Delhi High Court
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. vs Https://Ww2.Movierulzfree.Com & Ors on 10 October, 2022
Author: Navin Chawla
Bench: Navin Chawla
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Reserved on: 19.09.2022
Date of decision: 10.10.2022
+ CS (COMM) 407/2019 & I.A 10598/2019, I.A. 10600/2019 &
I.A. 13803/2022
WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT INC .....Plaintiff
Through: Ms.Suhasini Raina, Ms.R. Ramya
& Ms.Mehr Sidhu, Advs.
versus
HTTPS://WW2.MOVIERULZFREE.COM& ORS....Defendants
Through: Mr.Bhagvan Swarup Shukla,
CGSC with Mr.Kamaldeep, Adv.
for UOI.
Mr.Kirtiman Singh, CGSC with
Ms.Vidhi Jain, Advs. for D-26 &
D-27.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE NAVIN CHAWLA
1. The plaintiff has filed the present suit inter-alia praying for the
following reliefs:
"50. In light of the foregoing, it is most
respectfully prayed that this Hon'ble Court may
be pleased to:
i. Issue an order and decree of permanent
injunction restraining the Defendant No. 1 (and
such other mirror/redirect/alphanumeric websites
discovered to provide additional means of
accessing the Defendant Websites, and other
domains/domain owners/website
operators/entities which are discovered to have
been engaging in infringing the Plaintiff's
exclusive rights), its owners, partners,
proprietors, officers, servants, employees, and all
others in capacity of principal or agent acting for
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and on their behalf, or anyone claiming through,
by or under it, from, in any manner hosting,
streaming, reproducing, distributing, making
available to the public and/or communicating to
the public, or facilitating the same, on their
websites, through the internet in any manner
whatsoever, any cinematograph
work/content/programme/ show in relation to
which Plaintiff has copyright,
ii. Issue an order and decree directing the
Defendant Nos. 2-10, their directors, partners,
proprietors, officers, affiliates, servants,
employees, and all others in capacity of principal
or agent acting for and on their behalf, or anyone
claiming through, by or under it, to block access
to the Defendant No. 1 website identified by the
Plaintiff in the instant suit (and such other
mirror/redirect/alphanumeric websites discovered
to provide additional means of accessing the
Defendant Website, and other domains/domain
owners/website operators/entities which are
discovered to have been engaging in infringing
the Plaintiff's exclusive rights)
iii. Issue an order directing the Defendant Nos. 11
and 12, to issue a notification calling upon the
various internet and telecom service providers
registered under it to block access to the
Defendant No. 1 websites identified by the
Plaintiff in the instant suit (and such other
mirror/redirect/alphanumeric websites discovered
to provide additional means of accessing the
Defendant Website, and other domains/domain
owners/website operators/entities which are
discovered to have been engaging in infringing
the Plaintiff's exclusive rights);
iv. Issue an order directing the Domain Name
Registrars of the Defendant Website identified by
the Plaintiff in the Plaint to disclose the contact
details and other details about the owner of the
said websites, and other such relief as this
Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper:"
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2. The plaintiff claims itself to be a global entertainment company
under the laws of the State of Delaware, the United States of America,
and as being engaged in the business of creation, production, and
distribution of motion pictures. The plaintiff has also received certain
reputed awards, such as the Academy Award for 'Best Picture' for 'Argo'
in 2012.
3. It is the contention of the plaintiff that the motion pictures
produced by the plaintiff, being works of visual recording and which
include sound recordings accompanying such visual recordings, qualify
to be a 'cinematograph film' under Section 2(f) of the Copyright Act,
1957 (in short 'the Act'). The plaintiff claims that this Court has
jurisdiction by virtue of Section 13(1) read with Sections 13(2) and 5 of
the Act. Since the plaintiff's cinematograph films are released in India,
the cinematograph films of the plaintiff would be entitled to all the rights
and protections granted under the provisions of the Act.
4. The claim of the plaintiff is premised on the allegation of illegal
and unauthorized distribution, transmission and streaming of the
plaintiff's original content by the defendant Nos. 1, 14-27, 28-30, 31-53,
54-69, 70-72 (hereinafter referred to as the 'rogue websites'). It is the
case of the plaintiff that as a result of the unauthorized transmission of
their content, the rogue websites infringe the copyright of the plaintiff in
the original works produced by it, which have been granted protection
under the provisions of the Act.
