Delhi High Court - Orders
Star India Pvt Ltd vs Vegamovies.Pet & Ors on 20 September, 2024
$~15
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
+ CS(COMM) 809/2024
STAR INDIA PVT LTD .....Plaintiff
Through: Mr. Siddharth Chopra, Mr. Yatinder
Garg, Ms. R. Tiwari and Ms. Ishi
Singh, Advocates
Versus
VEGAMOVIES.PET & ORS. .....Defendants
Through: Mr. Mrinal Ojha, Mr. Debarshi
Dutta, Mr. Arjun Mookerjee and
Mr. Samyak Bilal, Advocates for
D-24
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SAURABH BANERJEE
ORDER
% 20.09.2024 I.A. 39806/2024 (pre-litigation mediation)
1. The plaintiff vide the present application seeks exemption from instituting pre-litigation mediation.
2. Considering the averments made in the present application wherein the plaintiff seeks urgent ad-interim reliefs and in view of Yamini Manohar vs. T.K.D. Krithi 2023 SCC OnLine 1382 and Chandra Kishore Chaurasia vs. R. A. Perfumery Works Private Limited 2022:DHC:4454- DB, the plaintiff is exempted from instituting pre-litigation mediation.
3. Accordingly, the present application is allowed and disposed of. I.A. 39803/2024 (exemption)
4. Exemption allowed as sought, subject to all just exceptions.
5. The application stands disposed of.
CS(COMM) 809/2024 Page 1 of 15This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/09/2024 at 03:10:47 I.A. 39804/2024 (under Section 80 CPC)
6. This is an application seeking exemption from serving notice under Section 80(2) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908(CPC) to exempt the plaintiff from issuing notice to the defendant no.44, Department of Telecommunications ('DoT') and defendant no.45, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology ('MEITY') under Section 80 of the CPC, as the relief being claimed against the said defendants is limited to ensure compliance of any orders of this Court in favour of the plaintiff.
7. For the reasons stated in the application and the arguments advanced by the learned counsel for the plaintiff, the present application is allowed.
8. Accordingly, the present application is disposed of. I.A. 39805/2024 (additional documents)
9. The plaintiff vide the present application seeks time of thirty days to file additional documents.
10. For the reasons stated in the application and the arguments advanced by the learned counsel for the plaintiff, the present application is allowed, the plaintiff will be at liberty to file additional documents within thirty days, albeit, strictly as per the provisions of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 and Delhi High Court (Original Side) Rules, 2018.
11. Accordingly, the present application is disposed of. CS(COMM) 809/2024
12. The plaintiff by way of the present suit seeks permanent injunction restraining defendants engaged in infringing the plaintiff's exclusive rights and copyrights and for rendition of accounts, damages, etc.
13. Let the plaint be registered as a suit.
CS(COMM) 809/2024 Page 2 of 15This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/09/2024 at 03:10:47
14. Upon filing of the process fee, issue summons of the suit to the defendants through all permissible modes returnable before the Joint Registrar on 18.12.2024.
15. The summons shall state that the written statement(s) be filed by the defendants within a period of thirty days from the date of the receipt of the summons. Written statement(s) be filed by the defendants along with affidavit(s) of admission/ denial of documents of the plaintiff, without which the written statement(s) shall not be taken on record.
16. Replication thereto, if any, be filed by the plaintiff within a period of fifteen days from the date of receipt of written statement(s). The said replication, if any, shall be accompanied by with affidavit(s) of admission/ denial of documents filed by the defendants, without which the replication shall not be taken on record within the aforesaid period of fifteen days.
17. If any of the parties wish to seek inspection of any document(s), the same shall be sought and given within the requisite timelines.
18. List before the Joint Registrar for completion of pleadings on 18.12.2024. It is made clear that if any party unjustifiably denies any document(s), then it would be liable to be burdened with costs.
