The Madras High Court asked whether Sun TV Network will continue its copyright suit against Chennai Super Kings over alleged use of film audio from Jailer, Jailer 2 and Coolie in a promotional video.
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court inquired whether Sun TV Network intends to continue its copyright litigation against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) cricket team regarding the unauthorized use of music and dialogues from the films Jailer, Jailer-2, and Coolie in a promotional video.
This inquiry followed CSK’s statement to the Court that it would no longer use those recordings without a license. During the previous hearing, CSK’s counsel had confirmed that the songs had been removed from the promo video.
In the latest proceedings, CSK’s Senior Advocate P.S. Raman reiterated that such recordings would only be utilized after obtaining a license from PPL. Given this assurance, Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy closed two applications filed by Sun TV seeking injunctions against Chennai Super Kings Cricket Limited (CSKL).
The Court stated,
“As is clear from the affidavit filed today by CSK, Defendant 1 (CSK) has undertaken not to display, show, play, use, etc., any of the sound recordings or musical works, including the songs set out in the schedule to the plaint, without obtaining a license. In light of such an undertaking, the original applications (OA 212, 213/2026) are disposed of by recording this undertaking,”
On request from CSK’s counsel, the Court also asked Sun TV’s legal team to clarify whether the television network wishes to pursue its primary copyright suit, which includes a claim for Rs 1 crore in damages linked to the earlier unauthorized use of copyrighted music. The case is scheduled for another hearing on April 6.
This case pertains to the use of music and dialogues from Jailer, Jailer-2, and Coolie in a promotional video for CSK’s 2026 jersey launch, which was disseminated across various social media platforms on March 1.
Sun TV Network Limited filed a civil suit alleging copyright violations against CSKL, its CEO and Managing Director Kasi Viswanathan, its Head of Finance Avinash Sridharan, and its Head of Content Radhakrishnan Sreenivasan, claiming that copyrighted music was incorporated at multiple points in CSK’s promotional video, including scenes representing the arrival of CSK captain MS Dhoni, to enhance the campaign’s promotional impact.
Sun TV sought Rs 1 crore in damages and requested that CSK disclose the revenues generated through the promotional campaign that allegedly utilized copyrighted music.
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In the last hearing, CSK informed the Court that it had ceased using the disputed songs in its promotional videos. The Court instructed CSK to submit a formal affidavit accordingly, which was filed today, signed by MD Kasi Viswanathan.
Senior Advocate J. Ravindran, representing Sun TV, raised concerns about the need to ensure that CSK does not repeat its past lapse of using copyrighted music without a license. In response, CSK’s counsel assured that his client intends to refrain from any unlicensed use of music going forward. He also questioned whether the primary copyright suit should proceed in light of CSK’s undertaking today.
The Court requested Sun TV to file its response on the potential closure of the main copyright case based on CSK’s undertaking.
Ravindran (for Sun TV) was assisted by advocates M. Sneha, Vimal Mohan, Dinesh Raja, V. Rani, Kavin Bharathan, and Vishwesh K. Raman (for CSK) was supported by advocate Thriyambak Kannan.
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