Trademark

The glance of Jagran Prakashan Ltd. vs. Telegram FZ LLC & Ors

calendar12 Nov, 2021
timeReading Time: 3 Minutes
The glance of Jagran Prakashan Ltd. vs. Telegram FZ LLC & Ors

Advertising grows rapidly with the advent of new technologies. Technologies like radio, television, direct mails, newspapers, and magazines are boons for the users. Also, E-Newspapers are a regular source of information and entertainment that had finished physical distribution in various parts of the country during the lockdown. A piece of news triggered in the case of Jagran Prakashan Ltd Vs. Telegram FZ LLC, where sharing PDFs of electronic paper resulted in copyright infringement. In this write-up, we will discuss the glance of Jagran Prakashan Ltd. vs. Telegram FZ LLC & Ors, where the newspaper was being unlawfully circulated, thereby causing monetary loss to Jagran Prakashan Ltd.

Background of the Case- Glance of Jagran Prakashan Ltd. vs. Telegram FZ LLC & Ors

In the given case of M/s. Jagran Prakashan Ltd. vs. Telegram FZ LLC & Ors. M/s. Jagran Prakash Ltd (Plaintiff company) has filed a case against Telegram FZ LLC & Ors for violating their copyrights and trademarks rights. M/s. Jagran Prakash Ltd is the absolute owner of the newspaper Dainik Jagran, which is also available in E-form to its readers on its website. However, the content available on the website of Dainik Jagran had certain restrictions. Downloading of content was restricted, and a person was restricted to transmitting the content of the website. Lately, it was brought to the notice of M/s. Jagran Prakash Ltd that their newspaper was illicitly circulated using Telegram Channels resulting in monetary loss. 

Jagran Prakash Ltd. is the leading publisher and owner of the trademark ‘Dainik Jagran’ in various Trademark classes. The company circulates in both physical and digital forms throughout the country. 

However, The Defendant Company (Telegram FZ LLC) is a Dubai[1] -established Intellectual Property facility distributor that facilitates its users free access of messaging and voice-over IP facility over various operating platforms. Telegram FZ LLC through its application Telegram enables its users to form channels and share files. Considering the infringement, Jagran Prakash Ltd. Moved the case to the Delhi High court requesting ad interim injunction and restraining the defendants from subsequent infringement of its Intellectual Property Right.

Findings in the case- Jagran Prakashan Ltd. vs. Telegram FZ LLC & Ors

In this case, the analysis was that the defendant company was circulating Plaintiff’s e-newspaper through PDF. Dainik Jagran’s digital e-newspaper was accessible by a person free of cost. In India, The report published is downloaded from Dainik Jagran’s web portal, and the registered user can read the e-paper at no cost. Also, the plaintiff company has included a technological safeguard system that limits the download of the e-paper. However, in the case of a foreign jurisdiction, there was a subscription fee of USD 1. 

Telegram was circulating the PDFs of restricted access newspapers of Dainik Jagran that resulted in Copyright infringement. Plaintiff had issued notices against Telegram FZ LLC, to which there was no reply. Further, Jagran Prakashan presented a copy of the suit along with the papers against Defendant. After various notices, the plaintiff received a reply stating that channels are blocked. But the fact was that the said channels were not only available but had also increased in numbers. Even after frequent reminders, the said channels were not stopped from publishing. Also, the reply from the defendant’s side was wrong because of the screenshot taken by the plaintiff.

Court’s Decision in the case of Jagran Prakashan Ltd. vs. Telegram FZ LLC & Ors

The Court ordered in favor of Jagran Prakashan Ltd. where Plaintiff had made an evidential case that resulted in an ad-interim injunction in favor of Plaintiff.

Also, the Court has instructed Telegram FZ LLC to disclose the basic details of subscribers of the channels and has ordered to block the channels within forty-eight hours of instructions given by the court. As per the instructions, the defendant company could not ask for alleging its mediator status and block the infringing channels. The court further added to disclose the names of all the persons who had started each of these channels.

Conclusion

The case of Jagran Prakashan Ltd vs. Telegram FZ LLC clearly states the copyright infringement case in favor of Dainik Jagran, where Telegram got barred from downloading the website content. The case was the unauthorized circulation of digital content and infringing the copyrights of the plaintiff company. The case resulted in a praiseworthy initiative taken by Dainik Jagran to protect its capital interest and intangible rights.

Read our article:Trademark Classes in India: A Brief Outlook

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