Shivani Thakur
Published on: July 4, 2022 at 18:15 IST
The Delhi High Court obtained a restraining order in favour of Sony Entertainment Network to stop shady websites from illegitimately broadcasting the International Cricket Series 2022.
The Court was hearing an application for a permanent injunction against the defendants to prevent them from violating the plaintiff’s rights during the upcoming India-England International Cricket Series 2022, which was brought by Sony Media Entertainment Network ltd.
Plaintiff had alleged in court that they had obtained an exclusive licence from England and Wales Cricket Board Limited (ECB) to broadcast/communicate the aforementioned sporting event to the general public in the various areas.
In order to carry out the court’s order against the parties who violated it, the Internet Service Providers (“ISP”) and Statutory government bodies have been named as proforma parties.
Additionally, it was argued in court that Defendants No. 1 to 39 are rogue infringing websites that publish pirated and illegally obtained information.
Unauthorized distribution or broadcast of the sporting event to the general public will cost the plaintiff and the government money in lost tax revenue.
“Defendants No. 58 to 89 are ISPs, who are engaged in the business of providing basic telephony, mobile services and broadband network all over the world and are covered under the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Copyright Act, 1957, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 and Ministry of Communications and Information Technology,” Plaintiff contended.
It was pleaded that in the absence of any specific order from this court, the Plaintiff’s objective of protecting its copyright in the said matches cannot be obtained.
The said “Ashok Kumar” Defendant has been impleaded with a view to facilitate the service of summons upon, and the extension of the injunction to parties who violate the Plaintiff’s rights.
It is argued that it is now impossible to properly identify all such Defendants due to the unique nature of broadcasting and digital transmission rights in the Sporting Event.
According to the court, the plaintiff has exclusive media rights from the ECB, as previously described. As a result, the plaintiff has a strong case for protection against unauthorised transmission, broadcasting, communication, telecasting, and distribution of any sporting event scheduled to take place from July 1 to July 17, 2022.
Accordingly, the court granted injunction in favour of the plaintiff.
