Viacom18 secures dynamic injunction from Delhi HC for BCCI bilateral matches

Viacom18 has secured a broad dynamic injunction from the Delhi High Court for the Indian cricket team’s bilateral matches.

Recently, Viacom18 bagged the BCCI linear and digital rights for the next five years in a three-way bidding war between Viacom18, Sony and Star.

Viacom18 already has the digital rights for the Indian Premier League (IPL), Women’s Premier League (WPL) and other major sporting events like the Olympics 2024, MotoGP 2023, La Liga, Diamond League etc.

Viacom18 had approached the Delhi High Court seeking an ad-interim dynamic injunction to protect its media rights in relation to the BCCI events against various rogue and pirate websites as well as John Does/Ashok Kumars/Unknown Defendants.

The Court while expressing its concerns regarding the unending menace of piracy noted that it has become inundated with suits pertaining to such issues and suggested the importance of a robust anti-piracy policy to curb the issues. The Court observed that a prima facie case for interim injunction was made out and further held that the grant of an injunction would be necessary to avoid irreparable loss/injury from being caused to Viacom18.

The Court further ordered that Viacom18 shall not be bound to initiate any fresh proceedings in relation to any new alphanumeric/redirect/mirror websites that are expected to mushroom during the course of the BCCI events. Access to such websites shall be blocked by the Internet Service Providers (IPSs) upon being informed about the same by Viacom18 on an affidavit.

This injunction allows Viacom18 to swiftly act against pirates and rogue websites infringing and making available the BCCI matches without due permission.

Anil Lale (General Counsel, Viacom18 Media, said, “We at Viacom18 are proud to be the exclusive digital and television broadcaster for Indian cricket. Viacom18 has always been at the forefront of the fight against piracy. I am sure this is a welcome step for all the cricket fans and bona fide broadcasters like us who spend huge sums to get these rights. While we are proud to say that we have won several battles against these pirate websites, we understand that the war against piracy is continuing and we are committed to winning it.”

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