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Plaintiffs challenged the depiction of RCB jersey in certain scenes of the movie Jailer, arguing that the same brought bad name to the brand and its sponsors.
In a suit by Royal Challengers Sports Ltd. against the makers of the film ‘JAILER’, the Delhi High Court recently directed the defendants to abide by the settlement agreement and digitally alter the clippings in a manner that the primary colours of the RCB jersey, as also the branding of the sponsors, gets faded or diminished. The directions were issued to be carried out in a time bound manner, that is, until September 1, 2023.
Justice Prathiba M. Singh, while disposing of the petition, observed, “The Defendants shall ensure that after 1st September, 2023, none of the theatres would exhibit the RCB jersey in any form whatsoever. Insofar as television, satellite or any OTT platform is concerned, prior to the release thereof, the altered version of the film shall be broadcasted/telecasted.”
Since the matter was decided on the very first date of listing, full court fee was directed to be refunded to the plaintiff in view of the judgment in Nutan Batra v. Buniyaad Associates, (2018) 255 DLT 696.
Brief Background
The recently released feature film JAILER, was the subject matter of the present dispute.
Plaintiffs objected to certain depictions made in the said movie wherein a contract killer was shown wearing jersey of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) – a popular IPL Team. He was further shown making derogatory, misogynistic remarks against a female in the film.
It was contended that not only was the jersey being used without permission of the plaintiff, but also the same was depicted in a negative manner, diluting the RCB brand image, brand equity and the rights of sponsors, particularly, Muthoot Group whose name reflected on the jersey.
As per the e-mails and settlement entered into between the parties, the defendants agreed to carry out necessary changes by altering or editing the said depictions till September 1, 2023.
Prayer for a permanent injunction against the defendants in addition to the deletion of all scenes showing RCB Jersey were sought by the plaintiffs.
Case Title: Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited v. Sun Pictures | CS (COMM) 581 of 2023 and IA 15859 of 2023
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