19. List before the Court on 27.01.2025.
I.A. 39802/2024-Stay (Order XXXIX rule 1 & 2 CPC, 1908)
20. The plaintiff seeks an injunction restraining the defendant nos.1-23 from 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/ television show to which the plaintiff has a copyright and to block access to the defendant nos.1-23 CS(COMM) 809/2024 Page 3 of 15 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/09/2024 at 03:10:48 websites identified by the plaintiff in the instant suit.
21. As per the pleadings and after hearing arguments of the learned counsel for the plaintiff, the following emerge:-
21.1. The plaintiff namely, Star India Private Limited, is the owner of content. Plaintiff claims to be leading entertainment and media company in India and is engaged in the business of production of popular content, broadcast on its Star channels and online platform Disney+Hotstar. 21.2. Novi Digital Entertainment Private Limited has merged with the plaintiff, i.e., Star India Private Limited, as on 27.05.2024 and all rights, interests, and liabilities of Novi Digital Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. stand transferred to and vested in Star India Private Limited. Thus, all the references to the Novi are attributed to Star India Private Limited. 21.3. The Star channels and the content aired therein occupy a commanding position and have acquired tremendous goodwill and reputation in the entertainment industry and amongst the people. 21.4. Disney+ Hotstar currently offers the widest range of content in India on Disney+ Hotstar offers over 100,000 hours of TV shows and movies across 8 languages, Disney+ originals, latest American shows, blockbuster Hollywood movies and content from international studios, exclusive new content from the Hotstar Specials label, regional and national news, and coverage of every major global sporting event. As per the Axis My India report of December 2023, Disney+ Hotstar is the preferred choice for majority of the OTT viewers. 21.5. The works created by plaintiff include sound recordings accompanied with visuals and qualify as cinematograph film under Section 2(f) of the Copyright Act, 1957 (the Act) and, therefore, are CS(COMM) 809/2024 Page 4 of 15 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/09/2024 at 03:10:48 entitled to protection by virtue of Section 13(1) read with Sections 13(2) and (5) of the Act.
21.6. The content in question, in this application is cinematograph films (plaintiff's' works), an illustrative list of which included in the plaint are extracted as under:-
S. Name of the Plaintiff's S. Name of the Plaintiff's No. Content No. Content
1. Special Ops 22. Gunde Ninda GudiGantalu
2. Life Hill Gayi 23. Guppedantha Manasu
3. The Legend of Hanuman 24. Karthika Deepam (all seasons)
4. Lootere 25. Nuvvu Nenu Prema
5. Koffee with Karan 26. Nagendrans (allseasons) Honeymoons
6. Ghar Wapsi 27. Bad Cops
7. The Freelancer 28. Anupamaa
8. Aakhri Sach 29. 10:29 ki Aakhri Dastak
9. Aarya (all seasons) 30. Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Mei
10. City of Dreams (all 31. Jhanak seasons)
11. Taaza Khabar 32. Shaitani Rasmein
12. Human 33. Teri Meri Dooriyan
13. Criminal Justice (all 34. Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata seasons) Hai
14. Showtime 35. Commander Karan Saxena
15. Saas Bahu aur Flamingo 36. Bigg Boss Telugu
16. Brahma Mudi 37. Aaha Kalyanam
17. Anurager Choowa 38. Baakiyalakshmi
18. Bodhua 39. Chinna Marumagal
19. Roshnai 40. Mahanandhi CS(COMM) 809/2024 Page 5 of 15 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/09/2024 at 03:10:48
20. Bigg Boss Malyalam 41. Pandian Stores
21. Bigg Boss Tamil 42. Aaha Kalyanam 21.7. The plaintiff, therefore, claim to have exclusive rights under Section 14(d) read with Section 17 of the Act.
