Super Cassettes sues YouTube, Google

Super Cassettes Industries (SCIL), a company that releases music under the T-Series label, has moved the Delhi High Court against YouTube and its parent company Google on account of rank infringement of its copyright in music by these companies.

On November 5, the Delhi High Court, after hearing Amit Sibal, counsel for SCIL, issued notice and summons against YouTube and Google in a suit filed by SCIL and passed an interim order restraining them from reproducing, adapting, distributing, communicating, transmitting, disseminating or displaying on their websites or otherwise infringing in any manner any audio visual works in  which the SCIL owns exclusive, valid and subsisting copyright. By this order the Delhi High Court has granted an injunction against the business practice of Youtube of earning profits at the expense of a copyright owner.

YouTube and its parent, Google have on their website YouTube.com been showing videos of SCIL's copyrighted songs without SCIL's licence or permission. Sibal argued that YouTube and Google profit at SCIL's expense by showing SCIL's songs for free to the public, while displaying advertising on the screen and collecting revenue from the advertisers based on the number of hits on the site. The profits from this business model, which is based on copyright infringement, are enormous, as is indicated by the fact that Google paid $1.65 billion in stock to acquire YouTube.  He added that YouTube has caused tremendous loss of revenue to SCIL by infringing its copyright.