Case Law Details
Universal City Studios Llc & Ors. Vs Vegamovies Run & Ors. (Delhi High Court)
Defendant Websites provide illegal content for free and such availability of content is supported by the advertisements featuring on these websites. The primary purpose of the Defendant Websites is to commit or facilitate copyright infringement. Thus, Defendants No. 1 to 12 are liable for infringement under Section 51(a)(ii), Section 51(b) and Section 51(a)(i) of the Act, for making a copy of the original content, including storing of it in any medium by electronic or other means and communicating the original content to the public. Further, the hosting, streaming reproducing, distributing, making available to the public, and/or communicating to the public of the original content, or facilitating the same, without authorization of the Plaintiffs, amounts to violation of the Plaintiffs’ copyright work, protected under the Act.
Learned Counsel further submits that several of the domains/websites sought to be blocked by the present proceedings are really new iterations of domains/websites that were earlier blocked. Evidence collected by the investigator shows that the operators of the Defendant Websites are using known “pirate branding” to signal to users that the Defendant Websites are merely new iterations of sites that have been blocked earlier. Learned Counsel further submits that the Defendant Websites are in the form of new iterations and that the new iterations almost invariably have the same functionality and purpose as the earlier blocked sites and thus directions be issued to block the new iterations of the Defendant Websites as directed by the Court in UTV Software Communication Ltd. (supra).
It was also submitted that the primary purpose of the Defendant Websites was to commit or facilitate copyright infringement. Thus, Defendants No. 1 to 12 were liable for infringement under Section 51(a)(ii), Section 51(b) and Section 51(a)(i) of the Act, for making a copy of the original content.
Court is of the view that Plaintiffs have made out a prima facie case for grant of ex parte ad-interim Balance of convenience lies in favour of the Plaintiffs and they are likely to suffer irreparable harm in case the injunction, as prayed for, is not granted.
Please become a Premium member. If you are already a Premium member, login here to access the full content.
