Delhi HC grants 'Dynamic+ injunction' to content creators against rogue websites

New Delhi : In a case against rogue websites involved in disseminating copyrighted content belonging to content creators including Universal, Warner Bros, Netflix, Paramount Pictures, and Disney, the Delhi High Court has granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction in favour of them.

Justice Pratibha M. Singh, drawing from a previous judgement in Universal City Studios LLC. & Ors. v. Dotmovies.baby & Ors., issued what is referred to as a "Dynamic+ injunction". This type of injunction not only protects the existing content of the plaintiffs but extends its coverage to future works.

In the case of Universal City v. Dotmovies.baby, a Dynamic+ injunction was deemed necessary to effectively curb piracy, particularly as copyrighted films, TV series, and other content could be uploaded to rogue websites immediately upon release.

Justice Singh, stressed on the need for such an injunction to prevent the viewing, replication, and communication of pirated content, safeguarding both economic and moral rights of the plaintiffs.

Noting the dynamic nature of the content produced and distributed by the plaintiffs, including films, TV series, and motion pictures, the judge pointed out the substantial monetary loss incurred due to unauthorised reproduction, hosting, uploading, streaming, downloading, broadcasting, telecasting, or making available of this content.

Expressing dismay over the unauthorised availability of the plaintiffs' content on rogue websites, the court addressed the ease with which domain names could be registered and the privacy protection feature, allowing the operators of these websites to hide behind registrations.

The court noted that such operators were not subject to monetary damages or compensation, granting them immunity to engage in piracy. It also noted that some of the impugned websites were newer versions of previously injuncted rogue websites.

The court recognised the tendency of rogue websites to resurface when notices or blocking orders are issued, pointing out the dynamic nature of duplication and the rapid emergence of mirror websites.