Justice Jyothi Singh has directed the Department of Telecommunications and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology [MEITY] to take immediate steps and issue requisite notifications, calling upon various internet and telecom service providers to block the Defendant Websites, their URLs and the respective IP addresses. Court has observed that 12 websites are found without authorization, illegally streaming, hosting, distributing and reproducing the original content of one of the leading global entertainment Company i.e., the Universal City Studios LLC.

Plaintiff’s film comes under the definition of ‘Cinematograph Film’ under Section 2(f) of Copyright Act, 1957 as being the works of visual recording including sound recordings accompanying such visual recordings. Thus, the act of hosting, streaming, reproducing, making available to the public, and/or communicating to the public of the original content or facilitating the same, without authorization of plaintiff, by any means on any platform including internet and mobile or any other medium would amount to violation of plaintiff’s Copyright, protected under the Copyright Act, 1957.

Plaintiff’s Counsel submits that several of the domains/websites being blocked by the present proceedings are merely new versions of domains/websites that have been blocked earlier, by giving reliance to the decision of the Court in UTV Software Communications Ltd & Anr v. 1337 x. To and Ors., ( CS (COMM) 724 of 2017 dated 10.04.2019)

Court further directed that, as and when, Plaintiff’s file an application under Order 1 Rule 10 of CPC for impleadment of such websites, the Plaintiff shall file an affidavit confirming that the newly impleaded website is a mirror/redirect alphanumeric website which appears to be associated with any of the Defendant websites and hence ordered the Plaintiff to comply with the provision under Order 39 Rule 3 of CPC within 10 days from date of judgement.

Case Title:   Universal City studios LLC & Ors v. VEGA Movies Run & Ors.
Citation :   CS(COMM) 265/ 2022.