PIKASHOW APP RESTRICTED FROM ILLEGALLY DISTRIBUTING HOTSTAR APP’S CONTENT

The Plaintiff:

The Plaintiffs are a prominent entertainment and media company in India, and they are the owners of the copyright of a substantial amount of content, including movies, albums, TV shows, etc. The Plaintiffs control their own OTT platform, “Hotstar,” as well as a mobile application called “Disney+ Hotstar,” in addition to transmitting the 65 STAR television channels in more than eight languages. Numerous well-known sports events hosted by the BCCI, ICC, Wimbledon, Pro Kabaddi League, etc. are featured on the STAR networks. According to claims made by the Plaintiffs, Disney+Hotstar, an OTT service, held 45.88% of the Indian market by number of installations in 2019 and was the most widely used streaming service there.

The claim:

The plaintiffs contend that they have the right to broadcast, rebroadcast, retransmit, stream, communicate, or otherwise make the original copyrighted information they hold available in any way. The complaint stated by the Plaintiffs in this lawsuit is that their content is being illegally distributed online through the PIKASHOW app, which advertises that it offers free content from all popular OTT platforms, including the Plaintiffs’. According to the complaint, the aforementioned App is a stand-alone mobile application that openly engages in copyright infringement of exclusive content owned by multiple copyright owners. The complaint stated by the Plaintiffs in this lawsuit is that their material is being illegally distributed online via the PIKASHOW app, which advertises itself as offering free video from all popular OTT platforms, including the Plaintiffs’. Plaintiff contends that in addition to the type of content hosted on the App, the numerous circumvention techniques, URLs, and App’s mode of operation all demonstrate that the App’s owners/operators have gone to great lengths to ensure that the illegal streaming and broadcasting is maintained without interference.

Court Orders:

Court notes that Star India directed the blocking of fake apps and URLs with names that are similar to the current app for streaming illegal content. Similar content is being made accessible through this App and new URLs are being established and made accessible using circumvention techniques despite such banning orders. This eloquently supports the plaintiffs’ contention that, when one URL is blocked, others are constructed to make the App available, making it more challenging to enforce restrictions on the infringing content. According to numerous Domain Name including NameSilo LLC, Tucows Inc., GoDaddy.com LLC, etc., these source domains have been registered. Additionally, each of these source sites has privacy protections. The Defendants are openly and shamelessly making available a significant amount of copyrighted content, including that of the Plaintiffs, according to the facts as shown above. The court observes that looking through the App’s pages, it doesn’t seem like there is any non-infringing content accessible on a sizable chunk of the App. Even Lumen1’s studies, which the Plaintiffs cite, along with the numerous cease-and-desist letters and complaints filed against the App, establish the App’s rogue status and warrant a complete block, as past experience has shown that blocking URLs alone might not be sufficient to halt the streaming of infringing content.

The court states that the plaintiffs have made out a prima facie case for the grant of an interim injunction, and the balance of convenience is in their favour. It is made clear that if the App that stands injuncted today and  has any non-infringing content, the owners/operators of the App are permitted to move an application seeking modification of today’s order. All the defendants are directed to disclose the contact details of ‘PIKASHOW APP’ as may be available with it including details of any bank accounts, payments made, sale agreements entered into, etc. within one week, by filing an affidavit in this regard.