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The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued summons to the defendants in a suit filed by stand-up comedian and content creator Pulkit Mani over copyright strikes imposed on his Instagram page following complaints by unknown persons.
Justice Jyoti Singh also issued notice on Manis application seeking interim relief in the matter. During the hearing, Meta Platforms Inc. informed the court that it had restored the two Instagram Reels which were the subject matter of the suit. The submission was acknowledged by the plaintiffs counsel. The defendants in the suit include Meta Platforms Inc., Google LLC, WhatsApp LLC, the Union of India through the Ministry of Communications and the Department of Telecommunications, Microsoft Corporation and several John Doe defendants, including certain Instagram accounts. Mani has filed the suit alleging that his original content was removed from Instagram after copyright complaints were made by unknown persons. He has also challenged the copyright strikes recorded against his Instagram page, following those complaints. Mani, who has been performing stand-up comedy since 2021, claims that he writes and performs his own original material. His suit states that his Instagram page has over 5.92 lakh followers and is an important platform for his professional work. The suit relates to two Instagram Reels which were removed after copyright complaints. Mani claims that both Reels were his original creative works and that he had material to show his authorship and prior publication. He alleged that Meta accepted the complaints, removed his content and recorded copyright strikes against his page. According to the suit, he later used Metas appeal mechanism and submitted material in support of his claim, but did not receive any substantive or reasoned decision on his appeals. Mani has claimed that the copyright strikes could seriously affect his page, as multiple strikes may lead to restrictions, suspension or even permanent termination of an account under Metas policies. He has also alleged that he received communications from unidentified persons threatening further copyright strikes and removal of his page. During the hearing, Meta submitted that the Basic Subscriber Information and IP Log details concerning John Doe defendants 7 to 10 and defendants 13 and 14 would be provided to the plaintiff in a password-protected document. Google submitted that the Basic Subscriber Information details concerning defendants 6 and 7 would be provided within two weeks. WhatsApp stated that it would preserve the Basic Subscriber Information relating to the concerned phone number and file the relevant details before the court within three weeks in a sealed cover or password-protected document. In his suit, Mani has sought a declaration that he owns the original works contained in the two Reels and that the copyright complaints and the resulting strikes were false, groundless and unlawful. He has also sought directions for removal of the copyright strikes and an order restraining Meta from suspending, disabling or terminating his Instagram page based on those strikes. Mani has further sought disclosure of the identities of the unknown persons allegedly responsible for the copyright complaints and damages of 2.20 crore for alleged financial and reputational losses. The application seeking interim relief is listed for hearing on January 18. (ANI)
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