5. The plaintiff has impleaded various Internet Service Providers (in
short, "ISPs") as the defendant Nos. 2-10 and concerned departments of
the Government of India as the Defendant Nos. 11 and 12. The ISPs and
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the concerned departments have been impleaded for the limited relief of
compliance with any directions of this Court granted in favour of the
plaintiff.
6. The plaintiff, vide an investigation conducted by an independent
investigator, learnt of the extent of the infringing activity of the rogue
websites, in as much as the rogue websites have infringed the plaintiff's
copyright under the provisions of the Act in the original content by
streaming or hosting and/or by facilitating the use of the rogue websites,
inter alia by downloading and streaming the plaintiff's original
cinematograph films in which copyright vests.
7. It is also the case of the plaintiff that a cease-and-desist notice was
served on the rogue websites calling upon them to cease from engaging
in their infringing activities. Despite the legal notice, the rogue websites
continue to infringe the rights of the plaintiff in its original content.
8. The learned counsel for the plaintiff presses only for prayers (i),
(ii) and (iii), as noted hereinabove, of the plaint. The other reliefs as made
in the plaint are not pressed.
9. The learned counsel for the plaintiff relies upon the judgment dated
10.04.2019 passed by this Court in a batch of suits, including UTV
Software Communication Ltd. & Ors. v. 1337X.to & Ors., 2019 SCC
OnLine Del 8002, which dealt with the determination of rogue websites.
10. The plaintiff has filed I.A. 13803 of 2022 under Order XIII-A of
the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (in short, 'CPC'), as applicable to
commercial disputes, seeking a Summary Judgment.
11. The grounds for filing the above application, as enumerated by the
plaintiff in the same, are as follows:
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a. That all the defendants have been duly served by the
plaintiff, however, only the defendant Nos. 2, 7, 9, 11 and 12 have
entered appearance before this Court.
b. That the defendant Nos. 1 and 14 to 72 being the rogue
websites, against whom the plaintiff is seeking primary relief, are
illegally streaming the plaintiff's content on their websites and
even after being duly served by the plaintiff, have decided not to
contest the present suit.
c. That the rogue websites impleaded as defendant Nos. 1 and
14 to 72 have no real prospect of successfully defending the claim
of copyright infringement under Section 51 of the Act and have
further not chosen to contest the said claim.
d. Additionally, there is no other compelling reason why the
present suit should not be disposed of before recording of oral
evidence particularly in view of the fact that there is no dispute
regarding the illegal activities of the Defendant Nos. 1 & 14 to 72
and in any event, in the absence of any challenge or opposition to
the factual allegations made in the plaint, in view of provisions of
Order VIII Rule 5 of the CPC, there is no occasion for recording
of oral evidence in the present matter.
12. The learned counsel for the plaintiff has relied upon Clause 3 of
Chapter XA of the Delhi High Court (Original Side) Rules, 2018 which
