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03 August 2022
The Dynamic John Doe Injunction order secured by Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) from the Delhi High Court will work to protect the media conglomerate’s copyright involving the India-England International Cricket Series this month, July 2022.
SPN was granted an exclusive license by the England and Wales Cricket Board Limited to broadcast the tourney in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and the Maldives in 2021.
The sporting event had to be halted because of the rising number of Covid-19 cases. The Dynamic John Doe Injunction will cover the remainder of the India-England International Cricket Series beginning in July 2022.
With the issuance of the Dynamic John Doe order, certain multi-system operators, local cable operators as well as websites/URLs are prohibited from broadcasting/communicating the said sporting event.
"When there are several parties in a dispute, and their identities cannot be traced, they are collectively termed as ‘John Doe’. The name ‘John Doe’ is essentially used to identify an unknown defendant. In India, it is also known as an ‘Ashok Kumar’ order,” explained Gautam K.M., associate partner at Krishnamurthy & Co. in Bangalore.
“When the IP owner approaches a judicial authority, an injunction is granted with regard to certain specific domain names which host infringing content. However, even when the original websites are removed, mirror websites can pop up under different domain names, thereby making the injunction ineffective. In such instances, a Dynamic injunction can be granted. A dynamic injunction extends the main injunction order against all such mirror websites which allow access to the same infringing online content or locations which were subject to the initial injunction,” Gautam added.
The Dynamic John Doe Injunction is especially relevant today in the modern computer era which has brought forth the problem of digital piracy.
According to Gautam, there are dual advantages to a Dynamic John Doe injunction.
“By extending the original injunction order to additional websites such as the mirror websites, it drastically cuts down the number of times an aggrieved party has to approach the court. Secondly, it protects the right holder’s IP from future infringement and prevents it before it occurs and thereby also protects the economic gains of the rights holder,” he said.
Espie Angelica A. de Leon
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