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The Bombay High Court has directed mobile operators including BSNL, and 36 other ISPs to block websites that stream pirated versions of Pritish Nandy-produced Hindi film Mastizaade .
The ‘John Doe’ court order came after production house Pritish Nandy Communications (PNC) filed a case against telecom operators after it found websites allowing free viewing of the movie ahead of its Friday release.
John Doe orders are “cease and desist” orders passed by a court of law against anonymous entity/entities. The principle is that the persons who are a threat are not known as they are veiled, being many in number backed by unknown identities. In recent times, these orders have been issued in matters of protecting copyrights in the case of book releases, prevention of movie piracy, preventing showcase of movies in cable networks during the time of theatre release, and even stopping telecast of live sports events.
PNC, whose adult comedy Mastizaade is slated to release on January 29, had filed a case in the Bombay High Court after it learnt that that about 332 links and URLs on the internet are claiming to offer free downloads, viewing and streaming of the Sunny Leone-starrer, thus breaching its copyright. It provided screenshots and relevant documents to the court.
Justice SC Gupte, after hearing the arguments of Counsel Shailesh Mendon, directed the court to sent notices to BSNL and 36 others through e-mail, asking them to not violate the order. It has also asked them to respond to the e-mails within two-weeks and directed the police to take notice of the matter.
Illegal video streaming of movies is a very common phenomenon worldwide. There are several dormant sites that suddenly turn active after a movie is released, making it practically impossible for the production houses to monitor further ‘leaks’ of the movie and thus restraining the potential damage it might do to the box office sales.
Nikhil Rodrigues of RM Partners, the law firm representing PNC, said it had also appeared on behalf of Eros International for Bajirao Mastani . Mastizaade has been produced on a budget of ₹19 crore along with an additional ₹9 crore for promotions.
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