The Delhi High Court has granted interim relief to American film production company Universal City Studios in a copyright infringement suit alleging large-scale piracy of its films through rogue websites misusing the name of movie database platform IMDb.
Universal Studios apprised the single-judge bench of Justice Tushar Rao Gedela that several of its films, including Fast X, F9: The Fast Saga and The Secret Life of Pets 2, were being illegally streamed on websites operating under names such as PlayIMDb and StreamIMDb.
The studio argued that although IMDb was a legitimate online movie information platform, rogue websites were exploiting its name and goodwill to illegally upload and stream copyrighted content without authorisation. Universal Studios further submitted that the rogue websites distorted IMDb URLs to facilitate pirated streaming of movies on their platforms.
The High Court passed an ex parte interim injunction on May 8, restraining the rogue websites from hosting, streaming, reproducing, or communicating the copyrighted films to the public. It further prohibited the defendants from continuing their unauthorised streaming, noting that the rogue entities had created a mechanism through which users visiting legitimate IMDb title pages were redirected to unauthorised streaming platforms hosting Hollywood films owned by Universal Studios.
The Bench observed that the websites had even circulated instructional material guiding users on how to access pirated content through manipulated IMDb links. Such conduct prima facie demonstrated dishonest adoption of IMDb’s URL structure to exploit the platform’s reputation and mislead users into accessing infringing streams under the appearance of legitimacy, it said, adding that the unauthorised streaming caused irreparable harm to Universal Studios by resulting in loss of revenue and dilution of its exclusive copyright over the films.
The Court directed domain name registrars and internet service providers to block and suspend the websites named in the suit, including PlayIMDb and StreamIMDb, within 72 hours. The registrars were also ordered to furnish details of the operators of the piracy platforms, including KYC details, credit card information, and mobile numbers, to Universal Studios.
While directing the Department of Telecommunications and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to issue notifications to internet service providers for blocking access to the infringing websites, the Bench granted liberty to Universal Studios to seek extension of the injunction against any newly discovered infringing websites. The Court further directed domain name registrars and internet service providers to immediately suspend or lock such rogue websites once identified by the studio.
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