Background Matrix 

In the matter of Applause Entertainment Private Limited v. Meta Platforms Inc. and others A production company complained about social media users who used a brief clip from the webseries Scam 1992 for commercial purposes. In December 2022, it was discovered that several Instagram accounts were exploiting the series’ content to promote their accounts or use it as part of their companies. The account holders allegedly kept up their illegal operations against Applause’s proprietary rights.

Additional social media accounts using excerpts and condensed versions of the web series were found by Applause in March 2023. When this was reported, Instagram’s owner, Meta Platforms Inc., did not respond once more. When the corporation finally responded to Applause, it stated that it was unclear whether Applause owned the copyright for the series. As a result, Applause had petitioned the court, claiming ownership of the web series and its cast members as well as the rights to notoriety and character.

Contention from Parties 

The petitioner claimed that by using different names (social media handles), Applause Entertainment Private Limited was able to uncover such illegal activity by the defendants as well as that of other businesses 32 social media accounts that were added as defendants in the lawsuit were found to have illegally used Instagram to post pieces or segments of the web series’ audio-visual content to promote their commercial endeavours, the court said, in violation of the creators’ property rights. With a dynamic injunction, the owner of the copyright can ask the courts to enjoin access to the infringing website from all mirror websites, thus extending the original injunction order.

Courts Conclusion 

In a copyright infringement case brought by the creators of the online series Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story, Justice Manish Pitale of the Bombay High Court’s single-judge bench recently granted a “dynamic injunction” against 32 Instagram account holders. The defendants were ordered by the court to stop violating the web series’ solely owned copyright by Applause and to remove any existing infringing posts from their accounts. Additionally, Meta Platforms was told to take the offensive Instagram posts down. Justice Pitale, therefore decided that it was appropriate to award an ex-parte relief of dynamic injunction.he