Star India Private Limited & Anr. vs. Jiolive.Tv & Ors.

$~18
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
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% Date of decision: 29 October, 2024
+ CS(COMM) 688/2023 & I.A. 19115/2023
STAR INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED & ANR. ..... Plaintiffs

Versus
JIOLIVE.TV & ORS. ..... Defendants

CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AMIT BANSAL
AMIT BANSAL, J. (ORAL)
1. The present suit has been filed seeking relief of permanent injunction
restraining the defendants from illegal and unauthorised dissemination, and
broadcast of matches or parts of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023
( hereinafter referred ‘World Cup 2023’ ), damages, rendition of accounts
and other ancillary reliefs.
2. The Plaintiffs’ case is that the Plaintiff No.1 operates 77 TV Channels
Signature Not Verified
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By:KOMAL DHAWAN
Signing Date:05.11.2024
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in eight languages, including general entertainment and sporting channels.
The Plaintiffs own media rights in respect of events relating to cricket,
football, badminton, tennis, hockey, domestic and international cricket
matches organized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and
the International Cricket Council (ICC).
3. Plaintiff No.2 is an affiliate company of Plaintiff No.1. Plaintiff No.2
owns and operates the online video streaming platform/website
‘www.hotstar.com’, and the mobile application ‘Disney+ Hotstar’. On the
aforesaid platforms, the Plaintiff No.2 streams various events in respect of
which Plaintiff No.1 has the exclusive digital rights ( Internet and Mobile ).
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4. The World Cup 2023 was held from 5 October, 2023 to 19
November, 2023 in India and included a total of 48 one-day international
matches (ODI). The Plaintiffs acquired exclusive global media rights
including television rights and digital rights ( Internet and Mobile ) for
various ICC events including the ICC World Cup 2023 for a period of eight
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years from 2015 to 2023 vide agreement dated 20 November, 2014
between ICC and Plaintiff No.1. The existence of these rights in favour of
the Plaintiffs has been confirmed by ICC Business Corporation FZ LLC via
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letter dated 16 May, 2019. A copy of the said letter has been placed on
record by the Plaintiffs.
5. The case of the Plaintiffs is that in view of the exclusive rights which
the Plaintiffs have acquired from ICC, they enjoy broadcast reproduction
rights which are contemplated and confirmed in terms of Section 37 of the
Copyright Act, 1957. It is the case of the Plaintiffs that they have, in the
past, come across almost all major sporting events being illegally
communicated and disseminated on the internet.
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6. Defendant Nos.1 to 9 are various rogue websites which are stated to
be primarily hosting illegal and pirated content. Defendant Nos.10 to 17 are
DNRs of the domain names where the said rogue websites are being hosted.
Defendant Nos. 18 to 26 are various internet service providers and
Defendant Nos.27 and 28 are DoT and MeitY.
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7. On the first date of hearing i.e. , 27 September 2023, this Court while
placing reliance on Universal City Studios LLC v. Dotmovies.baby,
2023:DHC:5842 granted a ‘ Dynamic+ Injunction ’ in favour of the Plaintiffs.
The operative directions passed vis-à-vis the Defendants No.1 to 28 are set
out hereinafter:
“38 . In view of the aforesaid, the Court is of the view that the Plaintiffs
have made out a prima facie case for grant of an injunction. If an
injunction is not granted at this stage, irreparable harm would be caused
to the Plaintiffs. Balance of conveniences lies in the favour of the
Plaintiffs. Accordingly, Defendant Nos.1 to 9 are restrained by an ad-
interim order from communicating, screening, making available or
disseminating any part of the ICC World Cup Cricket matches on any
electronic or digital platform in any manner whatsoever.
39. Defendant Nos. 10 to 17 i.e., the Domain Name Registrars are
directed to lock and suspend the said websites within 72 hours after being
communicated a copy of this order by the ld. Counsel for the Plaintiffs.
Defendant Nos. 18 to 26, who are ISPs/Telephone Service Providers are
also directed to block the rogue websites immediately upon receiving
copies of the orders by the ld. Counsel for the Plaintiffs. Defendant Nos.
27 and 28 are directed to issue blocking orders in respect of these
websites.
40 . During the currency of the world cup matches, if any further websites
are discovered which are illegally streaming and communicating content
over which the Plaintiffs have rights, the Plaintiffs are given liberty to
communicate the details of these websites to both DoT and MeitY for
issuance of blocking orders and simultaneously to the ISPs for blocking
the said websites so as to ensure that these websites can be blocked on a
real time basis there is no considerable delay. Upon receiving the said
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intimation from the Plaintiffs, the ISPs shall take steps to immediately
block the rogue websites in question.
