'Scam 1992' Gets A Dynamic Injunction Against Instagram Handles. What Does It Mean?
Copyright owners aggrieved by infringements on social media can now find relief in dynamic injunctions.
The Bombay High Court recently granted a unique relief to the makers of the web series ‘Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story’. The court allowed a dynamic injunction against 32 Instagram handles that posted snippets from the web series in violation of the rights of its makers.
This allows the holder of copyright to extend the main injunction against all infringing handles without having to go through elaborate court proceedings each time there is an infringement. The copyright holder can simply approach the Joint Registrar with sufficient evidence to extend the injunction to any such URL.
Although there have been cases where the court has granted such a relief against rogue websites, this is one of the first cases where such a relief has been granted against social media handles, says Dhruv Anand, partner at Anand and Anand.
In the instant case, Applesauce Entertainment Pvt. had acquired the publicity and character rights to the web series ‘Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story,’ streaming exclusively on SonyLIV's OTT platform. In December 2022, it noticed several Instagram handles posting clips and snippets from the web series for the promotion of their business activities. Despite multiple complaints, Instagram failed to take down the content that was in violation of Applesauce’s proprietary rights, leading to the present suit.
Applesauce expressed concerns that the infringers could continue to use the different identities and rogue handles to continue to violate the proprietary rights of the makers.
The court found the Instagram handles in violation of the copyright. It further found sufficient evidence to warrant a dynamic injunction until the case is finally disposed of.
The relief is extremely helpful in cases where there is copyrightable content involved, says Anand.
It is a highly efficient tool against piracy, as rogue websites hosting copyrighted content can be brought down as and when they pop up. But its utility is not limited to that, he adds.
In this era of deepfakes and other such technological advancements, the relief would be critical in preventing the dissemination of defamatory content. It can also come in handy in dealing with content that’s illegal or in violation of trademarks or other such rights.Dhruv Anand, Partner, Anand and Anand
However, Anand cautioned that there are fair use concerns. The courts would have to make a determination on whether to grant such relief based on the principles of proportionality.
Indian courts have set out sufficient criteria for permitting such injunctions, Shailendra Bhandare, partner at Khaitan and Co., said. "If there is a blatant infringement, there is no downside to such relief being granted".