21.8. Grievance of plaintiff is against defendant nos.1-23 who are hosting and operating the respective domain names/websites (infringing domains/ websites) tabulated by plaintiff are extracted as under:-
S. No. Website Names
1 vegamovies.pet
2 filmywap.rest
3 luxmovies.lol
4 movies4u.diy
5 manaletelugumovies.cc
6 new1themoviespalace.online
7 prmovies.food
8 movies4u.fun
9 gogodramas.su
10 extramovies.my
11 hdmovie2.id
12 flixerabd.store
13 hdmovies23.help
14 11xmovies.lat
15 hdmovie22.com
16 ajker.in 220,157
17 mkvin.skin
CS(COMM) 809/2024 Page 6 of 15
This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/09/2024 at 03:10:48 18 0gomovies.cam 19 tamildhool.app 20 anupama.net 21 baalveer.pk 22 tamildhoollll.cc 23 kurumbi.com 21.9. Further, these infringing domains/ websites are carrying and disseminating content, consisting of plaintiff's copyrighted works, without any license or authorization. More than twenty of plaintiff's works are being unauthorisedly made available by defendant nos.1-23. Further, legal notices were sent to these infringing domains/ websites operated by defendants to take down infringing content. However, none of them have responded to the said legal notices.
21.10. The defendant nos.24 to 34 are various Domain Name Registrars (DNRs) through which defendant nos.1-23 websites are registered. They control access to these websites and are in a position to ensure that access to these infringing websites is not available. 21.11. Further, defendant nos.35 to 43 are various Internet Service Providers (ISP) available domestically in India who provide access to internet in India. They control access to internet and are in a position to ensure that access to these infringing websites is not available. 21.12. The defendant no.44 is DoT, while defendant no.45 is MEITY, which forms a part of the Government of India and are the overall regulators of the internet environment in the country. They have been called upon for the purpose of ensuring that the ISPs are in compliance CS(COMM) 809/2024 Page 7 of 15 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/09/2024 at 03:10:48 with any directions which may be passed by this Court. 21.13. The defendant no.46 is NIXI (National Internet Exchange of India) which regulates registration of '.in' domains in India. Defendant no.46 is impleaded to block access to '.in' domains. 21.14. The defendant no.47 has been arrayed as Ashok Kumar/ John Doe which is a generic name to include all those who, in the future, may be discovered to be using the plaintiff's' content.
22. This Court has heard the learned counsel for the plaintiff and perused the documents on record.
23. The sprouting of instances and ever growing mushrooming of "hydra-headed" DNRs/ websites for streaming, reproducing, distributing, making available to the public and/ or communicating to the public any copyrighted content without appropriate licensing, where ownership of copyright is undisputed, have been in existence since long. A learned Single Judge of this Court, while dealing with similar situation earlier in UTV Software Communication Ltd. And Ors. vs. 1337X.to and Ors., 2019:DHC:2047 which were "... ...required to be considered for determining, whether the website complained of is a FIOL/ Rogue Website... ..." set out the broad parameters to deal such issues as under:-
i. "whether the primary purpose of the website is to commit or facilitate copyright infringement;
ii. the flagrancy of the infringement, or the flagrancy of the facilitation of the infringement;
iii. Whether the detail of the registrant is masked and no personal or traceable detail is available either of the Registrant or of the user. iv. Whether there is silence or inaction by such website after receipt of take down notices pertaining to copyright infringement. v. Whether the online location makes available or contains directories, indexes or categories of the means to infringe, or facilitate an infringement of, copyright;
vi. Whether the owner or operator of the online location CS(COMM) 809/2024 Page 8 of 15 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/09/2024 at 03:10:48 demonstrates a disregard for copyright generally; vii. 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;
viii. 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;
ix. the volume of traffic at or frequency of access to the website; and
x. Any other relevant matter."
24. The defendants cannot be allowed to enjoy what does not belong to them, despite being fully aware of that themselves. Doing so will give them a free run and will have a double deterrent as not only will the defendants earn profits with no investments at the expense of the plaintiff but they would also end up causing huge financial losses as also dent the invaluable image, repute and goodwill built by the plaintiff over the years.
