An FIR was filed against Google CEO, Sundar Pichai, Gautam Anand, Managing director of Youtube, and four other company officials in a copyright infringement case.
The case was registered based on a complaint filed by Film director Suneel Darshan where he said that Google allowed unauthorized persons to upload his film ‘Ek Haseena Thi Ek Deewana Tha’ on YouTube. Darshan further alleged that the companies were generating millions of dollars in advertising revenue during and after the broadcast of these films and despite several email requests, the content was not taken down.
The FIR was registered following a magistrate court order. The court observed that there is a prima facie case of infringement of the various copyright works and commercial exploitation under the garb of fair use needed to be prevented.
“Nowadays piracy and infringement of copyright have become a menace. The protection of copyright, as well as the protection of other intellectual properties, is considered as a form of property worthy of special protection because it is seen as benefiting society as a whole and stimulating further creativity and competition in the public interest,” the court observed.
