The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, India vs https://bhagavatam.in/#gsc.tab=0 & Ors.

Prathiba M. Singh, J. (Oral)

This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.

This is an application filed by the Plaintiffs seeking exemption from filing originals/cleared/certified/translated copies of documents with proper margins, etc. Original documents shall be produced/filed at the time of Admission/Denial, if sought, strictly as per the provisions of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 and the Delhi High Court (Original Side) Rules, 2018.

Exemption is allowed, subject to all just exceptions. Accordingly, this application is disposed of.

This is an application filed by the Plaintiffs seeking exemption instituting pre-litigation mediation. In view of the orders passed in Chandra Kishore Chaurasia v. R A Perfumery Works Private Ltd, 2022/DHC/004454, this application is allowed and disposed of.

This is an application seeking leave to file and place on record USB containing infringing works and Plaintiff’s works. USB is permitted to filed. The same is taken on record.

Let the files in the USB be scanned with the electronic record of this Court.

The application is disposed of.

This is an application filed by the Plaintiffs, seeking exemption from serving notice to Defendant No. 27 - Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Defendant No. 28 - the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) under Section 80 of the CPC.

In view of the reasons stated in the application exemption is allowed. However, Mr. Harish V. Shankar, ld. CGSC has been requested to accept notice.

Accordingly, this application is allowed and disposed of.

This is an application seeking permission to allow the Plaintiff to refer and rely upon the scanned copies of the books, audio book and infringing artworks contained in the Google Drive link during the course of hearing.

In view of the reasons stated in the application, the same is allowed.

Accordingly, this application is allowed and disposed of.

This is an application seeking leave to place on record the originals of the books published by the Plaintiff. The same is allowed.

Accordingly, this application is allowed and disposed of.

Let the plaint be registered as a suit.

Issue notices to the Defendants through all modes upon filing of Process Fee.

Mr. Harish V. Shankar, ld. CGSC accepts notice on behalf of DOT and MeitY.

The summons to the Defendants shall indicate that the written statement to the plaint shall be positively filed within 30 days from date of receipt of summons. Along with the written statement, the Defendants shall also file an affidavit of admission/denial of the documents of the Plaintiffs, without which the written statement shall not be taken on record.

Liberty is given to the Plaintiffs to file a replication within 15 days of the receipt of the written statement(s). Along with the replication, if any, filed by the Plaintiffs, an affidavit of admission/denial of documents of the Defendants, be filed by the Plaintiffs, without which the replication shall not be taken on record. If any of the parties wish to seek inspection of any documents, the same shall be sought and given within the timelines.

List before the Joint Registrar for marking of exhibits on 17^th November, 2023. It is made clear that any party unjustifiably denying documents would be liable to be burdened with costs.

List before Court on 12^th March, 2024.

The present suit has been filed seeking permanent injunction, restraining infringement of copyrights, damages, rendition of accounts of profit, costs, etc.

The Plaintiff - Bhaktivedanta Book Trust is a trust established by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, ‘Srila Prabhupada’ (hereinafter, ‘Author’). The Author was a renowned scholar, philosopher, cultural ambassador, prolific author, religious leader, spiritual teacher, a social critic and is revered by his devotees as a Guru. He is also credited with the establishment of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).

The Author spread the message from various Hindu scriptures including from the Shri Bhagavad Gita, in India and in several foreign countries. Publications written by the Author include various lectures and published books which are read by devotees and those who are interested in his teachings, in a large number of languages including English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Assamese and other regional languages, as also foreign languages such as French, German and Russian etc., It is averred that some of the Author’s works have simplified the religious books and scriptures and have made it easy for the common man to understand. The copyright in all the works which have been based on the Authors teachings, writings, lectures and preaching vests with the Plaintiff -Trust.

The Author attained Mahasamadhi in 1977 and, accordingly, the Plaintiff -Trust claims the copyrights in all the works written by the said Author still subsists with it. A complete list of works in which copyright is claimed is attached as Annexure - A to this order.

The Plaintiff Trust also has numerous copyright registrations granted by the Copyright Office, for its works. The list of copyright registrations of the Plaintiff is attached as Annexure - B to this order.

The Plaintiff-Trust has during the lifetime of the Author and after the Mahasamadhi of the Author, spread the said writings and teachings in various forms including printed books, audio books and electronic versions. The Plaintiff-Trust has made the said works available to the general public through its various religious establishments and through online platforms. These works being original copyrighted works, the Plaintiff-Trust earns the royalty from the sale and commercial exploitation of the said works.

