AMIT BANSAL, J. (Oral)

1. The present suit has been filed seeking relief of permanent injunction, restraining the defendants from infringing the copyright of the plaintiff along with other ancillary reliefs.

CASE SETUP IN THE PLAINT

2. The Plaintiff, Applause Entertainment Private Limited, is a company engaged in the business of creation, production, acquisition, exploitation, distribution and monetisation of various audio-visual contents such as web series, motion pictures, etc., on digital as well as non-digital platforms. The plaintiff is stated to be one of India’s leading studios/producers of fictional as well as non-fictional shows/web series/ films and has a reputation for producing high-quality diversified content.

3. The Plaintiff has produced several acclaimed TV and web series, including Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story (2020) and Rudra: The Edge of Darkness (2022), which have been highly rated and ranked among India’s top shows by IMDb and other rating platforms. In recognition of its excellence in content creation, the plaintiff has received numerous awards.

4. Over the years, the plaintiff has established itself as a highly reputed name in the Media and Entertainment industry, particularly in the domain of OTT (‘Over-the-Top’) content. One such web series produced by the plaintiff is ‘UNDEKHI’, an Indian Hindi-language crime thriller, the first season of which premiered on the digital platform ‘SonyLIV’ in 2020. Following the success of its debut season, the plaintiff produced a second season, which was released in 2022. The present suit pertains to the rights of the plaintiff in the third season of the aforesaid show/ series which was released on the digital platform, SonyLIV, on 10th May 2024

5. It is stated that the plaintiff’s series constitutes a work of visual recording accompanied by sound recordings, qualifying as a “cinematograph film” under Section 2(f) of the Copyright Act, 1957 (hereinafter the ‘Copyright Act’). As the producer of the said series, the plaintiff is deemed to be the rightful owner and author of the copyright therein, in accordance with Section 2(d) read with Section 17 of the Copyright Act. Therefore, it is stated that the plaintiff holds the exclusive right to communicate the series to the public.

6. In furtherance of this right, the plaintiff entered into a license agreement dated 17th April 2020, with Culver Max Entertainment Private Limited (formerly known as Sony Pictures Network India Private Limited) (hereinafter the ‘Licensee’), which owns the digital platform SonyLIV, whereby the plaintiff, as the licensor, granted the said licensee an exclusive license to exploit, inter alia, the first season of the said show/series for a term of seven years, with worldwide territorial rights. Subsequently, the plaintiff entered into amendment agreements, the latest being the Fourth Amendment Agreement dated 17th October 2023, whereby the licensee was granted an exclusive license to exploit the second and third seasons of the show/series. Accordingly, the said show/series is available exclusively on the platform owned and operated by the licensee under a valid license from the plaintiff, for which the plaintiff has received valuable consideration.

7. Defendants no. 1, 2, and 14 to 19 are websites/URLs engaged in the unauthorized broadcasting, relaying, and communication to the public of pirated and unlicensed content, including but not limited to the streaming of films, web series, and other audio-visual works.

8. Defendants no. 3 to 11 are Internet Service Providers and Telecom Service Providers (‘ISPs’/ ‘TSPs’), engaged in the business of providing Internet and telecommunication services to the public and serving as gateways for accessing the defendants’ websites. These ISPs have been impleaded as parties to the present suit to block and disable the access of the defendants’ websites.

9. Defendant no.12 [Department of Telecommunications] and defendant no.13 [Ministry of Electronics and