Delhi HC Issues Interim Stay Against Unauthorised Use Of Andaz Apna Apna Title & Artistic Works

The Delhi High Court has taken a significant step to protect the intellectual property rights of the 1994 Hindi film Andaz Apna Apna. In a recent interim order, the court restrained over 30 parties from unauthorised use of the film's iconic characters, title, dialogues, and artistic works.

Recently, the Delhi High Court issued a John Doe order providing interim protection for the intellectual property rights related to the film 'Andaz Apna Apna.'

This order, arising from a lawsuit filed by the legal heir of the film's late producer, seeks to prevent various identified and unidentified individuals or entities from unauthorised use, reproduction, and commercial exploitation of the film's copyrighted materials and registered trademarks.

Justice Amit Bansal issued an ex parte interim injunction in a case filed by Vinay Pictures, represented by Shanti Vinaykumar Sinha, the legal heir of the film's late producer, Vinay Sinha. The plaintiff requested protection against the alleged violation of copyright and trademark rights involving merchandise, digital content, domain names, and AI-generated materials.

In a statement, the bench of Justice Amit Bansal held, "The plaintiff has demonstrated a prima facie case for grant of an interim injunction in its favour, and in case ex-parte and interim injunction is not granted, the plaintiff will suffer an irreparable loss."

"Any objections to the quality of the defendants' products will be attributable to the plaintiff, as the public would have purchased such goods under the mistaken impression that they emanate from the plaintiff," the court recorded.

The court further clarified that the injunction covers mirror and redirect URLs and granted the plaintiff the freedom to add more infringers to the case if necessary. The plaintiff, through Advocate Pravin Anand, claimed exclusive rights to all intellectual property associated with the film, encompassing its characters, dialogues, costumes, styles, and popular catchphrases like 'Aila,' 'Ouima,' and 'Teja main hoon, mark idhar hai.'

These components, particularly characters such as Amar, Prem, Teja, and Crime Master Gogo, have become iconic and hold significant secondary meaning in the minds of the public.