41 . The DoT and MeitY shall also issue blocking orders immediately upon
the Plaintiffs communicating the details of the websites which are illegally
streaming the ICC World Cup Cricket matches.
42 . After communicating the details of the rogue websites, Plaintiffs shall
continue to file affidavits with the Court in order to ensure that the Court
is
fully informed of the websites in respect of which blocking orders are
sought.
43 . If any website, which is not primarily an infringing website, is blocked
in pursuance of the present order, it is permitted to approach the Court by
giving an undertaking that it does not intend to do any illegal
dissemination of the ICC World Cup of the content over which the
Plaintiffs have rights and the Court would consider modifying the
injunction accordingly.
44 . Such a relief is called for in the present matter, especially, in view of
the fact that these are one day international matches. Any delay in
blocking the rogue websites would, in fact, result in considerable
pecuniary loss to the Plaintiffs and result in irreparable violation of the
Broadcast reproduction rights of the Plaintiffs.
45. The DNRs shall also give the details of the Domain Name Registrants
of these domain names as may be available with them including e-mails,
mobile number, contact details and KYC details upon being requested by
ld. Counsel for the Plaintiffs.”
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8. Subsequently, vide order dated 21 December, 2023, in light of the
aforesaid Dynamic Injunction, the Predecessor Bench blocked
approximately 406 rogue websites illegally streaming the World Cup 2023
matches.
9. During the course of the suit, the Plaintiffs identified 396 additional
rogue websites which indulged in similar illegal and infringing activities as
the original Defendants. Therefore, the Plaintiffs moved I.A. 36270/2024
under Order I Rule 10 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 seeking
impleadment of the aforesaid rogue websites as proposed Defendants No.30
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to 425.
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10. Via order dated 13 August 2024, passed by the learned Joint
Registrar, I.A. 36270/2024 came to be allowed and the proposed Defendants
No.30 to 425 were impleaded as Defendants in the present suit. It was
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further directed that the interim directions passed in the order dated 27
September, 2023 shall also operate qua the newly added defendants.
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11. The plaintiff has filed an affidavit of service dated 8 August 2024 in
terms of which all the newly added defendants have been served the
summons in the suit. Despite service, none has entered appearance on behalf
of the defendants.
12. In regard to the rogue websites, the Plaintiff has filed eleven (11)
additional affidavits dated 04.10.2023, 09.10.2023, 11.10.2023, 12.10.2023,
14.10.2023, 16.10.2023, 21.10.2023, 31.10.2023, 06.11.2023 and
28.11.2023 stating that vide various emails, they notified the ISPs, DoT and
MeitY, for blocking of the additional rogue websites. [The details of the
rogue websites as stated in the aforesaid affidavit are attached as ‘Annexure
A’ to this order]
13. Defendant Nos.10 and 14 have filed their respective written
statements in which they have stated that they have complied with the
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directions contained in order dated 27 September, 2023. Defendant No.10
in its written statement has stated that it has locked and suspended the
domain name “ jiolive.tv ” and has provided details of the registrants of the
aforesaid domain name to the plaintiff. Defendant No.14 in its written
statement has stated that it has locked and suspended the domain name of
“ footem7.com ” including all its sub-domains and has also provided the
details of registrants of the aforesaid domain name to the plaintiff.
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14. Counsel appearing on behalf of the Plaintiff presses for a summary
judgment under Order XIII-A of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.
15. I have heard the counsel for the Plaintiff and gone through the record
of the case. In terms of Rule 27 of the Delhi High Court Intellectual Property
Rights Division Rules, 2022 ( hereinafter ‘2022 Rules’ ), this Court is
empowered to pass a summary judgment without the requirement of the
parties filing a specific application in this regard. Therefore, invoking the
powers given to this Court under the 2022 Rules, I proceed to pass a
summary judgment in the present case.
16. In Satya Infrastructure Ltd. & Ors . v . Satya Infra & Estates Pvt.
Ltd. , 2013 (54) PTC 419 (Del) [CS(OS) 1213/2011, decided on 07.02.2013],
a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court held as follows:
“ 4. The next question which arises is whether this Court should consider
the application for interim relief and direct the plaintiffs to lead ex parte
evidence. The counsel for the plaintiffs states that the plaintiffs are willing
to give up the reliefs of delivery, of rendition of accounts and of recovery
of damages, if the suit for the relief of injunction alone were to be heard
today.
