FIR filed against CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai and MD of Youtube, Gautam Anand in a copyright infringement case by filmmaker Suneel Darshan
A First Information Report (FIR) has been filed by filmmaker Suneel Darshan against Google CEO, Sundar Pichai and Youtube MD, Gautam Anand for infringement of copyright of his 2017 movie ‘Ek Haseena Thi Ek Deewana Tha’. Mr. Darshan approached a Mumbai Court in a private complaint alleging that the movie was illegally uploaded on Youtube even though he did not give any rights of the film to any person.
Petition filed before the Supreme Court to stay the release of film ‘Why I killed Gandhi’ on OTT platform
A plea has been filed before the Supreme Court which seeks to stay the release of the film ‘Why I killed Gandhi’ on the OTT platform, Limelight. The plea was filed before the Hon’ble Supreme Court on January 30, 2022 stating that censor board did not clear the film and therefore a stay should be put on its release on the OTT platform.
Bombay High Court refuses to stall release of “Mission to Pakistan”
The Bombay High Court heard an interim application in a commercial suit filed by the plaintiff, Solflicks Filmworks Pvt. Ltd. (SFPL) against the defendant, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEE). The application sought stay on ZEE from using any intellectual property rights belonging to SFPL with respect to the series ‘Mission to Pakistan’ and also restraining the defendant from entering into any agreement with any third party in respect of the said series.
The Hon’ble Bombay High Court denied the relief sought by the plaintiff and refused to stall the release of the web series by denying the ad-interim relief sought through the application.
Read order here.
Delhi High Court states infringing content to be taken down from Telegram [Doctutorials Edutech Private Limited v. Telegram FZ-LLC & Ors.]
A suit was filed by the plaintiff Doctutorials Edutech Pvt. Ltd. against Telegram and some unknown defendants and any other person associated with them for releasing some of the paid content of the plaintiff on the social media platform, Telegram. The plaintiff provides online content for preparation of medical entrance exams whose sole rights are with the plaintiff only.
The Court held that the plaintiff had made a prima facie case and said that if the content is not taken down then the plaintiff would suffer irreparable harm if the relief is not granted and concluded that the content be taken down from telegram.
Government mandates storage of ISD, satphone, conference calls and other details for two years
The telecom department issued a circular on January 27, 2022 which mandates storage of international calls, satphone, conference calls and messages for a period of at least two years. the circular dated January 27 for voice mail, audiotex and unified messaging service license said “The licensee shall maintain all commercial records, call data record, exchange detail record, IP detail record with regard to the communications exchanged on the network. Such records shall be archived for at least two years for scrutiny by the licensor for security reasons and may be destroyed thereafter unless directed otherwise directed by the licensor.”
Film exhibitors move Kerala HC against closure of cinemas
The Kerala High Court on January 25, 2022 sought the view of the state government on a petition filed by Film Exhibitors United Organization of Kerala against prohibiting the functioning of cinema theatres citing a spike in Covid cases. The petitioners pointed out that there are no restrictions to the functioning of malls, hotels, restaurants, swimming pools, and health clubs attached to hotels and apartment complexes. Hence, the restrictions imposed on a particular industry are arbitrary and discriminatory.
IAMAI: I&B Sought Media Compliance with IT Rules Even After HC Issued Stay
The Internet Freedom Foundation through a Right to Information request found that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting sought information from publishers even after high court orders stayed the operation of a particular rule of the new IT Rules. It was responded to by over 2,000 publishers, though it did not reveal how many of them replied after the high court stays. In orders issued on August 14, 2021, and September 16, 2021, respectively, the Bombay and Madras high courts stayed two sub-rules of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
Complaints Lodged Against Mahesh Manjrekar for Offensive Portrayal Of Women And Children
Two complaints and a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) have been filed against the filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar for inappropriate representation of women and children in his latest Marathi film, ‘Nay Varan Bhat Loncha Kon Nay Koncha’. The film was released on January 14. The director was the subject of two complaints, one with the Bandra magistrate court by Kshatriya Maratha Seva Sanstha in Mumbai and the other with the Mumbai sessions court. A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was also filed before the Bombay High Court’s Nagpur Bench.
