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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI
Amit Bansal, J.
Doctutorials Edutech Private Limited - Appellant
Versus
Telegram FZ-LLC - Respondent
CS(COMM) 60 of 2022 & I.A. No. 1338 of 2022 (O-39 R-1 & 2)
Decided On : 25-01-2022
A plaintiff may secure an ex parte injunction against unidentified infringers if they establish a prima facie case and demonstrate potential irreparable harm.
Headnote:(A) Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 - Section 80 - Intellectual Property Rights - Permanent injunction and damages sought for copyright infringement - Plaintiff, as exclusive licensee, established prima facie case of infringement by unidentified defendants accessing paid content - Balance of convenience in favor of the plaintiff, leading to grant of ex parte ad interim injunction as irreparable harm would arise if relief not granted. (Paras 19-30)
(B) Ex parte injunction - Circumstances allowing issuance - Court may grant ex parte injunction if plaintiff demonstrates prima facie case and balance of convenience favoring plaintiff. (Paras 28-29)
Facts of the case:
Plaintiff operates an online educational platform and alleges that defendants have unlawfully accessed and distributed its protected content. Noticing no action on infringement, the plaintiff sought a permanent injunction against unidentified defendants.
Findings of Court:
The court found that the plaintiff had made out a prima facie case supporting its claim, and an interim injunction was appropriate to prevent potential harm while the case is adjudicated.
Issues: The key issue was whether the plaintiff established sufficient grounds for an ex parte injunction preventing unauthorized use of its copyrighted content.
Ratio Decidendi: The court ruled that given the context of infringement and potential harm, the plaintiff's exclusive rights must be protected until a final resolution is reached - reflecting the need for timely judicial intervention in IP matters.
Result: Ex parte ad interim injunction granted against defendants.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. procedural orders for the case. (Para 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18) |
| 2. intellectual property infringement claim. (Para 19 , 20 , 21) |
| 3. defendant's willingness to comply. (Para 22 , 23) |
| 4. issuance of notice to defendants. (Para 24 , 25) |
| 5. ex parte injunction granted. (Para 28 , 30) |
ORDER
I.A. No. 1339/2022 (for exemption from pre-institution mediation and settlement)
1. For the reasons stated in the application, the same is allowed.
2. The application stands disposed of.
I.A. No. 1340/2022 (for exemption)
3. Subject to the plaintiffs filing certified, typed, translated, legible copies of any dim or illegible documents on which they may seek to place reliance, within four weeks from today, exemption is granted for the present.
4. The application is disposed of.
I.A. No. 1341/2022 (u/s 80 of CPC)
5. For the reasons stated in the application, the application is allowed and the plaintiffs are given leave to file the present suit without serving notice under Section 80 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC).
CS(COMM) 60/2022
6. Let the plaint be registered as a suit.
7. Summons be issued to the defendants.
8. Summons are accepted by counsel appearing on behalf of defendants No.1, 2 and 14.
9. Summons be issued to the remaining defendants through all permissible modes.
10. The summons shall state that the written statement(s) shall be filed by the defendants within thirty days from the date of the receipt of summons. Along with the written statement(s), the defendants shall also file an affidavit of admission/denial of the documents of the plaintiff.
11. Liberty is given to the plaintiff to file replication, if any, within fifteen days from the receipt of the written statement(s). Along with the replication filed by the plaintiff, an affidavit of admission/denial of the documents of the defendants, be filed by the plaintiff.
12. The parties shall file all original documents in support of their respective claims along with their respective pleadings. In case parties are placing reliance on a document, which is not in their power and possession, its detail and source shall be mentioned in the list of reliance, which shall be also filed with the pleadings.
13. If any of the parties wish to seek inspection of any documents, the same shall be sought and given within the timelines.
14. List before the Joint Registrar on 30th March, 2022 for completion of service, pleadings, admission and denial of documents and marking of exhibits.
15. List before the Court on 14th July, 2022 for framing of issues.
16. Counsel appearing for the defendant no.14 states that the matter may be referred to mediation insofar as the dispute between the plaintiff and the defendant no.14 is concerned. The same is not opposed by senior counsel appearing on behalf of the plaintiff.
17. The matter is referred to Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre for exploring possibility of settlement.
18. List before Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre on 02nd February, 2022 at 4.00 P.M.
I.A. No. 1338/2022 (u/O-XXXIX R-1 & 2 of the CPC)
19. The present suit has been filed for grant of permanent injunction and damages against unknown defendants no.5 and 6 (whose identities are unknown and hence, designated as John Doe) and their associates to restrain them from infringing the plaintiff's intellectual property and releasing the plaintiff's paid video lecture content on public platforms operated by the defendants no.1 and 2, along with ancillary reliefs.
20. Plaintiff, who is the exclusive licensee of the copyrighted material which forms part of the subject matter of this suit, is in the business of providing online medical examination coaching platforms for medical entrance examinations and runs its business through the website https://www.doctutorials.com/ and a mobile application `DocTutorials'. It is claimed that due to high quality videos and ot
