharai Thappattai. TweetFollow @thenewsminute