Madras HC dismisses Netflix' plea against actor Dhanush in copyright infringement issue
Chennai, Jan 28 (PTI): The Madras High Court on Tuesday dismissed an application filed by Los Gatos, an Indian entity of OTT platform Netflix, which sought to reject actor Dhanush's plaint over alleged copyright infringement by well-known actor Nayanthara, her husband Vignesh Sivan and others, at the preliminary stage itself.
Justice Abdul Quddhose dismissed the application filed by Los Gatos and posted to February 5, further hearing of the application filed by Dhanush's production house Wunderbar, seeking interim injunction against Los Gatos and others.
In his application, Dhanush had submitted that he produced a Tamil film "Naanum Rowdy Dhaan" a few years ago. Some of the behind-the-scene footage from the film were used unauthorizedly in the making of Nayanthara's documentary "Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairytale", he alleged. The documentary was aired on Netflix.
Dhanush said that since Netflix's office was in Mumbai, which was outside the jurisdiction of the Madras HC, he had moved an application seeking leave to sue the OTT player in this court, which was allowed. Aggrieved, Netflix filed the present application to revoke the order, granting leave to sue.
Netflix contended that the plaintiff in this case had obtained leave to sue only against Los Gatos and because the office was situated outside the jurisdiction of this court. The plaintiff ought to have obtained leave against all the defendants, Netflix added.
Applications filed by Netflix seeking revocation of leave and rejection of plaint were dismissed by the High Court.
Netflix's contentions were that the suit ought to have been filed in Kancheepuram as plaintiff's registered office is situated there and leave was not specifically sought for that part of cause of action that arose outside of the Madras High court's jurisdiction. Thus it sought leave to be revoked.
Rejection of Plaint was sought for on the ground that there is no urgency as the documentary is already released. Therefore the plaintiff ought to have gone for mandatory pre suit mediation.
The High Court did not agree with the plaintiff and both the applications were dismissed.
In his order, the judge said at this preliminary stage, when the first respondent/plaintiff (Wunderbar Films Private Limited) has prima facie satisfied this Court that there was an urgent need for obtaining interim reliefs, the question of rejecting the plaint for non compliance of pre-suit mediation does not arise.
Listing out the reasons, the judge said, " this Court is of the considered view that since a part of cause of action arose within the jurisdiction of this Court, this Court had rightly granted leave to the Plaintiff (Wunderbar) to institute the suit against the applicant/fifth defendant (Los Gatos) by exercising its power under Clause 12 of the Letters Patent."
"Since adequate averments have been made in the plaint for seeking urgent interim reliefs by the first respondent/ plaintiff (Wunderbar) without exercising pre-suit mediation, this Court, at this preliminary stage, cannot reject the plaint for non-compliance of pre-suit mediation by the first respondent/plaintiff (Wunderbar)," the court said.
The judge said this court, after giving careful consideration to the averments contained in the plaint, which includes the cause of action, was of the considered view that Wunderbar has rightly sought leave of this Court and has also rightly obtained leave to institute the suit against Los Gatos since they were having their registered office at Mumbai which was outside the jurisdiction of this Court.
It was settled law that as long as any infringing material remains on air and for each moment that material continues to be screened, it will dilute the rights of the copyright holder and was a continuous cause of action.
Though Los Gatos contends that the cause of action for the suit arose in the year 2020 itself as seen from the plaint, the said contention cannot be accepted by this Court at this stage when admittedly the documentary "Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairy Tale" was released by Netflix only on November 18, 2024.
It was clear from the plaint averments that only due to the urgent necessity to seek interim reliefs, Wunderbar did not go for pre-suit mediation under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, the judge added.
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Crowd management efforts ramped up at Maha Kumbh after stampede
Mahakumbh Nagar (PTI): A day after a stampede at the Maha Kumbh left 30 dead, the Uttar Pradesh government ramped up efforts to ensure crowd management and safety of devotees who continued to flock here in large numbers for the religious gathering.
The devotees braved the pre-dawn chill and dense fog to take a dip in the Sangam and at other ghats here on Thursday.
More than 55.11 lakh devotees had taken the holy dip till 8:00 am, according to the Uttar Pradesh government.
Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Anshuman Mishra told PTI that the area would remain a no-vehicle zone until the crowd disperses completely.
"Vehicle passes will not be valid until all devotees have safely left for their destinations. No outside vehicles would be allowed to enter the city until the crowd exits the Mela area," he said.
However, senior officials may grant permission for vehicle entry based on the situation, he said.
Mishra clarified that essential services such as police administration vehicles, ambulances and suction machines would be allowed entry as they are crucial for the smooth management of the Maha Kumbh.
Pilgrims, including women and children, were seen walking to and fro the various ghats amid reduced visibility. Many had thin blankets covering their bodies while some stopped by bonfires along the routes to keep themselves warm.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh and Director General of Police Prashant Kumar are scheduled to reach here later in the day for a detailed probe into the stampede.
The top officers would also conduct a thorough review of the arrangements in the Mela area, Chief Minister Adityanath said on Wednesday night.
"Every aspect related to security and public convenience must be carefully examined to ensure seamless arrangements for Basant Panchami (Feb 3 - Amrit Snan)," he said.
In a bid to further strengthen the arrangements, the Uttar Pradesh government will also be deploying two former senior officers on Mela duty -- Ashish Goyal, who served as divisional commissioner of Prayagraj for the 2019 Kumbh, and Bhanu Goswami, former vice chairman of the Agra Development Authority.
Additionally, five special secretary-level officers are being assigned to oversee operations. All of them will remain in Prayagraj till February 12 to assist in streamlining the arrangements, Adityanath said.
Besides 30 deaths, 60 people were injured in the pre-dawn stampede on Wednesday in the Sangam area of the Maha Kumbh as millions of pilgrims jostled for space to take a holy dip on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya, one of the most auspicious days of the Hindu calendar.
Maha Kumbh DIG Vaibhav Krishna said the incident took place due to crowd pressure. The crowd broke barricades and jumped to the other side, crushing those waiting there, he said.
On Wednesday, more than 7.64 crore devotees had a 'snan' at the Maha Kumbh, the highest in a single day so far. The footfall since the beginning of the mega event had crossed 27.58 crore by the end of Wednesday, according to the Uttar Pradesh government.
The Maha Kumbh kicked off on January 13 and will continue till February 26.