5. I am of the opinion that no purpose will be served in such cases by
directing the plaintiffs to lead ex parte evidence in the form of affidavit by
way of examination-in chief and which invariably is a repetition of the
contents of the plaint. The plaint otherwise, as per the amended CPC,
besides being verified, is also supported by affidavits of the plaintiffs. I fail
to fathom any reason for according any additional sanctity to the affidavit
by way of examination-in-chief than to the affidavit in support of the plaint
or to any exhibit marks being put on the documents which have been filed
by the plaintiffs and are already on record. I have therefore heard the
counsel for the plaintiffs on merits qua the relief of injunction.”
17. It is trite law that in an uncontested suit, it is not necessary to require
the Plaintiffs to lead evidence, and summary disposal of the suit is
permissible, on the basis of the contents of the plaint, supported by the
statement of truth along with an affidavit and declaration under the
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Commercial Courts Act, 2015. Therefore, in my opinion this suit does not
merit trial and the suit is capable of being decreed in terms of Order VIII
Rule 10 of CPC.
18. Based on the averments made in the plaint and the documents placed
on record, the Plaintiffs have established its rights over the broadcasting and
other media rights in respect of the World Cup 2023. The aforesaid rights
have been acquired by the Plaintiffs by making significant monetary
investment, the Plaintiffs alone are authorized to telecast the World Cup,
2023 at its bouquet of channels as well as on its OTT platform. The
aforesaid rights of the Plaintiffs are entitled for protection under Section 37
of the Copyright Act, 1957.
19. At this stage, it may be relevant to note that despite service of
summons, except for Defendants No. 10 and 14, none of the Defendants
have contested the present suit by filing a written statement.
20. Defendant Nos.1 to 9 and subsequently, Defendant Nos.30 to 425 are
rogue websites which have indulged in piracy of the copyright content of the
Plaintiff.
21. Since the Defendants have failed to take any requisite steps to contest
the present suit, despite having suffered an ad interim injunction order, it is
evident that they have no defence to put forth on merits.
22. Accordingly, the Plaintiffs are entitled to restrain the aforesaid
Defendants i.e. , the rogue website from disseminating and communicating to
the public, the ICC World Cup 2023 matches fully or in part without an
authorization license from the Plaintiff.
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By:KOMAL DHAWAN
Signing Date:05.11.2024
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RELIEFS
23. Accordingly, the suit is decreed in the following terms:
I. A decree of permanent injunction is passed in favour of the
Plaintiffs and against the Defendant Nos.1 to 9 and Defendant Nos.30
to 425 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, from in any manner communicating,
streaming, and/ making available for viewing and downloading,
without authorization, on their websites or other platforms, through
the internet in any manner whatsoever, the Plaintiffs' exclusive rights
in relation to the ICC World Cup 2023 and content related thereto, so
as to infringe the Plaintiffs' broadcast reproduction rights;
II. A decree of permanent injunction is passed in favour of the
Plaintiffs and against Defendant Nos.10 to 17 directing its directors,
partners, officers and all others in capacity of principal or agent acting
for and, on their behalf, to revoke/cancel the domain name registration
of Defendant Nos.1 to 9 and Defendant Nos.30 to 425.
III. Directions are passed against Defendant Nos.18 to 26 to block
access to various rogue websites identified by the Plaintiffs in the
present suit i.e. , Defendant Nos.1 to 9 and Defendant Nos.30 to 425.
24. Counsel for the Plaintiffs do not press for the reliefs as sought in
prayer clauses 61(vi) and 61(vii) with respect to damages and rendition of
accounts.
25. I am of the view that in the present facts and circumstances, the
Plaintiffs are entitled to recover actual costs from Defendant Nos.1 to 9 and
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Defendant Nos.30 to 425. Accordingly, a decree for actual costs is passed in
terms of prayer clause 61(viii) of the plaint.
26. For the purposes of calculation of actual costs, the Plaintiffs shall file
its bill of costs in terms of Rule 5 of Chapter XXIII of the Delhi High Court
(Original Side) Rules, 2018 within four weeks. For this purpose, the
representatives of the Plaintiffs shall appear before the Joint Registrar, who
shall determine the actual costs incurred by the Plaintiffs in the present
litigation.
27. Let the decree sheet be drawn up.
28. All pending applications stand disposed of.
AMIT BANSAL, J
OCTOBER 29, 2024
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