Bombay High Court issues John Doe order

Bombay High Court issues John Doe order and requests the police’s help in eliminating pirated links to the online film “Janhit Mein Jaari” that was being spread. The Applicants/Plaintiffs are free to petition if they become aware of infringement URLs that are not listed in Exhibit C to the Plaint, according to a bench of Justice RI Chagla.

The decision was made in response to a petition brought by Bhanushali Studio Ltd., which sought urgent ad-interim relief for the immediate removal or deletion of any infringing links to the film “Janhit Mein Jaari.” The further request in the plea was for John Doe to instruct the police to remove and delete any connections that would violate the applicants’ copyright in the in question movie, “Janhit Mein Jaari.”

The attorney representing the Bhanushali Studio said that the movie may be downloaded from chat groups using the app “Telegram.” Additional screenshots from the illegal website moovana.net, where it looked that the subject movie was accessible via an internet stream, were shown by the defence. Additionally, it was claimed that the Bhanushali Studio is losing money at the box office as a result of the infringing links indicated in the plaint showing the subject movie. The studio asserted that there was a financial loss because no OTT platform or other distribution would want to sign agreements with the studio because there would be no demand for the movie given its availability for free online. Furthermore, it was asserted that the links had been placed by defendant number 2, an unidentified entity.

Due to the infringing links on the internet listed in the plaint, the bench in the John Doe action moved forward against the unidentified defendant in this regard. The bench stated that the connections immediately violate the copyright that the film’s makers have, as these unidentified defendants don’t appear to have any authorization to distribute a copy of the movie to the general people. The bench ordered the concerned police stations to provide the producers with the support they need to prevent the defendants from violating or infringing the Applicants’ copyright in the suit film, “Janhit Mein Jaari,” as a temporary remedies.

While the lawyer for “Telegram” argued that in the event that the app’s creators notify Telegram of any illegal connections appearing on the app, Telegram must promptly take the appropriate steps to prohibit access to the illegal links.

The court gave the producers permission to request the removal of links if they become aware of any that are not specifically listed as being infringing.

John Doe Order And Intellectual Property Right

A legal corrective course of action known as John Doe orders emerges to protect such situations when it comes to protecting intellectual property rights against certain unknown people and when a person who can pose a threat to a given task, project, or work can’t be traced because his identity is hidden under various layers of covers.

The main goal is to safeguard intellectual property rights in situations where the parties involved are unknown.

Anyone who believes that the copying of their work by an unidentified person, in cases when the project’s results have shown to be imaginative or innovative, may have caused some harm, may ask the court to issue a John Doe order.

A person who is a party to specific legal processes but whose name is unknown is an intriguing legal idea. Anyone who violates intellectual property rights by taking specific actions with the intention of doing so is potentially guilty, including individuals, businesses, partnerships, associations of people, groups of people, trusts, societies, service providers, website and newspaper proprietors.