Jindal Steel, Wieden + Kennedy amicably resolve dispute over "Steel of India" campaign

New Delhi: Jindal Steel and Wieden + Kennedy informed the Delhi High Court on Wednesday that they have settled their disputes amicably, following which the application was dismissed.

In an order passed on May 8, the Delhi HC said, “The learned counsel appearing for the appellant seeks to withdraw the present appeal. She states that the parties have settled their disputes amicably. The appeal is dismissed as withdrawn. All pending applications are also disposed of."

In its earlier order on April 24, the Delhi HC had sent the matter in arbitration while noting that the “Jindal Steel—the Steel of India” campaign prima facie seemed to be substantially based on a similar theme, expressed through a montage of sequential images and videos stitched together by a soundscape of steel.

The court added that the choice of elements from the elements bucket provided by the petitioner (Wieden + Kennedy) to the respondent are substantially the same.

BestMediaInfo.com has asked for a joint statement from both parties stating the terms of the amicable resolution and will update the story as and when it receives the statement.

From the earlier court order, it was evident that Jindal Steel might own the copyright of the disputed campaign following the amicable resolution of the matter that includes a payment to Wieden + Kennedy.

In the context of the Kyoorius Creative Awards jury objecting to the “Jindal Steel—the Steel of India” campaign, the advertising industry veteran told BestMediaInfo.com that Jindal Steel as a client may enter the work in awards with due credit to Wieden + Kennedy.

“If there was a payment made against the idea to Wieden + Kennedy to own the copyright of the work, it is clear that the agency conceptualised the campaign. In that case, how can the industry accept the entry from either Amrish Kondurkar studio, a creative boutique started by Wieden + Kennedy’s former employee Amrish Kondurkar accused of copying the idea, or anyone else? Legally speaking, the entry ought to be made by Jindal Steel with or without credits to WK,” said an industry veteran who did not want to be named.

Wieden + Kennedy India had submitted evidence before the court to show how Jindal Steel used the same set of examples through a sequence of images.

BestMediaInfo.com is reproducing a few comparisons from the court order on an as-is basis: