ANI, in its suit, claimed that Mohak Mangal’s use of its original videos had helped him gain viewership of over four million.
NEW DELHI: A Delhi commercial court has issued notices to YouTuber Mohak Mangal and tech giant Google LLC in response to a copyright and trademark infringement lawsuit filed by prominent news agency Asian News International (ANI).
The lawsuit alleges that Mangal used ANI’s videos on his YouTube channel without proper authorization.
On Monday, District Judge (Commercial Courts) Balwant Rai Bansal heard the matter but did not pass any temporary orders to continue the takedown of the alleged infringing videos. The court has scheduled the next hearing for July 26.
This is the second lawsuit that ANI has filed against Mohak Mangal. Previously, ANI had approached the Delhi High Court, claiming defamation and disparagement due to Mangal’s statements about the agency’s copyright strikes and its demand for licensing fees. Mangal had reportedly commented that ANI’s copyright enforcement efforts amounted to extortion.
As per ANI’s legal team, on May 29, Mangal had already agreed to remove objectionable references to ANI in that earlier video.
In this new case before the commercial court, ANI alleges that Mangal illegally reproduced ten of its videos on his channel and also used the ANI logo without authorization.
The agency has demanded:
- A permanent and mandatory injunction
- Damages worth Rs.50 lakh
- Legal remedy for copyright infringement, plagiarism, piracy, and unjust enrichment
Advocate Sidhant Kumar, representing ANI, argued that ANI had previously taken issue with just one video before the High Court.
He clarified:
“I only impugned one video before the High Court in which he is using defamatory words.”
He further said the videos in this case were taken down from YouTube due to copyright claims but might return if allowed under YouTube’s policy. Therefore, he requested the court to maintain status quo, saying:
“He is making revenue out of copying my content. They don’t dispute they have used my video, they say they are entitled to use. He cannot copy my content verbatim. He cannot copy the videos of my journalists and videographer.”
In response, Senior Advocate Chander Lall, appearing for Mohak Mangal, accused ANI of forum shopping, which refers to filing the same or similar cases in multiple courts to gain a favorable decision.
He said:
“Similar relief on same facts was filed at the Delhi High Court and the relief is not granted.”
He also indicated that Mangal would request the transfer of the case to the Delhi High Court.
The judge then instructed ANI to provide a full copy of the legal complaint to all the defendants and allowed Mangal and Google to file their written responses and replies to the injunction request.
He remarked:
“I am not passing any [interim order]. I am just fixing it for consideration and I will be hearing on the next date.”
ANI, in its suit, claimed that Mohak Mangal’s use of its original videos had helped him gain viewership of over four million.
It stated:
“These infringing publications have enabled Defendant No. 1 to divert the traffic of viewers from Plaintiff to its own channel. This has led to Defendant No. 1 garnering substantial publicity, which it would have otherwise not received. The segments from the Original Videos of the Plaintiff form an integral portion of the Infringing Videos. Defendant No. 1 is thus, gaining wide publicity and revenue at the cost of infringement of the exclusive rights of the Plaintiff.”
Senior Advocate Chander Lall appeared along with advocates Nakul Gandhi, Annanya Mehan, Mujeeb, and Tanish Gupta for Mohak Mangal in this legal battle.
