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The Delhi High Court on Wednesday said it will pass an interim order directing the takedown of allegedly infringing online content in a personality rights suit filed by Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh.
The Court, however, clarified that intermediaries cannot be expected to decide on their own whether content is "similar" or "infringing" and that such issues must be examined by the Court. Justice Jyoti Singh was hearing Singh's plea seeking protection of his personality rights against the alleged unauthorised use of his name, image and other personality attributes on online platforms. Appearing for Singh, his counsel took the Court through a list of allegedly infringing links as of Tuesday and informed the Court that two of those links had already been removed. The counsel submitted that the remaining links related to persons selling merchandise using Singh's personality attributes without his consent for commercial gain. He also referred to a Reddit post allegedly attributing objectionable remarks about women to the cricketer, which had attracted derogatory comments against him. Counsel appearing for Reddit opposed the plea with respect to the post, submitting that it had been online for over two years and that the grievance, if any, would amount to defamation rather than infringement of personality rights. On being informed that derogatory comments were continuing on the post, the Court observed that the plaintiff had not placed the transcript of the post on record. "Then you will have to wait. You should have given the transcript at least. This has been there for the last two years. You leave everything for the judge to do. You will have to leave this aside for the moment. You file your response on this," Justice Singh remarked. During the hearing, counsel for Meta submitted that the prayers sought in the suit were too broad. The Court responded, "There is no need to defend; your role is of an intermediary." When Singh's counsel sought directions requiring intermediaries to remove not only the identified links but also similar content, the Court expressed reservations. "Who decides if it is similar content? It is a big debate. They are not adjudicators. They cannot decide infringing content," the Court observed. Justice Singh said the Court would first direct the original uploaders to remove the infringing content within 48 hours. "I first direct the uploaders to do it in about 48 hours, after which I tell the plaintiff to communicate to the intermediary, and they do that in 36 hours. These uploaders have a responsibility. I cannot issue all and sundry directions in the first instance. It's not right," the Court said. The Court further stated that, for the present, it would direct the takedown of only those URLs specifically identified in the suit. If fresh infringing content appears, Singh may approach the Court for extension of the injunction after placing the material on record. The High Court directed the intermediary platforms to file their replies within three weeks and listed the matter for further hearing on November 13. The interim order is awaited. Yuvraj Singh has approached the Delhi High Court seeking protection of his personality rights, alleging that several persons and online platforms are using his name, image and other personality attributes without authorisation to sell merchandise and publish content. The suit seeks removal of the allegedly infringing material. (ANI)
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