New Delhi [India], July 15 (ANI): The Delhi High Court has restrained 56 rogue websites from illegally streaming the newly released films Maalik and Sarbala Ji, owned by Tips Films Limited. The court passed an ad-interim injunction in favour of the film production company in a copyright infringement suit filed against the unauthorised streaming platforms.

The bench of Justice Amit Bansal on July 11 directed that all listed websites be prohibited from hosting, streaming, or distributing any copyrighted content belonging to the plaintiff without appropriate authorisation. The court stated that failure to act swiftly would lead to 'irreparable harm or injury' to the intellectual property rights of Tips Films.

The next hearing is scheduled for November 17, with pleadings and service to be completed by September 15.

The film company had approached the court, citing the imminent threat of online piracy, particularly as Maalik premiered on July 11 and Sarbala Ji was slated for release on July 18. The plaintiff company asserted that the defendant's websites not only facilitated illegal access to copyrighted films but also shielded their identities using domain privacy services to evade detection.

After examining the evidence, the court found these actions to be a prima facie violation of Sections 51(a)(i), 51(a)(ii), and 51(b) of the Copyright Act, 1957. As a result, several directions were issued to curb further infringement.

Internet Service Providers across India were instructed to block access to the 56 websites immediately. Domain Name Registrars were ordered to suspend the domain registrations of the listed platforms and disclose registrant details, including names, emails, phone numbers, IP addresses, and payment methods, to aid Tips Films in pursuing legal remedies. Furthermore, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) were directed to issue official notifications and provide ongoing support in future piracy cases.

In clarification, the court permitted any website wrongly blocked under the order to approach it with a formal undertaking not to stream unauthorised content belonging to the plaintiff. Tips Films was also allowed to report additional infringing websites in the future, with a streamlined mechanism established for swift action. (ANI)