Madras High Court
Viacom 18 Media Private Limited vs Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited on 24 November, 2022
Author: M.Sundar
Bench: M.Sundar
C.S.(Comm. Div.)No.203 of 2022
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
Dated: 24.11.2022
CORAM
THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE M.SUNDAR
C.S.(Comm. Div.)No.203 of 2022
and
O.A.Nos.616 to 618 of 2022
in
C.S.(Comm. Div.)No.203 of 2022
Viacom 18 Media Private Limited
Zion Bizworld, Subhash Road – 'A'
Vile Parle (East), Mumai – 400 057
Maharashtra, India
and also branch office at
Suit 410, 411 Apeejay Business Centre
Apeejay House, 39/12 Haddows Road
Chennai – 600 006
Represented by its Authorized Signatory
Ms.Krishna Shah .. Plaintiff
Vs.
1. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited
Bharat Sanchar Bhavan
Harish Chandra Mathur Lane
Janpath, New Delhi - 110 001.
2. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd
5th Floor, Mahanagar Door Sanchar Sadan
9, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi - 110 003.
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C.S.(Comm. Div.)No.203 of 2022
3. Bharati Airtel Limited
Bharati Crescent, 1, Nelson Mandela Road,
Vasant Kunj, Phase II, New Delhi - 110 070.
4. Aircel Cellular Limited
5th Floor, Spencer Plaza
769, Anna Salai
Chennai-600 002.
5. Tata Communication Limited,
Vsb, Mahatma Gandhi Road,
Fort Mumbai, Maharastra 400 001.
6. Vodafone India Limited
Suman Tower, Plot No.18,
Sector 11, Gandhinagar
Gujarat 382011.
7. Idea Cellular Limited
Suman Tower, Plot No.18,
Sector 11, Gandhinagar
Gujarat 382011.
8. Tata Teleservices Ltd
10th Floor, Tower I, Jeevan Bharati
124 Connaught Circus
New Delhi - 110 001.
9. Tikona Digital Networks Private Limited
Office 3A, 3rd Floor
LBS Marg, Bhandup (West)
Mumbai - 400 078.
10. You Broadband & Cable India Ltd.,
Plot No.54, Marol Industrial Cooperative Area
Off. Andheri Kurla Road
Andheri (East), Mumbai – 400 059
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C.S.(Comm. Div.)No.203 of 2022
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C.S.(Comm. Div.)No.203 of 2022
11. Sify Technologies Limited
2nd Floor, TIDEL PARK
No.4, Canal Bank Road
Chennai-600 113.
12. Siti Broadband Services Pvt. Ltd.,
B-10, Lawrence Road, Industrial Area
New Delhi North West
DL 110035 IN.
13. Asianet Satellite Communications
2A, II Floor, Leela Infopark
Technopark Limited, Kazhakkoottam
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala - 695 581.
14. Data Infosys Limited
Station Road, Durgapura
Jaipur 302018.
15. Readylink Internet Services Limited
Galazy, Plot No.7, Sakhthi Colony
RK Puram, Ganpathy
Coimbatore - 641 006.
16. Opto Network Private Limited
B-86, Sector - 14
Noida - 201 301
Uttar Pradesh, India.
17. Nettlinx Limited
5-9-22,3rd Floor
My Home Sarovar Plaza
Secretariat Road, Saifabad
Hyderabad - 500 004.
18. City Online Services Limited
701, 7th Floor
Aditya Trade Center, Ameerpet
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C.S.(Comm. Div.)No.203 of 2022
Hyderabad - 500 038.
19. Pioneer eLabs Limited
Pioneer Towers, 17th Floor
Plot No.16, Survey No.64,
Software Unit Layout
APIIK, i-Tech City, Madhapur
Hyderabad 500 080.
20. AT&T Global Network Service India Pvt. Ltd.,
13th Floor, 1305-06 Mohan Dev House
13, Tolstoy Marg, New Delhi - 110 001.
21. Nextgen Communications Limited
Thachil Complex
No.10, 3rd Floor, Raja Annamalai Road,
Saibaba Mission Post
Coimbatore - 641 011, Tamil Nadu, India.