25. As is evident from the vast volume of content available on its websites, the systematic, organised and intentional nature of the infringement, and the regularity and consistency with which content is updated/ uploaded on the websites, the defendants are in flagrant infringement/ facilitation of infringement. The defendants are also attempting to mask their websites' registration/ contact details which make it virtually impossible to locate the operators of most of the defendants' websites and extremely difficult to contact the operators of these websites to demand seizure of this infringing conduct.
26. Lastly, the defendants' general disregard for copyright is evident from the fact that the defendants websites tout that they provide content from third party websites which they are supposed to know, are not authorized to distribute copyright materials of the plaintiff or other rights holders, also from the fact that latest content of the plaintiff is regularly CS(COMM) 809/2024 Page 9 of 15 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/09/2024 at 03:10:48 and consistently made available on majority of the defendants' websites.
27. The plaintiff today is asking for a dynamic injunction, which recently has also been considered in order dated 02.05.2023 in an Interim Application (Lodging) No.10257 of 2023 titled "Applause Entertainment Private Limited vs. Meta Platforms Inc. and others" wherein the Bombay High Court, while dealing with clips of the audio-visual content of the webseries, copyright whereof were held by the plaintiff therein, has granted an ex parte ad interim injunction of the same nature.
28. Similarly, a learned Single Judge of this Court in Universal City Studios LLC. and Ors. vs. Dotmovies.baby and Ors. 2023:DHC:5842 has also recently, while considering similar issues, after noting the necessity and change, granted an ex parte ad interim injunction and held as under:-
"20. ... ... To keep pace with the dynamic nature of the infringement that is undertaken by hydra-headed websites, this Court has deemed it appropriate to issue this 'Dynamic+ injunction' to protect copyrighted works as soon as they are created, to ensure that no irreparable loss is caused to the authors and owners of copyrighted works, as there is an imminent possibility of works being uploaded on rogue websites or their newer versions immediately upon the films/shows/series etc. The Plaintiffs are permitted to implead any mirror/redirect/alphanumeric variations of the websites identified in the suit as Defendants Nos. 1 to 16 including those websites which are associated with the Defendants Nos. 1 to 16, either based on the name, branding, identity or even source of content, by filing an application for impleadment under Order I Rule 10 CPC in the event such websites merely provide new means of accessing the same primary infringing websites that have been injuncted. ... ..."
29. For the afore-going reasons, especially as set out hereinabove as also the legal position qua grant of dynamic injunction in suits of the present nature, the plaintiff has been able to make out a prima facie case with the balance of convenience for grant of an ad interim ex-parte CS(COMM) 809/2024 Page 10 of 15 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/09/2024 at 03:10:48 injunction as also for dynamic injunction in their favour and against the defendants. In case the defendants are not restrained by way of an ad interim ex-parte injunction, there is a likelihood of the plaintiff suffering irreparable harm, loss, injury and prejudice which cannot be compensated for in terms of money.
30. Accordingly, keeping in mind the existing position of law as also since this Court has taken note of the changing times coupled with the changing technology to keep pace, till the next date of hearing:
1.1. The defendant nos.1 to 23, their owners, partners, officers, and all others in capacity of principal or agent acting for and on their behalf, or anyone claiming through, by or under it, are restrained from, in any manner, communicating, hosting, streaming, and/or making available for viewing and downloading, without authorization, on their websites, including those listed in Annexure A attached to this order, or other platforms, through the internet in any manner whatsoever, the plaintiff's works so as to infringe the plaintiff's exclusive rights and broadcast reproduction rights. 1.2. The defendant nos.24-34, its directors, partners, officers, affiliates, and all others in capacity of principal or agent acting for and, on their behalf, or anyone claiming through, by or under it, are directed to suspend the domain name registration of websites of the defendant nos.1-23. Specific Domain Name Registrars for each website , including those listed in Annexure B attached to this order 1.3. The defendant nos.24-34 and 46 are directed to disclose the following information of defendant nos.1-23 within a period of four weeks:-CS(COMM) 809/2024 Page 11 of 15
This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/09/2024 at 03:10:48
a) Complete details such as name, address, email address, phone number, IP address, etc.;
b) Mode of payment along with payment details used for registration of domain name by the registrant(s);
c) Details of other websites registered by the defendant nos.24-34 and 46 using similar details, credit card, payment gateway etc. (disclosed as per sub-clause (b) above) with the defendant nos.24 -34 and 46;
d) Details of complaints received by the defendant nos.24-34 and 46 in the last six months against the defendant nos.1-23.
