In a significant move to safeguard the integrity of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, the Delhi High Court has issued a restraining order against online platforms. The court’s decision aims to prevent unauthorized broadcasting and streaming of one of the world’s most popular sporting events.
The impetus for this legal action came from Star India Pvt Ltd and Novi Digital Entertainment Pvt Ltd, the entity behind the Disney+ Hotstar streaming platform. Both companies hold exclusive global media rights, including television and digital rights, for various ICC events, including the upcoming World Cup.
The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup is a cricketing extravaganza that captivates audiences worldwide. Scheduled to be held from October 5 to November 19 in India, it promises thrilling encounters between the best teams on the planet. Given its immense popularity, there is a legitimate concern that numerous websites may attempt to disseminate World Cup content without authorization.
Justice Prathiba M Singh, presiding over the case, recognized the immense popularity of the World Cup, especially in the Indian subcontinent. In the past, rogue websites have engaged in piracy, making it highly likely that they would continue to stream matches illegally. To address this concern, the court issued a crucial order.
The Delhi High Court’s order serves as a legal bulwark against unauthorized streaming of the ICC World Cup matches. It explicitly restrains various rogue websites, identified as defendants Nos. 1 to 9, from communicating, screening, making available, or disseminating any part of the World Cup cricket matches on any electronic or digital platform in any manner.
“Thus, there is a need to restrain any rogue websites from disseminating and communicating to the public any part of the cricket match events without authorization or license from the plaintiffs,” the court said in a recent order.
“Accordingly, defendant Nos. 1 to 9 (various rogue websites which are stated to be primarily hosting illegal and pirated content) are restrained by an ad-interim order from communicating, screening, making available or disseminating any part of the ICC World Cup Cricket matches on any electronic or digital platform in any manner whatsoever,” ordered the court.
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The court’s decision is not just a matter of legal formality; it serves to protect the interests of the plaintiffs, Star India and Disney+ Hotstar. If an injunction were not granted, irreparable harm could be caused to these entities, which hold exclusive rights to broadcast the event.
The court went a step further by directing the relevant authorities to take proactive measures. It instructed them to block and suspend the identified rogue websites. Additionally, it clarified that if any further offending websites are discovered, the plaintiffs have the authority to communicate their details to the Department of Telecommunications and the Ministry of Electronics and internet service providers for the issuance of blocking orders.
