Indian journal publisher fined USD 50 mn for making deceptive claims to academics, researchers
New York: An Indian journal publisher and his companies have been fined over USD 50 million in the US for making "deceptive claims" to academics about the nature of their work and taking millions of dollars from aspiring researchers and writers.
Srinubabu Gedela of Andhra Pradesh and his companies OMICS Group Inc., iMedPub LLC, Conference Series LLC, have been ordered by the US District Court for the District of Nevada to pay the amount to resolve the charges brought against them by America's consumer protection agency - Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
"These publishing companies lied about their academic journals and took millions of dollars from aspiring researchers and writers," said Andrew Smith, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection.
"We're pleased with the court's strong order holding these companies and its owner responsible for the damage they caused," Smith said.
The court issued the summary judgment order on March 29.
In its 2016 complaint, the FTC alleged that "OMICS, iMedPub, Conference Series and their owner Gedela advertised hundreds of online academic journals and international conferences for scientists and medical professionals, and deceptively claimed that their journals provided authors with rigorous peer review and had editorial boards made up of prominent academics".
In reality, many articles were published with little to no peer review, and many individuals represented to be editors had not agreed to be affiliated with the journals, the FTC said in a statement.
The FTC further alleged that the defendants represented that their journals had been accepted by prominent academic indexing services such as the National Institute of Health (NIH)'s "PubMed Central".
In fact, the NIH had refused to index the defendants' journals and demanded that they cease representing that the defendants' journals were associated with PubMed.
An article in The New York Times quoted Gedela's attorney Kishore Vattikoti as saying in an email response to the court order that "It's quite surprising for us that court has passed an order against defendants in this case without calling for a trial which is unjustifiable and violation of natural justice".
Vattikoti said the publisher would appeal, the report said.
The FTC also alleged that Gedela and his companies failed to properly tell authors who submitted papers for consideration that they would charge the authors significant publishing fees. They also failed to allow authors to withdraw their articles from submission, making their research ineligible for publication in other journals.
Finally, the complaint alleged that to promote their scientific conferences, the defendants deceptively used the names of prominent researchers as conference presenters when in fact many of those researchers had not agreed to participate in the events.
In November 2017, a federal court granted a preliminary injunction requested by the FTC, temporarily halting the deceptive practices of these academic journal publishers.
In the summary judgment decision, the court found that "the defendants violated the FTC Act by making deceptive claims regarding their academic journals and scientific conferences, and by failing to adequately disclose their publishing fees".
The resulting final order prohibits Gedela and his companies from making misrepresentations regarding their academic journals and conferences, including that specific persons are editors of their journals or have agreed to participate in their conferences, that their journals engage in peer review, that their journals are included in any academic journal indexing service, or the extent to which their journals are cited.
It also requires that the defendants clearly and conspicuously disclose all costs associated with submitting or publishing articles in their journals.
The order also requires the defendants to obtain express written consent from any person the defendants represent to be associated with their academic journals or scientific conferences.
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JioHotstar to invest Rs 4,000 crore for South Indian content push; unveils 25-title slate
Chennai (PTI): Streaming service JioHotstar on Tuesday announced that it will invest Rs 4,000 crore over the next five years to strengthen South India’s creative economy, unveiling a 25-title slate as part of a major push for regional content.
In one of the biggest announcements by an Indian streaming platform for the southern markets, the company showcased its “South Unbound” vision at a high-profile event here.
Sushant Sreeram, Head – SVOD Business & Chief Marketing Officer at JioStar, said the investment forms part of a broader collaboration with the Tamil Nadu government.
“Earlier today, JioHotstar formalised a Letter of Intent with the Government of Tamil Nadu in the presence of the Chief Minister M K Stalin. This outlines a shared commitment to invest in talent, expand infrastructure and build a future-ready creative economy from the South.
"As part of this vision, JioHotstar will invest Rs 4,000 crore to nurture creators, strengthen the production ecosystem and build a pipeline of stories that are ready for India and ready for the world,” he said.