states the grounds under which a Court can pass a Summary Judgment.
13. The learned counsel for the plaintiff has drawn my attention to
affidavits filed by Mr. Manish Vaishampayan, who conducted the
investigation with regard to the aforesaid websites at the instance of the
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plaintiff, to contend that the said websites need to be treated as rogue
websites. With respect to this contention, reliance is placed on the
following documentary evidence in support of each of the aforesaid
websites:
S.NO. Particulars Court File
Pagination along with
Volume Number
Print of Contact Details of various websites as available on
WHOIS (Primary domains):
1. MovieRulzFree.com Pg. 291-293
(Defendant No. 1) Folder IV (Vol. 2)
2. 4MovieRulz.ac Pg. 63-64
(Defendant No. 14) I.A. 8545/2020
3. 8MovieRulz.tv I.A. 8545/2020
(Defendant No. 15) Pg. 67-71
4. 4MovieRulz.tv Pg. 74-77
(Defendant No. 16) I.A. 8545/2020
5. 4MovieRulz.mx Pg. 80-83
(Defendant No. 17) I.A. 8545/2020
6. 4MovieRulz.vc Pg.86-87
(Defendant No. 18 ) I.A. 8545/2020
7. 8MovieRulz.sx Pg. 90-92
(Defendant No. 19) I.A. 8545/2020
8. 3MovieRulz.sx Pg.96-98
(Defendant No. 20) I.A. 8545/2020
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9. 3MovieRulz.vc Pg. 101-103
( Defendant No. 21) I.A. 8545/2020
10. 3MovieRulz.gs Pg. 106-108
(Defendant No. 22) I.A. 8545/2020
11. 3MovieRulz.be Pg. 111-113
(Defendant No. 23) I.A. 8545/2020
12. 3MovieRulz.top Pg. 154-155
(Defendant No. 24) I.A. 8545/2020
13. 3MovieRulz.fun Pg.158-160
(Defendant No. 25) I.A. 8545/2020
14. MovieRulz.buzz Pg.179-181
(Defendant No. 26) I.A. 8545/2020
15. 6MovieRulz.in Pg. 184- 186
(Defendant No. 27) I.A. 8545/2020
16. 4MovieRulz.as Pg. 50-52
(Defendant No. 28) I.A.7072/2021
17. 4MovieRulz.ph Pg. 55-56
(Defendant No. 29) I.A.7072/2021
18. WatchMovieRulz.me Pg. 67-69
(Defendant No. 30) I.A.7072/2021
19. 4MovieRulz.nl Pg. 75-77
(Defendant No. 31) I.A. No. 12513/2021
20. 7MovieRulz.bar Pg. 114-116
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(Defendant No. 32) I.A. No. 12513/2021
21. 4MovieRulz.men Pg. 119-121
(Defendant No. 33) I.A. No. 12513/2021
22. 4MovieRulz.bar Pg. 124-126
(Defendant No. 34) I.A. No. 12513/2021
23. 4MovieRulz.kim Pg. 129-134
(Defendant No. 35) I.A. No. 12513/2021
24. 4MovieRulz.wf Pg. 137-142
(Defendant No. 36) I.A. No. 12513/2021
25. 4MovieRulz.pm Pg. 145-147
(Defendant No. 37) I.A. No. 12513/2021
26. 7MovieRulz.wtf Pg. 150- 152
(Defendant No. 38) I.A. No. 12513/2021
27. 7MovieRulz.be Pg. 175-176
(Defendant No. 39) I.A.No. 12513/2021
28. 7MovieRulz.im Pg. 179-180
(Defendant No. 40) I.A. No. 12513/2021
29. 4MovieRulz.la Pg. 183-184
(Defendant No. 41) I.A. No. 12513/2021
30. 4MovieRulz.ag Pg. 187-188
(Defendant No. 42) I.A. No. 12513/2021
31. 4MovieRulz.im Pg. 191-192
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(Defendant No. 43) I.A. No. 12513/2021
32. 4MovieRulz.lu Pg. 195-196
(Defendant No. 44 ) I.A. No. 12513/2021
33. 4MovieRulz.mn Pg. 199-201
(Defendant No. 45) I.A. No. 12513/2021
34. 4MovieRulz.tc Pg. 204-206
(Defendant No. 46 ) I.A. No. 12513/2021
35. 7MovieRulz.mn Pg. 209-211
(Defendant No. 47) I.A. No. 12513/2021
36. 7MovieRulzFree.me Pg. 233-235
(Defendant No. 48 ) I.A. No. 12513/2021
37. 5MovieRulzFree.me Pg. 238-239
(Defendant No. 49 ) I.A. No. 12513/2021
38. 5MovieRulzFree.net Pg. 243-245
( Defendant No. 50 ) I.A. No. 12513/2021
