"Critical Need For Judicial Intervention To Prohibit These Rogue Websites": Delhi HC Grants Interim Injunction Restraining Websites From Illegally Streaming IPL Events

The Court also directed the Department of Technology (DoT) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to issue blocking orders upon receiving any prospective rogue websites.

The Bench of Justice Sanjeev Narula observed “The issue of rogue websites engaging in the piracy of copyrighted content presents a recurring threat, especially with the imminent IPL Events. These sites have demonstrated a propensity to illegally broadcast copyrighted works, underscoring the urgency to pre-emptively block their access to such content. Consequently, there’s a critical need for judicial intervention to prohibit these rogue websites from disseminating or communicating any portions of the cricket matches/ IPL Events without proper authorization or licensing from the Plaintiff.”

Advocate Sidharth Chopra appeared for the Plaintiff.

Viacom 18 Media, the Plaintiff, entered into a media rights agreement with the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) for exclusive digital media rights and television rights concerning the IPL Events. The Defendants are various rogue websites which are stated to be primarily hosting illegal and pirated content.

The Court discussed the concept of ‘Dynamic+’ injunctions and, drawing the approach from Universal City Studios LLC v. Dotmovies.baby (Delhi HC), the Court held, “Thus, there is an urgent need to restrain such rogue websites on a real-time basis, without requiring parties to first approach the Court by filing affidavits in respect of each such website which starts unauthorizedly disseminating/ telecasting matches. Such a lag would result in the website being successful in their illegal activities and the Plaintiff’s rights would be infringed before it is possible for any action to be taken… In this regard, reliance is also placed on the ‘European Commission Recommendation dated 4th May, 2023 on Combating Online Piracy of Sports And Other Live Events’, which also highlights the need for urgent action to block illegal dissemination of copyrighted content.”

The Court also directed, inter alia, the Domain Name Registrars to lock and suspend the websites within 72 hours of being communicated the copy of the present order. The Telecom Service Providers were also directed to block the websites immediately upon receiving copies of the order from the Plaintiff.

Consequently, the Court observed, “…the Court is of the view that the Plaintiff has made out a prima facie case for grant of an interim injunction. If an injunction is not granted at this stage, irreparable harm would be caused to the Plaintiff. Balance of convenience also lies in the favour of the Plaintiff. The need for immediate relief is particularly pressing in this case, considering the T20 format of the IPL matches, which are characterized by their brief duration. The short duration of these matches means 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. Therefore, swift action to prevent such infringements is crucial to preserving the Plaintiff’s investment in broadcasting rights and maintaining their copyright protections.

Further, the Court said that if any website, which is not primarily an infringing website, is blocked pursuant to the order, it shall be permitted to approach the Court by giving an undertaking that it does not intend to engage in any unauthorized or illegal dissemination of the IPL Events or any other content over which the Plaintiff has rights.

Accordingly, now the matter is listed for a further date.

Cause Title: Viacom 18 Media Private Limited v. John Doe & Ors.

Appearances:

Plaintiff: Advocates Sidharth Chopra, Yatinder Garg, Suhasini Raina, Sanidhya Maheshwari and Priyansh Kohli.

Click here to read/download the order