HC halts release of Badmashiyaan

Delhi High Court today put on hold the release of Bollywood film 'Badmashiyaan' on the plea of Multi Screen Media (MSM), the Indian subsidiary of Sony Entertainment Television, alleging copyright infringement by the movie's producers.
Justice Indermeet Kaur also restrained the film's producers from airing trailers of the movie, which according to MSM, is a copy of a Korean film 'Couples' as well as its own production 'Mango', that is yet to be released.
The court, in its interim ex-parte order, also issued notice to VRG Motion Pictures Private Ltd which has produced Badmashiyaan, as well as Sidus FNH Corporation, the producer and copyright owner of the Korean film, and sought their replies by May 22.

MSM, in its petition filed through TMT Law Practice, has also sought damages of Rs 25 lakh from VRG for infringing its copyright.
MSM has contended that rights to make a Hindi remake of 'Couples' was obtained by co-producer Kaleidoscope Entertainment Private Ltd (KEPL) from Sidus FNH in March 2013.
Thereafter, MSM and KEPL "entered into a film production agreement, before commencement of production of the said film, and hence, plaintiff 1 (MSM) is the first owner of copyright in and to the said film," the petition claimed.

MSM and KEPL's film, Mango, was produced in 2013-14 and its trailers were exhibited in February-March 2014, it said.

In January 2015, MSM and KEPL had come across trailers of Badmashiyaan on 'youtube' and found that the movie was an adaptation of the Korean movie as well as Mango, the petition alleged.
"Defendant 1 (VRG), the producer of Badmashiyaan copied the plot, treatment and screenplay of Couples as well as Mango. Accordingly, Defendant 1 has infringed the exclusive contractual right of the plaintiffs (MSM and KEPL) to make the adaptation of Couples into Hindi language...," it has alleged.
Badmashiyaan, starring Suzanna Mukherjee, Sharib Hashmi, Siddhant Gupta, Gunjan Malhotra and Karan Mehra, was slated for release on February 27.