YouTube has been directed “not to host content that violates any law” of the country by the Delhi HC last week (pdf), after Tata Sky approached the court demanding YouTube to take down video clips that apparently showed methods to crack encrypted codes on Tata Sky set top boxes (STBs) for free viewing. Tata Sky’s advocate said that YouTube had ‘failed to act promptly’ when it sent a takedown request in July 2015; this compelled the company to approach court for relief. "In terms of Rule 3 (1) (e) of the ITIG, YouTube is obliged not to host content that violates any law for the time being in force," read the Judgment on Wednesday. However, YouTube’s advocate mentioned in court that “there was no question” of it violating laws intentionally, since it is not the original author of videos hosted on its platform. He added that Tata Sky in its complaint to YouTube, wrongly classified the nature of the violating content as a copyright infringement, by claiming that it owned copyrights to the encrypted codes on STBs. The nature of violation being “circumvention of technological measures” was wrongly appealed by Tata Sky as a violation of trademark, and hence YouTube couldn’t take an action promptly, it said during trial. “…it was Tata Sky which led YouTube LLC to believe that Tata Sky owned the copyright over the encryption in the STBs, which it obviously did not, and YouTube LLC cannot be faulted for suggesting that a complaint for copyright violation…