1.4. Defendant nos.44 and 45 are directed to issue a notification calling upon the various internet service providers registered under it to block access to the various websites, including those listed in Annexure A attached to this order within a period of four weeks. 1.5. Lastly, 'Dynamic+ injunction' is granted to the plaintiff to protect their copyrighted works as soon as they are infringed/ created, in order to ensure no irreparable loss is caused to the owners of copyrighted works. Consequently, the plaintiff is permitted to implead any mirror/ redirect/ alphanumeric variations of the websites, as given in Annexure A, including those websites which are associated with them, either based on the name, branding, identity or even source of content, by making an appropriate application for impleadment.
31. Upon filing of process fee, issue notice to the defendants through all permissible modes including through email returnable before the Joint CS(COMM) 809/2024 Page 12 of 15 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/09/2024 at 03:10:48 Registrar on 18.12.2024.
32. Reply be filed within eight weeks with advance copy to counsel for plaintiff. Rejoinder thereto, if any, be filed on or before the next date of hearing.
33. The provisions of Order XXXIX Rule 3 CPC be complied within one week.
34. List before the Court on 27.01.2025.
SAURABH BANERJEE, J SEPTEMBER 20, 2024/So CS(COMM) 809/2024 Page 13 of 15 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/09/2024 at 03:10:48 ANNEXURE A S. No. Website Names 1 vegamovies.pet 2 filmywap.rest 3 luxmovies.lol 4 movies4u.diy 5 manaletelugumovies.cc 6 new1themoviespalace.online 7 prmovies.food 8 movies4u.fun 9 gogodramas.su 10 extramovies.my 11 hdmovie2.id 12 flixerabd.store 13 hdmovies23.help 14 11xmovies.lat 15 hdmovie22.com 16 ajker.in 220,157 17 mkvin.skin 18 0gomovies.cam 19 tamildhool.app 20 anupama.net 21 baalveer.pk 22 tamildhoollll.cc 23 kurumbi.com CS(COMM) 809/2024 Page 14 of 15 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/09/2024 at 03:10:49 ANNEXURE B Defendant No Website Names Registrar 1 vegamovies.pet NameSilo LLC 2 filmywap.rest Namecheap 3 luxmovies.lol NameSilo LLC 4 movies4u.diy Namecheap 5 manaletelugumovies.cc Sarek Oy 6 new1themoviespalace.online Namecheap 7 prmovies.food Namecheap 8 movies4u.fun Namecheap 9 gogodramas.su Active-Su 10 extramovies.my Namecheap 11 hdmovie2.id PT Jagat Informasi Solusi(int) 12 flixerabd.store HOSTINGER operations, UAB 13 hdmovies23.help NameSilo, LLC 14 11xmovies.lat NameSilo, LLC 15 hdmovie22.com NameCheap, Inc. 16 ajker.in 220,157 GoDaddy.com, LLC 17 mkvin.skin Namecheap 18 0gomovies.cam Namecheap 19 tamildhool.app Namecheap 20 anupama.net Porkbun LLC 21 baalveer.pk Pknic 22 tamildhoollll.cc Spaceship, Inc. 23 kurumbi.com Squarespace Domains LLC CS(COMM) 809/2024 Page 15 of 15 This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/09/2024 at 03:10:49