In the present case, the grievance of the Plaintiff – Trust is that Defendant Nos. 1 to 4 are websites which are making available a large number of the Plaintiff’s copyrighted works almost in a verbatim manner on their online platforms. The said websites are as under:

Defendant Nos. 5 to 9 are mobile applications which are making available the Plaintiff’s copyrighted works to the public without the consent and permission of the Plaintiff-Trust. The said apps are as under:

The Defendant Nos. 10 to 14 are Instagram handles where the copyrighted works are being uploaded and communicated to the public through various links.

Defendant No.15 - Google LLC, is a search engine which is making available the infringing mobile applications on its Google play store. Defendant No.16 – Meta Platforms Inc., is a social media platform which runs the Instagram platforms where the infringing Instagram handles are making available the infringing copies of the copyrighted works.

Defendant No.17 - Godday.com is the Domain Name Registrar (DNR), of Defendant No.1 domain name i.e. Bhagawatam.in. The Defendant Nos.18 to 26 are ISPs. Defendant Nos.27 and 28 are DoT and MeitY.

Mr. Saikrishna Rajagopala, ld. Counsel appearing for the Plaintiff submits that the Plaintiff - Trust is engaged in a large number of charitable activities in India and one of the main sources of income for the Trust is the royalties which are earned from the aforementioned copyrighted works. Further, the Plaintiff – Trust also runs a number of spiritual establishments including in India and abroad and thus, ought not to be deprived of the revenues from the sale and distribution of these works to the public.

He further submits that none of the Defendant Nos.1 to 14 have any license or right to reproduce, communicate and disseminate the copyrighted works of the Author as the Plaintiff is the owner of the copyrights in the said works. He submits that the reproduction by the said Defendants being completely brazen and clear, deserves to be injuncted.

The deception is not merely by making the books available, but by actually using the Plaintiff’s name as the source of the book. ld. Counsel shows some of the infringing copies of the Copyrighted works which bear the name of the Plaintiff itself. The same are as under:

The Court has perused the record and has also seen the extracts from the infringing websites, mobile applications, Instagram handles, etc. Some of the platforms in fact reveal that there is a large-scale infringement that has been carried out in the reproduction of a substantial number of copyrighted works of the Plaintiff - Trust. It is noticed that piracy has been done in several of the languages in which the Plaintiff’s works are published.

Legal notices have also been issued on behalf of the Plaintiff. Defendant No.1. has in fact reverted and replied to one such legal notice. The said reply is as under:

In the present case, since the Author himself set up the Plaintiff Trust and handed over the copyrights to be administered by the trust, the said copyrighted works cannot be reproduced without authorization, licence or the permission of the Plaintiff-Trust.

The rights of the plaintiff in the copyrighted works have also been protected by the Hon’ble Bombay High Court in Bhaktivedanta Book Trust vs. Thomson Press (India) Ltd. and Ors. MANU/MH/0194/2017.

There can be no doubt that the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita is one of the most revered ancient scriptures in the world. The Bhagavad Gita along with the other scriptures like Bhagavatam which are written about by the Author are all `public domain’ works. There can be no copyright claimed in the Scriptures. However, any adaptations of the said work including providing explanation, summary, meaning, exegesis/interpretation or creating any audio visual works for eg., television series like Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana or B.R. Chopra’s Mahabharata; dramatic works created by drama societies based on scriptures etc., being transformative works, would be entitled to copyright protection - being original works of the Authors themselves. Thus, there can be no objection in the actual reproduction of the text of Shrimad Bhagavad Gita or similarly other spiritual books. However, the manner in which the same is interpreted by different gurus and spiritual teachers being varied in nature, copyright would vest in respect of the original parts of the literary works which preach, teach or explain the scripture.

A perusal of the record would show that the books being made available by the Defendants 1 to 14 are complete reproductions of the works of the Plaintiff, which were authored by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, ‘Srila Prabhupada’. These are not mere reproductions of the original scriptures as it is, i.e., the shlokas but their अनुवाद (Anuvaad) and तात्पर्य (Tatparya), summary, introduction, preface, cover etc., have all been reproduced. Some of the images showing the extent of piracy by the Defendants are extracted below:

Such piracy of the copyrighted works of the Plaintiff-Trust cannot be permitted. If such piracy goes unchecked, the copyright in the said works would be considerably diluted leading to immense loss of revenues to the Plaintiff - Trust.

Under these circumstances, this Court is of the opinion that the Plaintiff has made out a prima facie case for grant of an ex parte ad interim injunction. The balance of convenience lies in favour of the Plaintiff and irreparable injury would be caused to the Plaintiff if the interim injunction is not granted.

Accordingly, the following directions are issue:

The original books produced by the ld. Counsel for the Plaintiff shall be placed in a trunk and be preserved in the Registry of this Court.

Compliance of Order XXXIX Rule 3 is permitted to be carried out within one week through e-mail to all the Defendants.

A copy of this order be communicated to Mr. Harish V. Shankar, ld. CGSC.

List before the Court on 12^th March, 2024.