The Delhi High Court has issued a restraining order against online platforms to prevent unauthorized broadcasting and streaming of the upcoming ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.
This decision comes in response to a lawsuit filed by Star India Pvt Ltd and Novi Digital Entertainment Pvt Ltd, the operators of the Disney+ Hotstar streaming platform. The plaintiffs claimed exclusive global media rights, encompassing television and digital rights, for various ICC events, including the World Cup scheduled from October 5 to November 19 in India.
Recognizing the immense popularity of the World Cup, especially in the Indian subcontinent, the court acknowledged the potential for numerous websites to engage in unauthorized dissemination of the tournament’s content. These rogue websites, known for past piracy activities, were deemed likely to continue unauthorized streaming.
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As a result, the court decided to restrain rogue websites, identified as defendant Nos. 1 to 9, primarily hosting illegal and pirated content, from communicating, screening, making available, or disseminating any part of the ICC World Cup Cricket matches on any electronic or digital platform.
The court emphasized that failure to grant an injunction at this stage would cause irreparable harm to the plaintiffs. Additionally, it directed relevant authorities to block and suspend these websites. It also clarified that if any further offending websites are identified, the plaintiff can provide their details to the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Electronics, and internet service providers for the issuance of blocking orders.