Delhi High Court Restrains Rogue Websites From Streaming ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup 2024

The Court ruled thus while observing that unauthorised dissemination, telecasting, or broadcasting of these events on various websites and digital platforms poses a significant threat to the revenue streams of those who have acquired the rights legally.

The bench of Justice Sanjeev Narula observed, “there’s a critical need for judicial intervention to prohibit these rogue websites from disseminating or communicating any portions of the cricket matches/ ICC Events without proper authorization or licensing from the Plaintiff….Defendants No. 1 to 9, and/or any person acting on their behalf, are restrained from communicating, hosting, streaming, screening, disseminating or making available for viewing/ downloading, without authorization, any part of the ICC Events, specifically the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, on any electronic or digital platform…”

Advocate Sneha Jain appeared for the Appellant and Advocate Mrinal Ojha appeared for the Respondent.

Brief Facts-

In the present case, the petitioner Star India Private Limited, which holds media rights for various sports, including cricket, through a Media Rights Agreement with the ICC from 2024 to 2027, faces a threat from rogue betting websites illegally streaming live events like the ongoing T20 Cricket World Cup. These websites, already promoting the World Cup, are likely to engage in unauthorised broadcasting. Star India seeks a 'Dynamic +' injunction to promptly block these sites and any new ones that emerge during the tournament to protect their exclusive broadcast rights.

While emphasising the need for the legal system to catch up with the dynamic and fast-evolving nature of the digital landscape the Court observed, “The dynamic and ever-evolving nature of the digital landscape necessitates that court orders are not static, but evolve in tandem with the technological advancements and challenges posed by the virtual domain. The legal remedies must remain robust and effective in curtailing copyright infringement, particularly in the fast-paced environment of the internet.”

The Court said that they must be proactive in updating, adapting, and modifying their directions as in the absence of such adaptive legal measures, the rights of intellectual property holders stand at risk of being undermined, rendering their intellectual property rights ineffectual.

The Court mentioned the decision in Universal City Studios LLC v. Dotmovies.baby and quoted, “To keep pace with the dynamic nature of the infringement that is undertaken by hydra-headed websites, this Court has deemed it appropriate to issue this ‘Dynamic+ injunction’ to protect copyrighted works as soon as they are created, to ensure that no irreparable loss is caused to the authors and owners of copyrighted works, as there is an imminent possibility of works being uploaded on rogue websites or their newer versions immediately upon the films/shows/series etc.”

The Court said that any delay in blocking access to rogue websites could lead to significant financial losses for the Plaintiff and an irreparable breach of their broadcast reproduction rights.

Consequently, the Court restrained such websites from communicating, hosting, streaming, screening, disseminating or making available for viewing/ downloading, without authorization.

The Court listed the matter for further hearing.