Aniruddh Bhatia & Dr. Victor Vaibhav Tandon
Star India Pvt. Ltd. v. IPTV Smarter Pro & Ors., CS(COMM) 108/2025, decision by the HMJ Saurabh Banerjee, Delhi High Court
Key-Facts
- A suit was filed by Star India Pvt. Ltd. (‘the Plaintiff’) in February 2025 seeking a permanent injunction against rogue mobile applications and their associated domains/ URLs/ UIs which were unauthorisedly streaming the content owned by Star India, including general entertainment content broadcast on its television channels and OTT platforms (such as Disney+Hotstar and JioCinema).
- The Court granted an ex parte ad-interim dynamic blocking injunction, directing ISPs and DNRs to block access to infringing websites identified by the Plaintiff and granted the Plaintiff the liberty to approach the Joint Registrar to extend the order to additional domains discovered during the proceedings, upon his satisfaction.
- The original suit did not include reliefs for real-time blocking, however, the Plaintiff filed a fresh interim injunction application seeking urgent relief to address real-time piracy/infringement. This was sought by the Plaintiff in light of its acquisition of broadcasting rights for the India–England cricket series scheduled during the Court’s summer recess.
- The Court granted real-time blocking relief to avoid judicial burden during recess and ensure uninterrupted enforcement of the Plaintiff’s broadcasting rights. The Court granted a limited-duration superlative injunction, enabling real-time blocking, irrespective of the mode of dissemination. The order covers both rogue websites and apps during high-value sporting events like IPL and the England tour.
Key-Findings
- Superlative Injunction
- In a first-of-its-kind order, the Delhi High Court granted a limited-duration superlative injunction, a powerful real-time anti-piracy measure extending beyond traditional dynamic+ injunctions, to address the challenge of fast-evolving digital piracy.
- Real-Time Blocking
- The injunction permits real-time enforcement measures, including blocking of infringing content, regardless of the mode of dissemination ( mobile applications and their associated domains/ URLs/ UIs).
- Scope of Infringement Covered:
- The Court extended the dynamic and real-time injunction orders not only to mirror/redirect/ alpha-numeric domains, but rogue mobile applications as well, especially during time-sensitive events.
- Time-Bound Relief with Judicial Restraint:
- Exercising judicial restraint, the Court limited the duration of the injunction until 03.07.2025, to strike a balance between urgency and procedural fairness.
Key-practical implications
- Superlative injunction also opens up an additional route for the plaintiff(s) to avail the grant of real-time relief(s) against the infringing activities of ‘rogue’ defendant(s) irrespective of the mode(s) thereof
- Once infringement is established, enforcement can extend across all dissemination modes, streaming websites or mobile applications, eliminating the need for separate actions per platform.
- Litigants can combine varied modes of infringement in a single suit, streamlining enforcement and reducing procedural fragmentation.
- While broad remedies remain available, courts are likely to limit superlative injunctions to specific durations, reflecting a balance between enforcement and overbreadth concerns.
- This order could serve as a precedent for future real-time blocking actions, particularly during high stakes sporting events, although a broader judicial consensus is still evolving.
- With appropriate safeguards and urgency, courts appear increasingly inclined to support flexible and proportionate anti-piracy tools.
