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ANI argued that PTI had replicated its videos depicting passengers enduring nearly an hour without air conditioning on a Delhi-Darbhanga Spicejet flight during a severe heatwave on June 19, 2024.
The Delhi High Court, on Friday, summoned the Press Trust of India (PTI) in a copyright infringement and plagiarism suit filed by Asian News International (ANI). ANI sought ₹2 crores in damages while accusing PTI of unauthorized use of ANI's videos depicting passengers' ordeal on a Spicejet flight.
The bench of Justice Mini Pushkarna presided over the case and scheduled the next hearing for August 9. PTI was directed to prepare its defense against ANI's claim that it unlawfully copied and distributed ANI's video footage from the June 19, 2024, Delhi-Darbhanga SpiceJet flight incident.
ANI, represented by Senior Advocate Chander M Lall and Advocate Sidhant Kumar, claimed that both the longer and shorter versions of the video, originally filmed by ANI journalists, were promptly published by PTI on various platforms, including X (formerly Twitter), shortly after airing on ANI's feed.
ANI sought damages exceeding ₹2 crores and a permanent injunction to prevent PTI from using ANI's original content in the future. Representing ANI, Senior Advocate Chander M Lall and Advocate Sidhant Kumar stressed the seriousness of the infringement, insisting that PTI not only remove the disputed content but also issue formal apologies and clarifications to affected news outlets.
PTI, represented by Senior Advocate Rajshekhar Rao, agreed to remove the videos within 24 hours but opposed the demand for an apology, arguing that the content was clearly marked as third-party material and dismissing the need for further actions.
The courtroom briefly discussed the possibility of mediation, which ANI vehemently opposed.
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