The Delhi High Court recently granted interim relief to radio broadcaster Mirchi FM in a copyright infringement suit against entertainment and lifestyle platform MissMalini Entertainment Private Limited (MEPL).

The case concerns alleged unauthorized use of clips from the talk show What Women Want, hosted by Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor Khan.

The Single-Bench of Justice Mini Pushkarna, after hearing preliminary arguments on December 20, issued an ex parte interim injunction directing MissMalini to remove the disputed video clips from YouTube and Instagram within 48 hours.

The Court further restrained MEPL from using Mirchi’s copyrighted material on any platform until the next hearing, scheduled for May 13.

"In view of the above circumstances, the plaintiff has demonstrated a prima facie case for grant of injunction and in case no ex-parte ad-interim injunction is granted, the plaintiff will suffer an irreparable loss. Further, the balance of convenience also lies in favour of the plaintiff and against the defendants. Accordingly, till the next date of hearing, the defendant no. 1, its promoters, employees, associates, affiliates agents, etc., are restrained from using and exploiting plaintiff’s copyright by transmitting or otherwise hosting, uploading and enabling for and on their behalf, plaintiff’s cinematograph and dramatic works, i.e., the Show, What Women Want and the Interview dated 26th August, 2024, shot on the sets of the Show, on any platform, social media or multi-media owned and controlled by defendant no. 1," the Single-Judge ordered.

Entertainment Network India Limited (ENIL), the parent company of Mirchi FM, accused MEPL of violating an agreement by uploading clips from the talk show to YouTube and Instagram. Mirchi alleged that MEPL obscured its logo and replaced it with the 'MissMalini' logo, while also crediting the content to ‘MissMalini Productions.’

Mirchi stated that it holds exclusive intellectual property rights for the show and that MEPL was engaged solely to promote it. As per Mirchi, MEPL was required to submit a preview of any content before uploading it on its platforms, but this protocol was allegedly not followed.

Prior to the lawsuit, Mirchi had issued a cease-and-desist notice and initiated copyright strikes on the contested videos on YouTube. However, since some clips remained online, Mirchi sought judicial intervention to enforce its rights. The video clips in question have since been taken down as per the Court’s orders.

"Defendant no. 1 is directed to take down the short-form and long-form of the Interview from their website, including, the link, i.e., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKjmSyx7Z51, https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBKlqhzS0AN/?igsh=cjJxZDRpMTlzMDBi, within 48 hours of passing of the present order. In case, the defendant no. 1 does not take down the aforesaid links, then defendant no. 2 and 3 shall take down the aforesaid links uploaded by defendant no. 1," the Court ordered.

Cause Title: Entertainment Network India Limited v. Missmalini Entertainment Pvt Ltd and Others [CS(COMM) 1141/2024]

Appearance:-

Plaintiff: Senior Advocate Abhishek Malhotra, Advocates Kartikay Dutta, Anukriti Trivedi, Raghavi Shukla

Defendant: Advocates Vedansh Anand, Sachin Saraswat, Central Government Counsel Nidhi Raman, Advocate Akash Mishra

Click here to read/download the Order


Justice Mini PushkarnaDelhi High CourtCopyright InfringementKareena Kapoor

Sukriti Mishra

Legal Correspondent

Sukriti Mishra is a Legal Correspondent at Verdictum. She extensively covers the Supreme Court. She has completed her graduation with BA. LL.B (Hons.) from The ICFAI University, Dehradun. Sukriti started covering courts in March 2022, she has previously worked with another legal news portal, where she extensively covered the Delhi High Court and Trial Courts.