38.6c New Delhi, India, Thursday, July 04, 2024
CelebStreet

Big relief for Viacom-18: Delhi High Court restrains illegal streaming of 'Bigg Boss' [Read Order]

By Shreya Agarwal      19 October, 2023 03:58 PM      0 Comments
Big relief for Viacom 18 Delhi High Court restrains illegal streaming of Big Boss Read Order

New Delhi: In a major relief to reality show Bigg Boss' broadcast reproduction rights owner, Viacom-18, the Delhi High Court has restrained illegal broadcasters of the reality show from streaming the show on their platforms.

Namely, the domains where the previous and present programmes of Bigg Boss were being made available through the 'Video-on-Demand' arrangement were 'Biggbos.live', 'Bigg-boss.in', 'Bigg-boss17.com', 'Biggboss17online.com' and
'Biggbosslive.net'.

The illegal streaming of the show by these domains was causing huge losses to Viacom-18, along with gross violation of its copyrights, and therefore an injunction was necessitated in the matter, Viacom-18 submitted before the bench of Justice Prathiba Singh.

Viacom-18 also told Court that the domains were also already advertising the availability of yet-to-be-released seasons of Bigg Boss.

Viacom-18 had obtained the format rights from M/s Endemol Shine IP BV, which owns the format of the show. Viacom-18's rights were recognized vide agreement dated 17th August, 2020 for Bigg Boss Hindi, seasons 17 and 18.

The show itself has been produced and broadcasted in India since 2008. The said programme has had 16 seasons in Hindi language and season 17 of Bigg Boss Hindi is expected to be launched on 15th October, 2023.

The show has also been produced and telecasted in two regional languages Kannada and Marathi.

Endemol Shine IP BV has given the
exclusive license of the format to the Plaintiff for Bigg Boss Hindi seasons 17 and 18, scheduled to be broadcasted from 15th October, 2023 and Bigg Boss Kannada Seasons 10 to 12 to be broadcasted from 8th October, 2023 as also Bigg Boss Marathi seasons 5 to 8.

Viacom-18 broadcasts these programmes on the television channels 'Colors' and 'Colors Kannada' as also on its OTT platform ‘JioCinema’.

Taking note of the submissions, the Court reasoned, "The Bigg Boss programme enjoys enormous popularity even in India and the unauthorized and illegal dissemination of the Bigg Boss programmes, irrespective of past and future seasons, would be clear infringement of the Plaintiff’s (Viacom-18's) copyright of broadcast and reproduction rights."

It then proceeded to grant an ex-parte injunction against illegal streaming of the show ‘Bigg Boss’.

The bench said that if illegal websites were permitted to mushroom, it would not only harm the subscription base of Viacom-18 but also boost piracy in the country.

Therefore, the bench restrained the domains in the present case, as well as those that may come to the notice of Viacom-18 in future from broadcasting, telecasting, streaming, retransmitting and hosting any ‘Bigg Boss’ episode (past or future).

The Defendant-websites and their domain names were also directed to be suspended and/or blocked.

[Read Order]



Share this article:



Leave a feedback about this
Related Posts
View All

Big relief for Viacom-18: Delhi High Court restrains illegal streaming of 'Bigg Boss' [Read Order] Big relief for Viacom-18: Delhi High Court restrains illegal streaming of 'Bigg Boss' [Read Order]

Delhi High Court restrains illegal streaming of reality show Big Boss on plea by Viacom-18 alleging violation of broadcast reproduction and intellectual property rights.

TRENDING NEWS

kerala-court-sentences-muhammad-h-to-101-years-in-jail-for-raping-his-own-minor-daughter-for-6-years
Trending Judiciary
Kerala Court sentences Muhammad H to 101 years in jail for raping his own minor daughter for 6 years

Kerala Court sentences Muhammed H. to 101 years of jail for raping his minor daughter; he used to tell her, “All fathers do this to their daughters”.

03 July, 2024 12:13 PM
plea-in-supreme-court-seeks-structural-audit-of-all-bridges-in-bihar-following-multiple-collapses
Trending Judiciary
Plea in Supreme Court seeks structural audit of all bridges in Bihar following multiple collapses

Petition in SC calls for structural audits of all bridges in Bihar, highlighting recent collapses and urging real-time monitoring for safety.

04 July, 2024 10:58 AM

TOP STORIES

president-murmu-addresses-joint-sitting-of-parliament-here-are-the-key-highlights
Trending Legislative Corner
President Murmu addresses Joint Sitting of Parliament; here are the key highlights

President Murmu's first joint session address highlights Modi government's third term, high voter turnout in J&K, GST milestones, and recalls the 1975 Emergency.

29 June, 2024 10:51 AM
sikkim-hc-allows-revision-petition-condones-delay-in-filing-criminal-appeal-emphasizes-justice-over-technicalities
Trending Judiciary
Sikkim HC allows revision petition, Condones delay in filing criminal appeal, Emphasizes justice over technicalities [Read Judgement]

Sikkim High Court allows criminal revision petition, condones 388-day delay in filing appeal, and emphasizes justice over technicalities.

29 June, 2024 12:36 PM
bombay-hc-dismisses-plea-against-hijab-ban-upholds-college-dress-code
Trending Judiciary
Bombay HC dismisses plea against Hijab ban, Upholds college dress code [Read Judgement]

The Bombay HC dismisses a petition challenging a college's hijab ban, upholding the dress code as constitutional and not infringing on religious freedoms.

29 June, 2024 01:07 PM
lawyers-cannot-be-forced-to-abstain-from-work-amid-black-day-protest-calcutta-hc
Trending Judiciary
Lawyers Cannot Be Forced to Abstain from Work Amid 'Black Day' Protest: Calcutta HC [Read Order]

Calcutta High Court upholds lawyers' right to work amidst 'Black Day' protest, ruling Bar Council resolution non-binding.

29 June, 2024 05:59 PM

ADVERTISEMENT


Join Group

Signup for Our Newsletter

Get Exclusive access to members only content by email