Mumbai: The Delhi high court passed a John Doe order restraining all websites and broadcasters, including www.vcinemas.com, and the ‘world at large’ from airing its talk-show Unstoppable, featuring Nandamuri Balakrishna as host, which is streamed via its OTT platform, aha, run by Arha Media and Broadcasting.
Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva observed that, given the plaintiff's investment in the show, any illegal broadcasting would severely affect its monetary interest and also diminish the value of the show.
The media company is represented in the high court by the law firm Anand and Naik, and the same was argued by veteran attorneys Ameet Naik and Pravin Anand.
The company has recently approached the HC by instituting a John Doe suit and seeking an injunction to restrain the illegal and unauthorised dissemination of the original web talk-show, which is set to air its upcoming episode on 30 December 30 and feature Telugu film industry superstar Prabhas. The company expects substantial viewership for this episode that would result in higher monetary gain. It has already spent Rs 17 crore on the production, promotion, and marketing activities of the talk-show series.
Considering the investments the company has made in the talk-show series, the HC has observed that any illegal broadcasting would severely affect its monetary interest and also diminish the value of the talk-show series.
Commenting on the verdict, Anand and Naik joint managing partner and lawyer Ameet Naik said, "Piracy of films, web-series, and entertainment content has always been a huge menace in the media and entertainment industries. Before a film is released in theatres, there are rogue websites and various links that make the movie available to the public at large, which has a significant adverse effect on the commercial performance of the film. In an effort to combat the said menace, the courts have historically been indulgent in granting John Doe orders prior to the release of films. The present order passed by the Delhi high court in favour of Arha Media, owner of the OTT platform ‘aha’, is a similar order wherein the Delhi high court has granted a John Doe order for the show Unstoppable, originally produced and made available exclusively by an OTT platform, wherein infringing links were making the show and its episodes available, even prior to the release of the show on the OTT platform. The order of the Delhi high court to address piracy and grant relief is highly commendable."
Unstoppable was first launched on 4 November 2021 and it concluded in February 2022. Following the success of season 1, season 2 started in October this year, and the show is still continuing.
Also Read: ‘Unstoppable with NBK 2’: aha to stream mega episode starring Prabhas in two parts
