We missed this earlier: The Delhi High Court ordered ShareChat and MojApp to rid their library of 134 film clips and recordings under the copyright of Zee Entertainment Enterprises in an order dated November 1, 2023. This came in a copyright case between Zee and Mohalla Tech, the parent company of social media platform ShareChat and short video platform Moj, with Zee requesting the removal of its copyrighted content from ShareChat and Moj’s content libraries. ShareChat and Moj have till February 4, 2024 (the next date of the case’s hearing) to remove Zee’s content from their libraries. The court has further clarified that there is no injunction on the defendant using the cover versions, remixes, or user-generated content.
In September 2020, Zee and Mohalla entered into an agreement under which Mohalla was allowed to license Zee’s content and store it in its library. This allowed users of ShareChat and Moj to listen, preview, and synchronize/incorporate Zee’s content into their own content. The license agreement between Zee and Mohalla ended on July 14, 2023. While Mohalla claimed that it removed Zee’s content from its library post the expiry of the license agreement, Zee argues that it is still a part of Mohalla’s library.
What are both sides arguing?
Zee’s lawyers claim that the presence of Zee’s content in Mohalla’s library amounts to copyright infringement and would also breach the license agreement that the parties were previously under. They sought an interim injunction against the availability of Zee’s content on Mohalla’s website. They further mention that Zee has no objection to Mohalla using remix or cover versions of Zee’s content even if to some extent the company’s copyright is contained in them.
In contrast, Mohalla’s lawyers state that any copyrighted recordings of the plaintiff, which do not constitute user-generated content, are present in Mohalla’s library. They submit that all the Zee content available to Mohalla users constitutes either remixes, cover versions, or user-generated content and that Zee’s only identified copyright content is a series of 134 films/clips that were listed in the User Content and Revenue Sharing Agreement that the two companies had been engaged in. As such, Zee’s lawyers restricted their plea for an injunction to the 134 films/clips that were a part of the agreement.
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Also read:
- Bombay HC Upholds Exclusion Of Internet Broadcasting From Copyright Statutory Licenses Provisions
- I Am Become ‘Dynamic+ Injunction’, Destroyer Of All Piracy: The Delhi HC’s Solution To Preventing Copyright Infringement Online
- Delhi High Court Restricts 338 Websites From Pirating Star India’s Movies And TV Shows