39. 10MovieRulz.cc Pg. 265-267
(Defendant No. 51) I.A. No. 12513/2021
40. 10MovieRulz.com Pg. 270- 272
(Defendant No. 52) I.A. No. 12513/2021
41. 10MovieRulz.org Pg. 275-277
(Defendant No. 53) I.A. No. 12513/2021
42. 7MovieRulz.ph Pg. 84-86
(Defendant No. 54) I.A. No.17166/2021
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43. 7MovieRulz.site Pg. 89-95
(Defendant No. 55) I.A. No.17166/2021
44. 7MovieRulz.bar Pg. 98-104
(Defendant No. 56) I.A. No.17166/2021
45. 8MovieRulz.bar Pg. 107-113
(Defendant No. 57) I.A. No.17166/2021
46. MovieRulz8.bar Pg. 116-122
(Defendant No. 58) I.A. No.17166/2021
47. 7MovieRulz.sx Pg.145-147
(Defendant No. 59) I.A. No.17166/2021
48. 7MovieRulz.vc Pg. 150-152
(Defendant No. 60) I.A. No.17166/2021
49. 7MovieRulz.lv Pg. 155-157
(Defendant No. 61) I.A. No.17166/2021
50. 4MovieRulz.mg Pg. 160-163
(Defendant No. 62) I.A. No.17166/2021
51. 4MovieRulz.vg Pg. 166-169
(Defendant No. 63) I.A. No.17166/2021
52. 7MovieRulz.mg Pg. 172-174
(Defendant No. 64) I.A. No.17166/2021
53. 7MovieRulz.tv Pg. 177-180
(Defendant No. 65) I.A. No.17166/2021
54. 7MovieRulz.se Pg. 183-184
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(Defendant No. 66) I.A. No.17166/2021
55. 4MovieRulz.im Pg. 187-189
(Defendant No. 67) I.A. No.17166/2021
56. 7MovieRulz.pw Pg. 192-195
(Defendant No. 68) I.A. No.17166/2021
57. Movierulzfree.is Pg. 227-229
(Defendant No. 69) I.A. No.17166/2021
58. 7movierulz.sh Pg. 75-79
(Defendant No. 70) I.A. No. 3665/ 2022
59. 7Movierulz.cc Pg. 82- 86
(Defendant No. 71) I.A. No. 3665/ 2022
60. WatchMovieRulz.co Pg. 104-107
(Defendant No. 72) I.A. No. 3665/ 2022
2. Copy of Ownership of Movie Titles
a. Aquaman Pg.24-25
Folder IV (Vol.1)
3. Screenshots of Homepage of various websites (primary domains):
1. MovieRulzFree.com Pg. 275-276, 288
(Defendant No. 1) Folder IV (Vol. 2)
2. 4MovieRulz.ac Pg. 43-45
(Defendant No. 14) I.A. 8545/2020
3. MovieRulz.top Pg.114-122
(Defendant No. 24) I.A. 8545/2020
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4. MovieRulz.buzz Pg. 161-165
(Defendant No. 26) I.A. 8545/2020
5. 4MovieRulz.as Pg. 40-43
(Defendant No. 28) I.A.7072/2021
6. WatchMovieRulz.me Pg. 57-60
(Defendant No. 30) I.A.7072/2021
7. 4MovieRulz.nl Pg. 47-49
(Defendant No. 31) I.A. No. 12513/2021
8. 7MovieRulz.bar Pg. 78-88
(Defendant No. 32) I.A. No. 12513/2021
9. 7MovieRulz.be Pg. 153-155
(Defendant No. 39) I.A. No. 12513/2021
10. 10MovieRulz.cc Pg. 246-248
(Defendant No. 51) I.A. No. 12513/2021
11. 7MovieRulz.ph Pg. 53-60
(Defendant No. 54) I.A. No.17166/2021
12. 7MovieRulz.sx Pg. 123-125
(Defendant No. 59)
I.A. No.17166/2021
13. Movierulzfree.is Pg. 196-198
(Defendant No. 69)
I.A. No.17166/2021
14. WatchMovieRulz.co Pg. 87-89
(Defendant No. 72)
I.A. No.3665/2022
4. Printout of proof of infringement by websites (primary domains):
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1. MovieRulzFree.com Pg.278-290
(Defendant No. 1) Folder IV (Vol. 2)
2. 7Movierulz.be Pg. 160-161
(Defendant No. 39) I.A. No. 12513/2021
3.7MovieRulz.ph Pg. 61-66
(Defendant No. 54) I.A. No.17166/2021
4.7MovieRulz.sx Pg. 130-131
(Defendant No. 59) I.A. No.17166/2021
5.7Movierulz.sh Pg No. 60-61
(Defendant No. 70) I.A. No. 3665/ 2022
5. Printouts of the DMCA, FAQ, etc. pages, evidencing infringing
nature of the Defendant Websites:
1.MovieRulzFree.co Pg. 277
(Defendant No.1) Folder IV (Vol. 2)
