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46. In view of the above factual and legal position, in
the opinion of this Court, merely because Telegram
chooses to locate its server in Singapore, the same
cannot result in the Plaintiffs' - who are copyright
owners of course materials - being left completely
remediless against the actual infringers, especially in
order to claim damages and avail of other legal
remedies in accordance with law. If such an argument
is accepted, in the current world where most
dissemination happens through online messaging
services and platforms, IP violations would go
completely unchecked. This cannot be the intention of
law. The provisions of the IT Act and the Rules
made therein have to be construed harmoniously
with the rights and remedies provided to the
copyright owners under the Copyright Act. Indian
Courts are competent to decide issues relating to
infringement of copyright and the mere fact that
Telegram is operating a messaging service in India
which chooses not to locate its servers in India
cannot divest the Indian Courts from dealing with
copyright disputes or divest copyright owners from
availing their remedies in Indian Courts. In the
present age of cloud computing and diminishing
national boundaries in data storage, conventional
concepts of territoriality cannot be strictly applied.
The dynamic evolution of law is essential to ensure
appropriate remedies in case of violation of copyright
This is a digitally signed order.