Chennai: The Madras high court has restrained the internet service providers, including the public sector undertakings—Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited and the private providers such as Bharti Airtel from infringing the cinematographic right of a Tamil film “Balloon”. Justice M.Sundar granted the interim injunction on an application arising out of a suit filed by 70MM Entertainment, by its partner K.Nandakumar.

The company sought an interim injunction to restrain the defendants, numbering 37, and their men from infringing the cinematographic right of the plaintiff over the film Balloon by copying unauthorizedly and uploading the same in their websites/webpages and to block them. Plaintiff’s counsel Vijayan Subramanian submitted that the defendant websites have the potential to upload and/or enable the third parties to copy, reproduce, distribute, display through cable or online medium of the plaintiff’s copyright over the film through ISPs. The plaintiff reasonably apprehends that as and when the said film was released in theatres, such acts of piracy would also commence and the websites would again mobilize to illegally copy, record, download, reproduce, transmit and communicate the said copyright protected work to general public, he added.