DMCA
2. 4MovieRulz. Ac Pg. 48-49
(Defendant No. 14) I.A. 8545/2020
Contact Us
3.4MovieRulz.ac Pg. 46-49
(Defendant No. 14) I.A. 8545/2020
DMCA
4.3MovieRulz.top Pg. 123-125
(Defendant No. 24) I.A.8545/2020
DMCA
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5.4MovieRulz.nl Pg.50
(Defendant No. 31) I.A. No. 12513/2021
DMCA
6.7Movierulz.be Pg. 156-159
(Defendant No. 39) I.A.No. 12513/2021
DMCA
7. 7Movierulz.sx Pg. 126-129
(Defendant No. 59) I.A. No.17166/2021
DMCA
8. Movierulzfree.is Pg. 199
(Defendant No. 69) I.A. No.17166/2021
DMCA
9. 7Movierulz.sh Pg No. 56-59
(Defendant No.70) I.A. No. 3665/ 2022
DMCA
14. I have heard the learned counsel for the plaintiff.
15. In UTV Software (supra), this Court, as far as the rogue websites
are concerned, identified the following illustrative factors to be
considered in determining whether a particular website falls within that
class:
"59. In the opinion of this Court, some of the
factors to be considered for determining whether
the website complained of is a FIOL/Rogue
Website are:-
a. whether the primary purpose of the website is to
commit or facilitate copyright infringement;
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b. the flagrancy of the infringement, or the
flagrancy of the facilitation of the infringement;
c. Whether the detail of the registrant is masked
and no personal or traceable detail is available
either of the Registrant or of the user.
d. Whether there is silence or inaction by such
website after receipt of take down notices
pertaining to copyright infringement.
e. Whether the online location makes available or
contains directories, indexes or categories of the
means to infringe, or facilitate an infringement of,
copyright;
f. Whether the owner or operator of the online
location demonstrates a disregard for copyright
generally;
g. Whether access to the online location has been
disabled by orders from any court of another
country or territory on the ground of or related to
copyright infringement;
h. whether the website contains guides or
instructions to circumvent measures, or any order
of any court, that disables access to the website on
the ground of or related to copyright
infringement; and i. the volume of traffic at or
frequency of access to the website;
j. Any other relevant matter.
60. This Court clarifies that the aforementioned
factors are illustrative and not exhaustive and do
not apply to intermediaries as they are governed
by IT Act, having statutory immunity and function
in a wholly different manner.
xxxxx
69. Consequently, the real test for examining
whether a website is a Rogue Website is a
qualitative approach and not a quantitative one."
16. This Court, in UTV Software (supra) further held as under:
"29. It is important to realise that piracy reduces
jobs, exports and overall competitiveness in
addition to standards of living for a nation and its
citizens. More directly, online piracy harms the
artists and creators, both the struggling as well as
the rich and famous, who create content, as well
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as the technicians-sound engineers, editors, set
designers, software and game designers-who
produce it and those who support its marketing,
distribution and end sales. Consequently, online
piracy has had a very real and tangible impact on
the film industry and rights of the owners.
30. The Indian Copyright Act, 1957 ("the
Copyright Act") confers a bundle of exclusive
rights on the owner of a "work" and provides for
remedies in case the copyright is infringed.
xxxxx
34. The above definitions make it clear that
making any work available for being seen or
heard by the public whether simultaneously or at
places chosen individually, regardless of whether
the public actually sees the film, will constitute
communication of the film to the public. The intent
was to include digital copies of works, which
would include within its scope digital copies of
works being made available online (as opposed to
the physical world). Communication can be by
various means such as directly or by display or
diffusion. In this context, definition of
"broadcast" is also relevant which identifies
communication to public by wireless diffusion or
by wire. Thus, making available of a film for
streaming or downloads in the form of digital
copies on the internet is within the scope of
"communication to the public".
35. It is pertinent to note that the definition of
"communication to the public" was first added in
the Copyright Act by the 1983 Amendment and
was as follows:-
"Communication to the public" means
communication to the public in whatever manner,
including communication though satellite".
xxxxx
53. Also should an infringer of the copyright on
the Internet be treated differently from an
infringer in the physical world? If the view of the
aforesaid Internet exceptionalistsschool of thought
is accepted, then all infringers would shift to the
e-world and claim immunity!