Calling South India the “heartbeat of Indian storytelling”, Sreeram said the investment signalled the platform’s long-term commitment to local creators.
"JioHotstar started as a dream — to build entertainment rooted in India’s storytelling heritage and powered by cutting-edge technology. The resplendent storytelling traditions of the South motivate us to keep championing authentic, rooted narratives while offering greater accessibility and choices for every viewer," he said.
The event was attended by Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, veteran actor and MP Kamal Haasan, senior state officials, and leading stars and filmmakers from across the southern industries.
Deputy CM Stalin said the partnership will generate “1,000 direct jobs and 15,000 indirect jobs”.
“Cinema in Tamil Nadu has always been a force for social change. OTT is not replacing cinema; it is expanding it. Today, a filmmaker in Madurai or Salem can upload a story and reach audiences across the world. The cultural and economic impact of this partnership will be massive," he added.
aasan said Indian media and entertainment was undergoing a fundamental transformation driven not by technology alone, but by the audience itself.
“We gather at a moment when India’s media and entertainment is not merely growing, it is transforming. For the first time, this shift is not driven by device or format, but by the audience itself,” he said, adding that storytelling today is “screen agnostic”.
“Regional is becoming the new national, and ethnic the new international. Stories born in Madurai, Malappuram or Machilipatnam are no longer regional cinema; they are national cultural events,” Haasan said, giving the example of movies such as “Kantara”, “Drishyam”, “Baahubali”, “Pushpa” and Tamil hits like “Vikram”.
The event was also attended by Mohanlal, Nagarjuna, Vijay Sethupathi, Priyamani, Aishwarya Rajesh and others -- along with directors Jeethu Joseph and Ahammed Khabeer
The streamer's ambitious content slate, unveiled as part of its “South Unbound” initiative, includes sequels to blockbuster franchises, new long-format shows, films, adaptations, and high-engagement reality formats.
The Tamil slate features a mix of returning favourites and new originals, led by "Bigg Boss Tamil", now hosted by Vijay Sethupathi, and "Good Wife S2", the legal drama starring Priyamani.
The lineup also includes "LBW – Love Beyond Wicket", a relationship drama; the family comedy "Cousins and Kalyanams"; the psychological drama "Resort"; and "Heartbeat S3", which brings back Anumol, Karthik Kumar and Deepa Balu.
Other Tamil offerings include "Lingam", an action-drama; "Love Always", a multigenerational love story; the marquee title "Kaattaan" starring Vijay Sethupathi and Milind Soman; and "Second Love", a non-fiction relationship series.
In Telugu, the platform returns with "Bigg Boss Telugu" hosted by Nagarjuna, alongside new originals such as "Moodu Lantharlu" starring Aishwarya Rajesh; the police procedural "Vikram on Duty"; "Varam", a mystical relationship drama; and the hit comedy-drama "Save The Tigers S3" with Chaitanya Krishna.
The slate further includes "Vishakha", the Telugu adaptation of "Aarya" led by Kajal Aggarwal; the relationship-based non-fiction format "Mad for Each Other"; and the Telugu debut of the iconic adventure franchise "Roadies".
From Malayalam, the platform brings back "Bigg Boss Malayalam" hosted by Mohanlal; "Kerala Crime Files S3" featuring Aju Varghese; the mystery drama "Secret Stories: Roslin"; "Anali", "1000 Babies S2" with Neena Gupta and Rahman; and the hard-hitting drama "Pharma" starring Nivin Pauly.
The Kannada lineup includes "Bigg Boss Kannada" hosted by Kichcha Sudeepa; "Batchmates", a nostalgic friendship drama; and the food-and-humour-based non-fiction series "Comedy Cooks".
Across languages, the platform also announced new films such as "Lucky The Superstar", featuring GV Prakash, Anaswara Rajan and Meghna Sumesh, and "Kenatha Kaanom", positioned as broad-appeal mainstream entertainers.
