Delhi HC Protects Iconic Film Andaz Apna Apna’s IP with John Doe Order
The Delhi High Court, recently, passed a John Doe order granting interim protection of intellectual property rights associated with the iconic 1994 Hindi film Andaz Apna Apna.
The order, issued in response to a suit filed by the legal heir of the film’s late producer, aimed to restrain multiple known and unknown parties from the unauthorized use, reproduction and commercialization of the film’s copyrighted elements and registered trademarks.
The bench of Justice Amit Bansal held, “the plaintiff has demonstrated a prima facie case for grant of an interim injunction in its favour, and in case ex-parte and interim injunction is not granted, the plaintiff will suffer an irreparable loss”.
The suit sought a permanent injunction against several defendants for the unauthorized use of intellectual property associated with the iconic 1994 Hindi film Andaz Apna Apna, which was recently re-released in April 2025. The plaintiff, Shanti Vinay Kumar Sinha, legal heir of the late producer Vinay Kumar Sinha, alleged infringement of copyright and trademark rights, along with passing off, dilution, unfair competition, and tarnishment.
The plaintiff, represented by Advocate Pravin Anand, asserted ownership over all intellectual property linked to the film, including its characters, dialogues, costumes, styles, and catchphrases such as ‘Aila’, ‘Ouima’, and ‘Teja main hoon, mark idhar hai’. These elements, especially characters like Amar, Prem, Teja, and Crime Master Gogo, had acquired iconic status and developed secondary meaning in the public consciousness.
It was alleged that the defendants were creating and selling merchandise, such as t-shirts, mugs, posters, and digital art, using elements of the film without authorization. These items were sold through personal websites and platforms such as Flipkart, Etsy, Meesho, and Desertcart, both within India and internationally. Such actions, according to the plaintiff, diluted the film’s value and misled consumers into believing the products were officially licensed.
The Court found a prima facie case in favour of the plaintiff and held that denial of interim relief would result in irreparable harm. Consequently, an ex-parte ad interim injunction was granted against the defendants, including unknown parties.
Parties were also restrained from hosting, streaming, or producing any content AI-generated or otherwise, that is identical or deceptively similar to the plaintiff’s copyrighted material. They were further prohibited from manufacturing, selling, or promoting merchandise bearing the plaintiff’s registered trademarks or any marks that may cause confusion.
Additionally, the Court directed the defendants to remove infringing listings and ordered Google (Defendant No. 26) to take down specific videos from YouTube. E-commerce platforms such as Etsy, Flipkart, Meesho, and Desertcart were instructed to delist the infringing products and disclose the identities of the sellers involved. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) was also directed to block access to infringing websites and URLs.
The plaintiff was granted the liberty to approach the Court for similar relief against other infringers in the future. The matter is now listed before the Joint Registrar on 4 August 2025 and before the Court on 26 September 2025.
For Plaintiff: Advocates Pravin Anand, Ameet Naik, Vaishali Mittal, Madhu Gadodia, Siddhant Chamola, Prachi Sharma, Shivang Sharma, Saijal Arora, Sujoy Mukherjee and Devushal Tudekar
For Defendants: Advocates Mamta Jha, Rohan Ahuja, Shruttima Ehensa, Aiswarya Debadarshini and Rahul Choudhary
Case Title: Vinay Pictures v Good Hope (CS(COMM) 475/2025)