Read Time: 03 minutes

Synopsis

The Delhi High Court, recently, granted an injunction to Saregama against Movie World for copyright infringement. The bench of Justice Mini Pushkarna held, “In view of the above circumstances, the plaintiff has demonstrated a prima facie case for grant of injunction and in case no ex-parte ad-interim injunction is granted, the plaintiff will suffer an irreparable loss. Further, the balance of convenience also lies in favour of the plaintiff and against the defendants”. 

Saregama, represented by Advocate Ankur Sangal, contended that “defendants through their deliberate and mala fide conduct is illegally exploiting the plaintiff’s copyrighted works and is therefore, attempting to take benefit of the hard work and investments made by the plaintiff in producing, acquiring and promoting its content”. 

Advocate Sangal further argued that “defendants, by illegally using the plaintiff’s copyrighted works is also giving the impression that the plaintiff’s copyrighted works are vested with the original producers or defendants and no license is required from the plaintiff to exploit the same”.

The court acknowledged Saregama's longstanding exploitation of its works and the absence of objections for 40-45 years. The unauthorized use by Movie World was deemed a deliberate infringement, aimed at unfairly benefiting from Saregama’s investments. 

The court observed that Movie World’s actions risked financial and reputational damage to Saregama while undermining the rights of legitimate licensees. The court therefore listed the matter for May 13, 2025.

For Plaintiff: Advocates Ankur Sangal, Ankit Arvind, Shashwat Rakshit and Amira Dhawan
Case Title: Saregama India Limited v Movie World Visual Media Private Limited (CS(COMM) 1148/2024)