22. Southern Online Bio Technologies Limited
Flat No.A3, 3rd Floor, Office Block
Samrat Complex, Saifabad,
Hyderabad - 500 004.
23. MyNet Services India Private Limited
#12, 1 Floor, IV Cross
Gandhipuram, Pallipalayam
Erode - 638 006.
24. LimrasEronet Broadband Services Private Limited
Doshi Towers, First Floor
#156, Poonamallee High Road,
Kilpauk, Chennai-600 010.
25. RS Broadband Service India Private Limited
Doshi Towers, First Floor
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C.S.(Comm. Div.)No.203 of 2022
Old #156, New # 205, Poonamallee High Road,
Kilpauk, Chennai-600 010.
26. Spectra ISP Networks Pvt. Ltd.,
Plot No.21-22, 3rd Floor
Udyog Vihar, Phase IV
Gurgaon - 122 015.
27. Pulse Telesystems Private Limited
51/52, Real Towers
3rd Floor, Royapettah High Road
Mylapore, Chennai-600 004.
28. EsselShyam Communications Ltd.,
1121, Hemkunt Chambers, 11th Floor,
89, Nehru Place, New Delhi - 110 019, India.
29. Five Network Solution (I) Ltd.,
22/2, Plot No.275-B
Gurunanak School Compound
Sion (West), Mumbai - 400 022, India
30. Action Lane
No.16, No.1A Kalpana Apartments
1st Street, Above Padmanaba Nagar Electricity Board
Adyar, Chennai-600 020.
31. Jak Communications Pvt. Ltd.,
No.4, J Block, Near 6th Avenue
Anna Nagar East
Chennai-600 102.
32. C32 Cable Net Pvt. Ltd.,
Old No.284, New No.204,
Shanmugam Salai, Royapettah
Chennai-600 014.
33. Thamizhaga Cable TV Communications Pvt Ltd.,
No.9A/5, Club Road, Near Mittai Shop
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C.S.(Comm. Div.)No.203 of 2022
Chetpet, Chennai-600 031.
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C.S.(Comm. Div.)No.203 of 2022
34. Thiru Nagar Satellite Vision Pvt. Ltd.,
No.149/80, Vijaya Theatre Complex
Behind Kasi Theatre
Pillaiyar Koil Street,
Jafferkhanpet, Chennai-600 083
35. Ashok Kumar
Unknown Person, India
36. Ashok Kumar
Unknown Person, India
37. Ashok Kumar
Unknown Person, India
38. Ashok Kumar
Unknown Person, India
39. Ashok Kumar
Unknown Person, India
40. Ashok Kumar
Unknown Person, India
41. Ashok Kumar
Unknown Person, India . .. Defendants
This Civil Suit is preferred, under Order VII Rule 1 of Civil
Procedure Code, 1908 and Order IV Rule 1 of the Original Side Rules
1956 read with and Sections 51, 52, 55 and 62 of the Copyright Act, 1957
and the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012 and Section 7 of the
Commercial Courts, 2015 praying
a) Pass a decree of permanent injunction restraining the Defendants,
their partners, proprietors, their officers, servants, agents and
representatives, franchisees, head-ends and all others in capacity of
principal or agent, acting for and on their behalf from
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C.S.(Comm. Div.)No.203 of 2022
i) broadcasting, communicating, telecasting, retransmitting
or subscribers or otherwise, through any means, the Event –
Road Safety World Series League or any of its underlying works
or part thereof or pertaining or relating thereto (“Works”)
whether through the Plaintiff's Channels or Plaintiff's Platform or
any other channel or any other signal piracy;
ii) transmitting / communicating to public/making
available any games, footage, clip, audio-video, audio only,
highlights, pre-match coverage, match update, post match
update, analysis, debates and/or any part o the Event of the
Works, including five score update play-by-play and / or textual
and/or audio only commentary, highlights through any website,
application and/or any other digital platform through internet,
mobile and / or radio delivery and;
iii) reproducing making sound and/or visual recording of
the Plaintiff's Channels or the feed thereof and communicating
the same to the public without authorization of the Plaintiff, or
doing any other thing as is likely to lead to infringement of the
exclusive rights of the Plaintiff in the Event and/or the Works,
shall form part of the Plaintiff's channel.
