Recently, Culver Max Entertainment Private Limited, filed a suit before the Delhi High Court against various rouge websites seeking protection of its exclusive broadcasting rights in the forthcoming India-England International Cricket Series 2022.
It was the case of the plaintiff that these parties who are engaged in the business of uploading pirated and unlicensed content, are habitual defaulters and have, in the past also infringed the plaintiff’s exclusive broadcasting rights of such matches.
The Delhi High Court noting the plaintiff’s exclusive media rights to broadcast and communicate to public the upcoming cricket series in the territories of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and the Maldives, passed an interim order and restrained various rouge websites from illegally transmitting, broadcasting, communicating, telecasting to public etc. any event or match to the public. The court further directed the concerned impleaded authorities to block access of the websites from where the infringing content is communicated.
The court also ordered appointment of a local commissioner to visit the premises of the distribution platform operators and ascertain whether they are in fact unauthorized distributors and inspect further.
Culver Max Entertainment Private Limited formerly known as Sony Pictures Networks India Pvt Ltd v. F1.mylivecricket.live & Ors., CS (COMM) 439/2022, Order dated June 29, 2022