54. A world without law is a lawless world. In
fact, this Court is of the view that there is no
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logical reason why a crime in the physical world
is not a crime in the digital world especially when
the Copyright Act does not make any such
distinction.
xxxxx
80. In the opinion of this Court, while blocking is
antithetical to efforts to preserve a "free and
open" Internet, it does not mean that every
website should be freely accessible. Even the most
vocal supporters of Internet freedom recognize
that it is legitimate to remove or limit access to
some materials online, such as sites that facilitate
child pornography and terrorism. Undoubtedly,
there is a serious concern associated with
blocking orders that it may prevent access to
legitimate content. There is need for a balance in
approach and policies to avoid unnecessary cost
or impact on other interests and rights.
Consequently, the onus is on the right holders to
prove to the satisfaction of the Court that each
website they want to block is primarily facilitating
wide spread copyright infringement.
xxxxxx
82. One can easily see the appeal in passing a
URL blocking order, which adequately addresses
over-blocking. A URL specific order need not
affect the remainder of the website. However,
right-holders claim that approaching the Court or
the ISPs again and again is cumbersome,
particularly in the case of websites promoting
rampant piracy.
83. This Court is of the view that to ask the
plaintiffs to identify individual infringing URLs
would not be proportionate or practicable as it
would require the plaintiffs to expend
considerable effort and cost in notifying long lists
of URLs to ISPs on a daily basis. The position
might have been different if defendants' websites
had a substantial proportion of non-infringing
content, but that is not the case.
84. This Court is of the view that while passing a
website blocking injunction order, it would have
to also consider whether disabling access to the
online location is in the public interest and a
proportionate response in the circumstances and
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the impact on any person or class of persons likely
to be affected by the grant of injunction. The
Court order must be effective, proportionate and
dissuasive, but must not create barriers to
legitimate trade. The measures must also be fair
and not excessively costly (See: Loreal v. Ebay,
[Case C 324/09]).
xxxxxx
86. Consequently, website blocking in the case of
rogue websites, like the defendant-websites,
strikes a balance between preserving the benefits
of a free and open Internet and efforts to stop
crimes such as digital piracy.
87. This Court is also of the opinion that it has the
power to order ISPs and the DoT as well as
MEITY to take measures to stop current
infringements as well as if justified by the
circumstances prevent future ones."
17. It is notable that the plaintiff, in a similar batch of suits, including
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. v. Otorrents.Com &Ors., 2022 SCC
OnLine Del 1738, wherein judgement was pronounced on 08.09.2022,
had filed an application under Order XIII-A of the CPC, as applicable to
commercial disputes, wherein this Court, relying on the judgement in
UTV Software (supra), has passed a Summary Judgement and decreed
the suits in favour of the plaintiff.
18. In the present Suit as well, vide order dated 05.08.2019, this Court
had granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction against the defendant No. 1
(and such other domains/domain owners/website operators/entities which
are discovered during the course of the proceedings to have been
engaging in infringing the Plaintiff's exclusive rights), their owners,
partners, proprietors, officers, servants, employees, and all others in
capacity of principal or agent acting for and on their behalf, or anyone
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claiming through, by or under it, restraining them from, hosting,
streaming, reproducing, distributing, making available to the public
and/or communicating to the public, or facilitating the same, in any
manner, on their websites, through the internet any cinematograph
work/content/programme/ show in relation to which Plaintiff has
copyright.
19. This Court had further directed the defendant Nos. 2 to 10 to block
the domain name 'movierulzfree.com' and its URLs as mentioned in the
table below-
Domain URLs IP Addresses
https://ww2.movierulzfree.com 104.24.4.3
104.24.5.3
movierulzfree.com
20. This Court further directed the defendant Nos. 11 and 12 to
suspend the above-mentioned domain name registration of the defendant
No. 1 and issue requisite notifications calling upon various internet and
telecom service providers registered under them to block the
aforementioned website identified by the plaintiff within 5 working days.
21. The learned counsel for the plaintiff submits that pursuant to the
ex-parte ad interim order dated 05.08.2019, the defendant No. 11 has
issued the requisite notification. The learned counsel for the plaintiff
further states that the defendant Nos. 2 to 10 have blocked the rogue
websites i.e., defendant No. 1's websites.
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22. This Court had also passed the following direction in its order
dated 05.08.2019:
"21. Further, as held by this court in UTV
Software Communication Ltd. (supra), in order
for this court to be freed from constant monitoring
and adjudicating the issues of
mirror/redirect/alphanumeric websites it is
directed that as and when Plaintiff file an
application under Order I Rule 10 for
impleadment of such websites, Plaintiff shall file
an affidavit confirming that the newly impleaded
website is mirror/redirect/alphanumeric website
with sufficient supporting evidence. Such
application shall be listed before the Joint
Registrar, who on being satisfied with the material
placed on record, shall issue directions to the
ISPs to disable access in India to such
mirror/redirect/alphanumeric websites".
