High Court Restrains Websites from Broadcasting World Cup 2019 Games
Jun. 10, 2019Justice J.R. Midha’s interim order came while hearing a Channel 2 Group Corporation plea seeking a stay on audio broadcasts or streaming or transmitting of World Cup matches on over 100 platforms, including websites, private radio platform operators, Internet service providers and telecom service providers.
The advocates said that the Channel 2 Group holds copyright and exclusive rights over such audio or radio broadcasts.
“Any unauthorised audio or radio broadcasts, live or deferred update, by those defendants would be illegal and amount to piracy since the plaintiff (Channel 2 Group) holds copyright and exclusive rights over such audio or radio broadcasts,” the advocate told the court.
If these broadcasts are not restrained, the Group would suffer an irreparable injury and would be left without any remedy since the event has already begun and is to continue until July 14, the counsel added.
The court was satisfied with the counsel’s submission and said that “ex-parte interim order is warranted in the facts of the present case.”
“However, any defendant complying with the interim order of this Court may relay the score update by any party, doing so gratuitously only after a time lag of 15 minutes,” the court said.
The court has asked the Centre, websites and radio channels, Internet and telecom service providers to file their replies by September 4.
The court also directed that the search engines take down or delete from their search results pages, listings of websites or URLs which are infringing the petitioner’s copyright and broadcast reproduction rights.
