The Delhi High Court recently granted an ex-parte ad interim injunction against many rogue websites who were enabling the down-streaming of the plaintiffs’ copyrighted creative work including films and other entertainment programmes without the requisite licences. Similarly, the court also directed the concerned Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block access to such rogue websites and mirror/redirect/alphanumeric websites of such rogue websites.
Disney Enterprises Inc. (‘Plaintiffs) is in the business of creating, producing, and distributing motion pictures. In the present case,[1] the plaintiffs initiated an action for copyright infringement before the High Court against certain rogue websites (‘Defendants’).
Taking the facts and circumstances into consideration, the court found that the rogue websites which were down-streaming the plaintiffs’ copyrighted work were a cause for concern, particularly since they were engaging in digital piracy. The court also held that if the plaintiffs were not protected by way of an injunction, irreparable harm would be caused to their commercial and statutory interests. The balance of convenience was also held to be in favour of the plaintiffs.
The rogue websites were restrained from hosting, streamlining, reproducing, distributing, or making available to the public or communicating to the public, any cinematograph film or content belonging to the plaintiffs on their websites. This injunction was also made operable in respect of mirror/redirect/alphanumeric websites which were placed by the defendants to grant access to the infringing websites. In the same vein, the ISPs were directed to block access to these websites as well as any mirror/redirect/alphanumeric websites which had their roots in the defendants’ websites.
Lastly, the Ministry and Department of Telecom were directed to issue necessary directions and notifications upon ISPs to block the aforementioned websites.
Besides granting the injunction in favour of the plaintiff, the court also permitted the plaintiffs to file an application under Order I Rule 10 of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908, to list any other rogue websites if the same was discovered after the issuance of this order. The court emphasised the need to dynamically and actively monitor such illegalities and where required, pass interim orders to restrain similar rogue websites from illegally streaming the plaintiffs’ copyrighted content.
[1] Disney Enterprises, Inc. & Ors v. KIMCARTOON.TO & Ors. - CS (COMM) 275/2020 & I.A. No. 6089/2020, decided on 27 July 2020 in the High Court of Delhi.