Copyright row: HC refuses injunction against Viacom18

Viacom18 made "indiscriminate cuts, deletions" for airing convenience, which resulted in "multiple versions" of the same film

- Karuna Nidhi

MUMBAI: In a setback for Goldmines Telefilms Pvt Ltd, the film distribution and production company has failed to secure interim relief in its high-stakes copyright dispute with Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd. At the centre of the suit are the broadcast rights of 18 popular feature films dubbed by Goldmines, which claims that Viacom18 has violated their agreement by making edits, deletions and cuts to these films.

However, in a recent order, the court observed that Viacom18 had undisputed rights under the agreement to make changes to the films in question. Goldmines and Viacom18 had entered into a film assignment agreement in 2016, which licensed various rights of 18 films, including the satellite broadcast rights and non-inclusive, on-demand rights in 250 cinematograph films, for ₹162 crore. Via another agreement in 2015, Goldmines licensed the rights of the film 'Power Unlimited' for ₹2 crore.