Delhi HC Dismisses Pocket FM’s Plea Against Disney+ Hotstar Over ‘Yakshini’ Copyright

The Delhi High Court has dismissed audio OTT platform Pocket FM’s plea seeking an interim injunction against Disney+ Hotstar’s parent company, Novi Digital Entertainment, over alleged copyright violations of its web series ‘Yakshini’.

While dismissing the application, the vacation bench of Justice Neena Bansal Krishna said that just a similarity of names of the series, especially given that it is a mythological character which has seen a lot of content made around it, does not reflect any copyright infringement.

The bench highlighted that the suit was filed only a day prior to the release of the video series on Hotstar without any concrete evidence of copyright infringement. Hence, Pocket FM didn’t have a case before the court.

“Since the video series is slated to be released tonight (June 14)… the balance of convenience lies in favour of the plaintiff especially when the advertising about the series commenced way back from 10.05.2024. If at any stage it is found that there is some violation, then it is not of the nature which cannot be compensated in terms of money,” the order read. 

However, the court noted that both the series are conceptually similar in nature, focusing around a female supernatural being who seduces and kills men, and has similar characters as well. 

Interestingly, the counsel of Pocket FM mentioned in the court hearing that the startup was in talks with Disney+Hotstar to enter into a potential collaboration between 2022-23. While the negotiations didn’t reach any conclusion, the audio platform alleged that they had shared substantial proprietary information with Hotstar during the time frame. 

Disputing this, the audio platform is claiming that it is entitled over INR 2 Cr in damages from Hotstar. Pocket FM has also filed a trademark application for “Yakshini” and will look to make a trademark infringement case against the company. 

Further, Hotstar refused to enter into a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with Pocket FM, but instead had them sign a “Release Form”, which relieved them of any liability with respect to any content that was shared. 

This release form was used by the counsel for the video OTT platform to submit that Pocket FM hasn’t approached “the Court with clean hands”. They said that the company had signed the form which categorically stated that it cannot claim any rights on the works submitted to Hotstar while negotiating a deal. 

Further, it was also argued even the “idea” for the show wasn’t picked up from the Pocket FM’s audio series but instead took inspiration from the abundant literature available on the mythological creature. 

The copyright infringement allegation came at a time when Disney+ Hotstar is soon expected to merge with JioCinema as part of the Viacom 18 and Star India merger deal.