Delhi High Court Grants Dynamic Injunction to Protect Jolly LLB 3 from Piracy

Delhi High Court Grants Dynamic Injunction to Protect Jolly LLB 3 from Piracy

Introduction

The Delhi High Court has granted an ex-parte ad-interim injunction restraining over 20 rogue websites from illegally hosting or streaming the upcoming Bollywood film Jolly LLB 3, scheduled for release on September 19, 2025. Justice Tejas Karia passed the order in favor of Jiostar India Private Limited, the film's producer and rights holder.

Factual Background

Jiostar India Private Limited, through Kangra Talkies Private Limited, owns all intellectual property and exploitation rights in Jolly LLB 3. The company approached the Court, arguing that piracy poses an imminent risk since infringing websites routinely make available films on the day of their theatrical release.

Procedural Background

The Court considered the arguments and issued directions to prevent piracy. The order was passed in a suit filed by Jiostar India Private Limited against various rogue websites, including vegamovies.yachts, filmyzilla20.com and hdfriday.monster.

Reasoning and Analysis

The Court observed that unauthorized dissemination of the film would pose a significant threat to the plaintiff's revenue streams, undermining the value of the considerable investment made. Justice Karia emphasized that swift intervention was necessary to prevent irreparable harm. The Court relied on earlier precedents, including Star India Pvt. Ltd. v.moviesverse.ac and Universal City Studios LLC v. Dotmovies.baby, which granted "dynamic+ injunctions" to counter evolving piracy tactics.

Issues

The primary issue before the Court was whether to grant an ex-parte ad-interim injunction to restrain rogue websites from hosting or streaming Jolly LLB 3.

Contentions of the Parties

Plaintiff: Jiostar argued that piracy poses an imminent risk and cited prior cases where dynamic injunctions were granted to counter piracy.

Defendants: The rogue websites were accused of having a history of illegally distributing copyrighted content without authorization.

Directions

The Court issued the following directions:

• Blocking and Suspension: DNRs must suspend and deactivate domain registrations of infringing sites within 72 hours. ISPs are to block access to these sites across India.
• Disclosure Mandate: DNRs must submit details of domain registrants, including names, email IDs, IP addresses, and payment information, in a sealed cover within two weeks.
• Dynamic Blocking: Jiostar can notify additional websites discovered before or during the film's release, which must be blocked immediately by ISPs and registrars without fresh court orders.
• Safeguard for Legitimate Sites: Wrongly blocked websites can approach the Court for modification of the injunction upon undertaking not to disseminate pirated content.

Implications

This judgment highlights the Court's proactive approach to combating online piracy. Moreover, by granting dynamic injunctions and directing immediate blocking of rogue websites, the Court aims to protect the plaintiff's revenue streams and investment.

In this case the plaintiff was represented by Mr. Sidharth Chopra, Mr. Yatinder Garg, Mr. Priyansh Kohli & Ms. Ishi Singh, Advocates. Meanwhile the respondent was represented by Ms. Aishwarya Kane, Advocate for Defendant Nos. 31 & 34.