The Delhi High Court has directed the blocking of multiple rogue websites found to be unlawfully hosting and disseminating pirated cinematographic films and television programmes, including Stranger Things, Friends, Batman, Squid Game and The Jungle Book, among others.
The single-judge Bench of Justice Tejas Karia granted comprehensive injunctive relief in favour of global content owners—Warner Bros., Netflix, Apple, Disney and Crunchyroll—restraining the continued infringement of their copyrighted works and extending protection to future works upon their creation. It permitted the plaintiffs to implead mirror, redirect, alphanumeric and variant websites that replicate or facilitate access to the infringing platforms, without requiring separate proceedings.
Recognising the evolving and evasive architecture of online piracy, the High Court underscored the ‘hydra-headed’ nature of such infringing domains and found it necessary to adopt a proactive and technologically responsive approach. It held that immediate protection of copyrighted works is imperative to prevent irreparable harm, given the high likelihood of newly released content being uploaded on infringing platforms or their successor websites almost instantaneously.
The plaintiffs, members of the Motion Picture Association, submitted that they are global entertainment corporations holding exclusive copyright under Section 14 of the Copyright Act, 1957, in an extensive catalogue of cinematographic films and audio-visual works. They contended that the defendant websites were flagrantly violating Sections 51 and 55 of the Act by enabling real-time streaming and downloads of protected content without authorisation, notwithstanding repeated takedown notices.
After perusing the material on record, the High Court observed that the plaintiffs had made out a strong prima facie case of copyright infringement and that the balance of convenience lay squarely in their favour. It noted that such unauthorised exploitation resulted in substantial commercial and reputational loss, undermined the legitimate digital distribution ecosystem, and warranted urgent judicial intervention.
The single-judge Bench placed reliance on established jurisprudence, including UTV Software Communication Ltd. v. 1337x.to, Disney Enterprises Inc. v. Kimcartoon.to, and Star India Pvt. Ltd. v. Moviestrunk.com, the Court reaffirmed that dynamic injunctions are an effective remedy to curb online piracy in the digital age.
Consequently, it directed domain name registrars to suspend and lock the identified infringing domains within 72 hours and furnish Basic Subscriber Information (BSI) details in a sealed cover. Internet service providers were instructed to block access to the infringing websites within the same timeframe, ensuring effective enforcement of the injunction.
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