The Delhi High Court has issued a stringent interim order to protect the intellectual property of the long-standing television show ‘Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah,’ curbing unauthorized commercial exploitation of its content and characters.
Neela Film Productions Pvt Ltd, the producer of ‘Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah,’ which has been on air for over 16 years with around 4,000 episodes, filed a lawsuit citing misuse of its proprietary content. The production house claimed that various entities were using the showโs name, character images, and dialogues for commercial benefits, including the sale of merchandise and the creation of inappropriate video content.
Justice Mini Pushkarna granted an ex parte ad interim injunction after hearing the case, highlighting that failure to issue such an order would result in irreparable harm to the plaintiff. The court order specifically targets multiple defendants, including known entities and ‘John Doe’ anonymous parties, prohibiting them from using the showโs registered trademarks, character images, or any related content for commercial purposes.
The plaintiff pointed out that unauthorized parties were selling T-shirts, posters, and other merchandise featuring the show’s characters and were also responsible for producing sexually explicit videos and video games using character likenesses. These activities were reportedly facilitated by advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and deepfake methods.
The High Court’s order includes a directive for YouTube and other platforms to remove any infringing content, particularly videos that degrade the showโs characters through pornographic depictions. Platforms have been given a 48-hour window to comply, failing which the IT Ministry and the Department of Telecom are to intervene by ordering internet service providers to block the offensive material.
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In addition to immediate content removal, the court has empowered Neela Film Productions to directly contact YouTube to suspend infringing links and has mandated the platform to provide details of the uploaders involved in such violations.
