Filmmaker Suneel Darshan accuses Google of copyright infringement

26 January,2022 08:55 PM IST |  Mumbai  |  IANS

Darshan clarified that it was only after his repeated requests went unanswered that he had to seek legal help. Their actions and replies indicate they are well-versed in deflecting queries from my end.

Picture Courtesy: Mid-day Archives


Filmmaker Suneel Darshan, who is known for films such as 'Inteqam' and 'Andaaz', has filed an FIR against the search engine giant Google, its CEO Sundar Pichai and several other employees of the corporation, alleging an infringement of the copyright of his 2017 directorial 'Ek Haseena Thi Ek Deewana Tha' on YouTube.

Darshan has claimed that though he had not uploaded the movie anywhere, nor sold it to anyone, several channels on YouTube are profiteering off it and Google has refused to take the movie off those channels. His FIR, filed with the MIDC Police Station at Andheri East, alleges infringement of Sections 51, 63 and 69 of the Copyright Act of 1957.

Sharing this information with IANS, he said: "My faith and belief in the advancement of technology are implicit, but the infringement of my rights is a cause of grave concern."

He added: "My entire copyrighted movie, apart from its songs and sequences from it, have been uploaded and monetised, and I have helplessly watched such illegal acts."

Darshan clarified that it was only after his repeated requests went unanswered that he had to seek legal help. "Their actions and replies indicate they are well-versed in deflecting queries from my end," he said.

Maintaining that he had the utmost respect for Google, he however said the corporation had been unfair to genuine creators.

"I have total respect for both the technology and the funds that they (Google) bring to India,," Darshan said, but added that the corporation's reluctance to work with experienced content creators and benefiting from their knowledge had only led to mutual loss, and denied quality content to the audience.

Asked what his next step would be, Darshan said: "I will move according to the law and the advice of my lawyers."

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
bollywood news Entertainment News
Related Stories