23. In light of the aforesaid direction, the plaintiff filed subsequent
applications under Order 1 Rule 10 of CPC for impleadment of such
mirror/redirect/alphanumeric website with sufficient supporting evidence,
which were allowed by this Court and the ex-parte ad interim order dated
05.08.2019 was thereby extended to the Impleaded defendants:
Sr. Impleaded Details of filing the Date of the order by which
No. Defendant Nos. impleadment impleadment was allowed and
application disposed of
1. 14-27 I.A. No. 8546 of 2020 30.09.2020
Filed on 21.09.2020
2. 28-30 I.A. No. 7072 of 2021 12.07.2021
Filed on 31.05.2021
3. 31-53 I.A. No.12513 of 201 29.09.2021
Filed on 22.09.2021
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4. 54-69 I.A. No.17166 of 2021 07.02.2022
Filed on 19.12.2021
5. 70-72 I.A. No.3665 of 2022 11.03.2022
Filed on 04.03.2022
24. Thereafter, on 01.08.2022, the learned Joint Registrar (Judicial),
passed the following order in regard to rogue websites i.e., defendant
Nos.1, 14 to 72:-
"...All of the contesting defendants against whom
substantial relief has been sought by the plaintiff
have been served, however they have not
preferred to appear to contest this case or to file
written statement and affidavit of
admission/denial of documents. In this regard law
shall take its own course.
Learned counsel for plaintiff submits that there is
no document for admission/denial of documents.
Hence, pleadings stand complete.
Other defendants who were supposed to comply
with interim directions have already complied
with.
At request, let the matter be placed before the
Hon'ble Court for further directions."
25. Since the defendant Nos. 1, 14 to 72 are not appearing, despite
notice, in my opinion, the suit can be heard and decided summarily. The
defendant Nos. 1, 14 to 72 have no real prospect of successfully
defending the claim of copyright infringement and have further not
chosen to contest the said claim. The present matter is mainly concerned
with enforcement of the injunction orders which are passed against the
rogue websites who do not have any defense to the claim of copyright
infringement but use the anonymity offered by the internet to engage in
illegal activities, such as copyright infringement in the present case. This
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is a fit case for passing a Summary Judgment invoking the provisions of
Order XIIIA of CPC, as applicable to the commercial disputes, read with
Rule 27 of the Delhi High Court Intellectual Property Rights Division
Rules, 2022.
26. In the present case, applying the test as laid down in UTV
Software (supra), and considering the documents filed and averments
made in the plaint, which remained uncontroverted, it has to be held that
the defendant no. 1 and 14-72 are 'Rogue Websites', with their primary
purpose being to commit and facilitate infringement of the copyright of
the plaintiff. The plaintiff is therefore, held entitled to a decree in terms
of the prayers made in paragraph no. 50(i), (ii) and (iii) of the plaint.
27. In UTV Software (supra), the Court also examined the issue of
grant of dynamic injunctions and permitted subsequent impleadment of
mirror/redirect/alphanumeric websites which provide access to the rogue
websites, by filing an application under Order I Rule 10 of the CPC
before the learned Joint Registrar (Judicial) along with an affidavit with
supporting evidence, confirming that the proposed website is
mirror/redirect/alphanumeric website of the injuncted defendant websites.
At the request of the counsel for the plaintiff, the same directions are
liable to be made in this case also.
28. Accordingly, I.A. No. 13803 of 2022 under Order XIII-A, as
applicable to commercial disputes, seeking a Summary Judgment is
allowed. All the pending applications are also disposed of.
29. The suit is decreed in terms of prayers given in paragraph no. 50
(i), (ii) and (iii) of the Plaint. The plaintiff is also permitted to implead
any mirror/redirect/alphanumeric websites which provide access to the
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defendants Nos. 1, 14 to 72 websites by filing an appropriate application
under Order I Rule 10 of the CPC, supported by affidavits and evidence
as directed in UTV Software (supra). Any website impleaded as a result
of such application will be subject to the same decree.
30. Let a decree sheet be drawn up accordingly.
NAVIN CHAWLA, J.
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