The Delhi High Court has issued a notice to JioStar India on a contempt plea filed by Zee Entertainment, alleging that JioStar continued using Zee’s copyrighted music despite a May 5 court order restricting such use, according to medianama.com. Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani cautioned JioStar against further non-compliance and allowed the company to file a reply with an affidavit explaining why it believes the case does not amount to contempt. The court will hear the matter next on December 8.
Zee Entertainment flagged six instances of alleged copyright infringement between May and July, involving works that continued to appear in JioStar’s programmes, each lasting around 30 seconds, as per medianama.com. Zee’s counsel, Advocate Harsh Kaushik, described these as the total infringements identified for May and June. JioStar’s counsel, Senior Advocate Chander M Lall, argued that the company could not remove every instance from Zee’s large catalogue and requested metadata or meta tags from Zee to identify and remove the music systematically. The court rejected JioStar’s request for a notice-and-takedown mechanism, noting that JioStar controls the content it broadcasts.
The copyright dispute originated from licensing agreements between Zee and JioStar dated November 15, 2017, according to medianama.com. The court’s May order had already restricted JioStar’s use of Zee’s music, but Zee alleged continued unauthorized use. The case highlights ongoing challenges in enforcing copyright in digital and broadcast media, where large content catalogues complicate compliance and monitoring. The ruling underscores judicial scrutiny on content broadcasters’ responsibility to adhere strictly to licensing terms.
The Delhi High Court scheduled the next hearing for December 8, when JioStar is expected to submit its reply and affidavit addressing the contempt allegations, medianama.com reports. This date will be critical in determining the legal consequences for JioStar’s alleged non-compliance with the court’s May order.