(b) A permanent injunction, restraining the defendants 1 to 29 from
infringing the event “Road Safety World Series League” and / or the said
works be directed to block all websites/web pages and future websites
(including their prefix and suffix) and those rogue websites mentioned in
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C.S.(Comm. Div.)No.203 of 2022
Schedule-A including alpha numeric/minor websites hosting contents that
relate to Plaintiff's licensed rights/copyright protected event “Road Safety
World Series League” and/ or the works in any manner thereby restraining
the unauthorised broadcasting, telecasting, transmitting / communicating to
public / making available any games, footage, clip, audio/video, audio only
copying, uploading, downloading, exhibiting or playing and / or in any
manner communicating in and / or through their services immediate of
receipt of details of such infringing websites / webpages in writing;
c) A permanent injunction restraining the defendants 30 to 34 from
infringing the event “Road Safety World Series League” and / or the said
works by themselves, their partners/proprietor/directors, heirs,
representatives, successors in business, assigns, distributors, agents,
servants or anyone claiming through them or under them from infringing
the Plaintiff's licensed rights/copyrighted event “Road Safety World Series
League” and / or the said Works by copying, recording, reproducing or
allowing camcording or allowing others for transmitting, communicating or
making available any games, footage, clip, audio-video, audio only,
copying, uploading, making available or distributing or duplicating or
displaying or showing or uploading or downloading or exhibiting or
playing and/or in any manner whatsoever from communicating the event
“Road Safety World Series League” and/or said works without a proper
license from the plaintiff or in any other manner which would violate /
infringe the Plaintiff's licensed rights/copyrighted event “Road Safety
World Series League” and/or the said works through different mediums
including but not limited to CD, DVD, Blu-ray dise, VCD, cable TV,
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C.S.(Comm. Div.)No.203 of 2022
Direct to home services, internet services, multimedia messaging services,
pen drives, hard drives, tapes, DAS, satellite, Conditional Access Systems
or in any other medium / manner whatsoever;
d) A permanent injunction restraining the Defendant Nos.35 to 41,
restraining them infringing the event “Road Safety World Series League”
and/or the said Works by themselves, their partners/proprietor/directors,
heirs, representatives, successors in business, assigns, distributors, agents,
servants or anyone claiming through them or under them from infringing
the Plaintiff's licensed rights/copyrighted event “Road Safety World Series
League” and/or the said works, in any manner whatsoever, without a
proper license from the Plaintiff,
e) for the costs of the suit;
f) pass such further or other orders as this Hon'ble Court may deem
fit and proper in the circumstances of the case and thereby render justice.
For Plaintiff : Mr.A.M.Venkatakrishnan
for Mr.T.Pandiyan of
M/s.P K Law Firm (Law Firm)
JUDGMENT
Mr.A.M.Venkatakrishnan, learned counsel for Mr.T.Pandiyan of M/s.P.K.Law Firm (Law Firm) for the sole plaintiff company who is before this Commercial Division, submits that he has instructions from the plaintiff company to withdraw the captioned suit. Learned counsel on Page Nos.11/13 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis C.S.(Comm. Div.)No.203 of 2022 record has made an endorsement in the case file, a scanned reproduction of which is as follows:
2. The aforementioned endorsement made in the case file is reiterated by the learned counsel in the hearing.
3. In the light of the aforementioned endorsement and reiteration of the same in the hearing, captioned Civil Suit is dismissed as withdrawn.
Consequently, connected applications are closed. There shall be no order as to costs.
24.11.2022 Index : Yes/No Speaking/Non-speaking order gpa M.SUNDAR, J.
Page Nos.12/13https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis C.S.(Comm. Div.)No.203 of 2022 gpa C.S.(Comm. Div.)No.203 of 2022 and O.A.Nos.616 to 618 of 2022 in C.S.(Comm. Div.)No.203 of 2022 24.11.2022 Page Nos.13/13 https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis