Delhi High Court – Orders
Dazn Limited & Anr vs Fbstreams.Pm & Ors on 13 August, 2025
$~38
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
+ CS(COMM) 834/2025
DAZN LIMITED & ANR. .....Plaintiffs
Through: Mr. Siddharth Chopra, Mr. Yatinder
Garg, Mr. Akshay Maloo, Mr.
Priyansh Kohli & Mr. Manish Singh,
Advocates.
versus
FBSTREAMS.PM & ORS. .....Defendants
Through: Ms. Nidhi Raman, CGSC with Mr.
Om Ram, Advocate for Defendant
Nos.52 and 53.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE TEJAS KARIA
ORDER
% 13.08.2025
I.A. 19730/2025 (O-XI R-1(4) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908)
1. The present Application has been filed on behalf of the Plaintiffs under
Order XI Rule 1(4) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (“CPC“) as
applicable to Commercial Suits under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 (“CC
Act“) seeking leave to place on record additional documents.
2. The Plaintiffs are permitted to file additional documents in accordance
with the provisions of the CC Act and the Delhi High Court (Original Side)
Rules, 2018.
3. Accordingly, the Application stands disposed of.
I.A. 19731/2025 (Exemption from pre-institution Mediation)
4. This is an Application filed by the Plaintiffs seeking exemption from
instituting pre-litigation Mediation under Section 12A of the CC Act.
5. As the present matter contemplates urgent interim relief, in light of the
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judgment of the Supreme Court in Yamini Manohar v. T.K.D. Krithi, 2023
SCC OnLine SC 1382, exemption from the requirement of pre-institution
Mediation is granted.
6. The Application stands disposed of.
I.A. 19732/2025 (Extension of time to file Court Fees)
7. The present Application has been filed by the Plaintiffs under Section
149 read with Section 151 of the CPC, seeking exemption from payment of
Court Fees at the time of the filing of the Suit.
8. Considering the submissions made in the present Application, time of
two weeks is granted to file the Court Fees.
9. The Application stands disposed of.
I.A. 19729/2025 (U/S 80 CPC)
10. The present Application has been filed under Section 80 of the CPC
seeking exemption from issuing Notice to Defendant No. 44, Bharat Sanchar
Nigam Ltd, Defendant No. 47, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd., Defendant
No. 52, Department of Telecommunications (“DoT”), and Defendant No. 53,
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (“MeITY”).
11. In view of the urgent relief and the nature of relief sought against
Defendant Nos. 44, 47, 52 and 53, the Plaintiffs are exempted from effecting
two months’ prior notice under Section 80 of the CPC upon Defendant Nos.
44, 47, 52 and 53.
12. The Application stands disposed of.
CS(COMM) 834/2025
13. Let the Plaint be registered as a Suit.
14. Issue Summons to the Defendant(s) through all permissible modes
upon filing of the Process Fee.
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15. The Summons shall state that the Written Statement(s) shall be filed
by the Defendant(s) within four weeks from the date of the receipt of
Summons. Along with the Written Statement(s), the Defendant(s) shall also
file Affidavit(s) of Admission / Denial of the documents of the Plaintiff,
without which the Written Statement(s) shall not be taken on record.
16. Liberty is granted to the Plaintiff to file Replication(s), if any, within
thirty days from the receipt of the Written Statement(s). Along with the
Replication(s) filed by the Plaintiff, Affidavit(s) of Admission / Denial of the
documents of Defendant(s) be filed by the Plaintiff, without which the
Replication(s) shall not be taken on record.
17. In case any Party is placing reliance on a document, which is not in
their power and possession, its details and source shall be mentioned in the
list of reliance, which shall also be filed with the pleadings.
18. If any of the Parties wish to seek inspection of any documents, the same
shall be sought and given within the prescribed timelines.
19. List before the Joint Registrar on 14.10.2025 for competition of
pleadings.
I.A. 19728/2025 (U/O XXXIX Rule 1 & 2 of CPC)
20. Issue Notice. The learned Counsel for Defendant Nos. 52 and 53
accepts Notice.
21. Issue Notice to the remaining Defendants upon filing of the Process
Fees. Notice be issued to the remaining Defendants via all permissible modes,
including e-mail.
22. The Plaintiffs have filed the present Suit seeking a permanent
injunction to restrain infringement of their Broadcast Reproduction Rights by
Defendant Nos. 1 to 33 and other unknown parties.
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23. Defendant Nos. 34 to 42 are Domain Name Registrars (“DNRs”)
arrayed for the purpose of blocking access to the Defendants’ Websites and to
disclose information such as Name, Address, Email address, Mobile Number,
payment details etc. related to the Registrants of the Defendants’ Websites.
24. Defendant Nos. 43 to 51 are Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”),
Defendant Nos. 52 and 53 are arrayed by the Plaintiff to assist in enforcing /
ensuring compliance with any orders of injunction that may be granted during
the course of proceedings.
25. The learned Counsel for the Plaintiffs made the following submissions
before this Court:
25.1. The Plaintiffs have acquired exclusive global media rights,
comprising television rights to be exercised via broadcast delivery
systems, digital rights to be exercised via digital delivery systems,
including internet and mobile technology, and certain ancillary rights
(“Exclusive Rights”) in respect of the event ‘Moses Itauma vs.
Dillian Whyte’ (“Event”) scheduled to take place on or around
16.08.2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In exercise of the Exclusive
Rights granted by one Sela Company (“Sela”) which is the owner of
the Exclusive Rights in the Event, the Plaintiffs have acquired the
Exclusive Rights to be exercised via Plaintiff No. 2.
25.2. The Defendant Nos. 1 to 33 operate websites primarily to host and
disseminate live sporting events without authorization from lawful
rights holders (“Impugned Services”). The Plaintiffs’ rights in
various other sporting events were infringed by Defendant Nos. 1 to
33 by streaming contemporaneously in India, the recently concluded
event ‘Oscar Duarte vs. Kenneth Sims Jr. Fight Card’ and the ongoing
‘Belgian Pro League’. These events were exclusively licensed to theThis is a digitally signed order.
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Plaintiffs. The Defendants are streaming DAZN streams by
circumventing Plaintiffs’ exclusive streaming mechanism. Defendant
Nos. 1 to 33, have also made categories for different sports including
boxing and have been using the Plaintiffs’ contents, including the
Plaintiffs’ Exclusive Contents. The Plaintiffs apprehend similar
unauthorized streaming of the Event and undercard bouts on
16.08.2025, which are exclusively licensed to the Plaintiffs, as per
the Rights Confirmation Letter dated 07.08.2025 by Sela.
25.3. There are several other websites, similar to Defendant Nos. 1 to 33,
which already exists, or are likely to be created. The identity,
constitution, and other particulars of such unknown websites will
become known only when such websites start communicating and
making available the Plaintiffs’ exclusively licensed broadcasts and
related content unauthorizedly over the internet.
25.4. The Impugned Services offered by the Defendant Websites are not
geo-restricted and are freely accessible to users across India,
including in Delhi. The Plaintiffs, as rightsholders and exclusive
licensees of the ‘original works’ as well as ‘broadcasts’, enjoys
protection under Section 37 of the Copyright Act, 1957 (“Act”).
Therefore, the making available and / or communication to the public
of the content in which the Plaintiffs have the Exclusive Rights,
without the Plaintiffs’ authorization, by Defendant Nos. 1 to 33 and
or any other unknown websites would amount to a violation of the
Plaintiffs’ Exclusive Rights under the Act. The alleged reproduction
/ communication is contemporaneous and has a potential of eroding
the Plaintiffs’ market, a considerable compensation for which has
been paid by the Plaintiffs. The balance of convenience is against
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Defendant Nos. 1 to 33, who do not have authorization with respect
to the Exclusive Rights, including, inter alia, to host, stream,
reproduce, distribute, make available to the public and / or
communicate the content in which the Plaintiffs have the Exclusive
Rights. If the illegal activities of Defendant Nos. 1 to 33 are not
restrained during the pendency of the present proceedings, the
Plaintiffs shall suffer irreparable harm since Defendant Nos. 1 to 33
intend to continue to exploit, diminish and dilute the value of the
Exclusive Rights.
25.5. In the past whenever such Impugned Services have been injuncted
by the courts, while the initial injunction may be applicable to a few
websites which are identified in the Plaint, during the course of the
events itself a large number of websites are uncovered which
continue to disseminate unlawfully the said sporting events.
Therefore, a relief of real time live blocking of other uncovered rouge
websites is necessitated in the present case as Defendant Nos. 1 to 33
may activate other domains / websites and URLs during the Event so
as to continue the Impugned Services even if blocking orders are
passed by this Court.
26. Having considered the submissions advanced by the learned Counsel
for the Plaintiff, the pleadings and the documents on record, a prima facie case
has been made out by the Plaintiff for the grant of an ex-parte ad-interim
injunction. The Events is broadcasted through the Plaintiffs’ website and
mobile application namely DAZN, which is accessible across a variety of
digital devices including computers, smartphones, tablets, and other
electronic gadgets. The Plaintiffs have secured the Exclusive Rights for
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various events, including, the Event as specified in the Rights Confirmation
Letter dated 07.08.2025, through considerable financial investment.
27. The apprehension of the unauthorized dissemination, telecasting, or
broadcasting of the Event on Defendant Nos. 1 to 33’s websites shall pose a
significant threat to the Plaintiffs’ revenue streams undermining the value of
the considerable investment made by the Plaintiffs in acquiring the Exclusive
Rights. Additionally, the broadcast content, including footage, commentary,
and other composite elements, is fully safeguarded under the Act. Therefore,
the unauthorized use of these elements shall also infringe upon the copyright
protections accorded to the broadcast content under the Exclusive Rights.
28. The issue of rogue websites engaging in the piracy of copyrighted
content presents a recurring threat and disseminating or communicating any
portions of the Event, without proper authorization or licensing from the
Plaintiffs, would violate Plaintiffs’ Exclusive Rights.
29. This Court in Universal City Studios LLC v. Dotmovies.baby,
2023:DHC:5842, granted a ‘Dynamic+’ injunction granting protection to
works generated during the course of the pendency of the suit as also future
works that will be created in the future so that while the content is generated,
the same is not infringed upon in violation of Section 37 of the Act, till the
time courts come to the rescue of the right holder. A relevant portion thereof,
is reproduced below:
“17. Any injunction granted by a Court of law ought to be effective in
nature. The injunction ought to also not merely extend to content
which is past content created prior to the filing of the suit but also to
content which may be generated on a day-to-day basis by the
Plaintiffs. In a usual case for copyright infringement, the Court firstly
identifies the work, determines the Copyright of the Plaintiff in the
said work, and thereafter grants an injunction. However, owing to the
nature of the illegalities that rogue websites indulge in, there is a need
to pass injunctions which are also dynamic qua the Plaintiffs as well,This is a digitally signed order.
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as it is seen that upon any film or series being released, they may be
immediately uploaded on the rogue websites, causing severe and
instant monetary loss. Copyright in future works comes into existence
immediately upon the work being created, and Plaintiffs may not be
able to approach the Court for each and every film or series that is
produced in the future, to secure an injunction against piracy.
19. As innovation in technology continues, remedies to be granted
also ought to be calibrated by Courts. This is not to say that in every
case, an injunction qua future works can be granted. Such grant of an
injunction would depend on the fact situation that arises and is placed
before the Court.
20. In the facts and circumstances as set out above, an ex parte ad
interim injunction is granted restraining the Defendants, who are all
rogue websites, from in any manner streaming, reproducing,
distributing, making available to the public and/or communicating to
the public any copyrighted content of the Plaintiffs including future
works of the Plaintiffs, in which ownership of copyright is undisputed,
through their websites identified in the suit or any mirror/redirect
websites or alphanumeric variations thereof including those websites
which are associated with the Defendants’ websites either based on
the name, branding, identity or even source of content. To keep pace
with the dynamic nature of the infringement that is undertaken by
hydra-headed websites, this Court has deemed it appropriate to issue
this ‘Dynamic+ injunction’ to protect copyrighted works as soon as
they are created, to ensure that no irreparable loss is caused to the
authors and owners of copyrighted works, as there is an imminent
possibility of works being uploaded on rogue websites or their newer
versions immediately upon the films/shows/series etc. The Plaintiffs
are permitted to implead any mirror/redirect/alpha numberic
variations of the websites identified in the suit as Defendants Nos.1 to
16 including those websites which are associated with the Defendants
Nos.1 to 16, either based on the name, branding, identity or even
source of content, by filing an application for impleadment under
Order I Rule 10 CPC in the event such websites merely provide new
means of accessing the same primary infringing websites that have
been injuncted. The Plaintiffs are at liberty to also file an appropriate
application seeking protection qua their copyrighted works, including
future works, if the need so arises. Upon filing such applications
before the Registrar along with an affidavit with sufficient supporting
evidence seeking extension of the injunction to such websites, to
protect the content of the Plaintiffs, including future works, the
injunction shall become operational against the said websites and qua
such works. If there is any work in respect of which there is anyThis is a digitally signed order.
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dispute as to ownership of copyright, an application may be moved by
the affected party before the Court, to seek clarification.”
(Emphasis Supplied)
30. In view of the above, given the fact that the Plaintiffs’ Exclusive Rights,
as acquired from Sela are in question, if an ex-parte ad-interim injunction is
not granted at this stage, irreparable harm would be caused to the Plaintiffs.
Balance of convenience also lies in the favour of the Plaintiffs. The need for
immediate relief is particularly pressing in this case, considering the live
broadcast of the Event. Any delay in blocking access to Defendant Nos. 1 to
33’s websites or any other rogue websites providing the Impugned Services,
could lead to financial losses for the Plaintiffs, and an irreparable breach of
their Exclusive Rights. Therefore, swift action to prevent the alleged
infringements is crucial in the present case.
31. Accordingly, Defendant Nos. 1 to 33, and / or any person acting on their
behalf, are restrained from communicating, hosting, streaming, screening,
disseminating or making available for viewing / downloading, without
authorization, any part of the Event i.e., ’16th August Fight Card’ on any
electronic or digital platform, in any manner whatsoever.
32. Defendant Nos. 34 to 42, i.e., the Domain Name Registrars, are directed
to block and suspend the following Domain Names of Defendant Nos. 1 to 33
immediately upon service of copy of this Order by the Plaintiffs’ Counsel as
under:
Def.
No. Websites
DNR - GoDaddy.com, LLC Defendant No. 34
22 everstreams.online
24 poscitectvhd.top
25 ripplenetworkz.shop
DNR - Dynadot Defendant No.35
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2 sportsbay.dk
13 rojadirectenvivo.me
15 roja.directa.online
21 papahhdd.sbs
DNR – Namecheap, Inc. Defendant No.36
8 fstv.us
10 nobartv.cc
14 epllive.net
16 total-sportek.tv
19 live.roja-directa.pro
23 tntsportss.online
28 reddit-streaming.site
29 posciteche.online
30 goomhd.com
DNR – Hostinger operations, UAB Defendant No.37
26 skysports.cloud
27 daddylivestream.site
DNR – Tucows Domains Inc. Defendant No. 38
3 olympicstreams.co
4 golato.live
5 shoot-yalla.me
11 daddylive2.top
12 shoot-yalla-tv.live
18 vuen.link
32 dlhd.click
33 streamysport.org
DNR – NameSilo, LLC Defendant No.39
20 iptvs.click
DNR – Name.com Defendant No.40
7 fawanews.sc
DNR – Hosting Concepts B.V Defendant No. 41
1 fbstreams.pm
17 sportscast.fr
DNR – NETIM Sas Defendant No. 42
6 sportzonline.si
9 roja-directa.ioThis is a digitally signed order.
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33. Further, Defendant Nos. 34 to 42 shall file an Affidavit in a sealed cover
/ password protected document disclosing the complete details of Defendant
Nos. 1 to 33, as available with Defendant Nos. 34 to 42, including e-mail
addresses, mobile numbers, contact details, payment details and KYC details,
within four weeks.
34. Defendant Nos. 43 to 51, i.e., ISPs / TSPs, are also directed to block
Defendant Nos. 1 to 33’s websites, immediately upon service of copy of this
Order by the Plaintiffs’ Counsel.
35. Defendant Nos. 52 and 53 are directed to issue necessary directions to
all ISPs for blocking / removing access to the websites as specified in
Paragraph No. 32 of this Order.
36. Prior to or during the currency of the Event, if any further websites are
discovered, which are unauthorizedly streaming and communicating content
over which the Plaintiffs have Exclusive Rights, the Plaintiffs are granted
liberty to communicate the details of such websites to Defendant Nos. 34 to
53 for blocking the said websites on a real time basis without undue delay.
Upon receiving the said intimation from the Plaintiffs, Defendant Nos. 34 to
51 shall take steps to immediately block the said websites in question and
Defendant Nos. 52 and 53 shall also issue necessary blocking orders
immediately upon the Plaintiffs communicating the details of the websites,
which are illegally streaming the Event.
37. Such a relief is called for in the present matter as any delay in blocking
the websites would, in fact, result in considerable pecuniary loss to the
Plaintiffs and result in irreparable violation of the Exclusive Rights of the
Plaintiffs.
38. The Plaintiffs shall continue to file affidavits providing the details of
the newly discovered websites, their Domain Names, the DNRs and the
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URLs, which are communicated and blocked to ensure that the Court is fully
informed of the websites in respect of which blocking orders are sought. The
Plaintiffs shall also file appropriate applications for impleadment of the said
websites and this Order shall be extended against the said newly added
Defendants.
39. If any website, which is not primarily an infringing website, is blocked
in pursuance of this Order, it is permitted to approach the Court by giving an
undertaking that it does not intend to do any illegal dissemination of the
content over which the Plaintiffs have Exclusive Rights and the Court would
consider modifying the injunction if the facts and circumstances, so warrant.
40. Let the Reply to the present Application be filed within four weeks after
service of the Notice. Rejoinder thereto, if any, be filed within four weeks
thereafter.
41. The Plaintiffs are permitted to ensure compliance of Order XXXIX
Rule 3 of CPC within a period of two days and file the Compliance Affidavit
within two weeks.
42. List before this Court on 25.11.2025.
TEJAS KARIA, J
AUGUST 13, 2025/ ‘A’
This is a digitally signed order.
The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above.
The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 14/08/2025 at 23:40:09
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