The Madras High Court on Monday asked Sun TV Network whether it wishes to continue its copyright case against Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket team Chennai Super Kings (CSK) over the use of music and dialogues from the films Jailer, Jailer-2 and Coolie in a CSK promo video.
This was after CSK told the Court that such recordings will no longer be used without a licence.
During the last hearing of the matter, CSK's counsel had informed that the songs have been removed from its promo video.
When the matter was heard today, CSK counsel Senior Advocate PS Raman added that such recordings will be used only after obtaining a license from PPL.
In view of this submission, Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy closed two applications filed by Sun TV seeking injunctions against Chennai Super Kings Cricket Limited (CSKL).
"As is clear from (an 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 licence thereof. In view of such an undertaking, the original applications (OA 212, 213/2026) are disposed of by recording such undertaking," the Court said.
On a request by CSK's counsel, the Court also asked Sun TV's counsel to get instructions on whether the television network wished to pursue its main copyright suit, including a ₹1 crore damages claim over the earlier use of copyrighted music.
The case will be heard next on April 6.
The case concerns the use of music, background scores and dialogues from the films Jailer, Jailer-2 and Coolie in a promotional video for CSK's 2026 jersey launch, which was published across various social media platforms on March 1.
A civil suit accusing CSK of copyright violations over the unlicensed use of these recordings was filed by Sun TV Network Limited against CSKL, its CEO and Managing Director Kasi Viswanathan, its Head of Finance Avinash Sridharan and its Head of Content Radhakrishnan Sreenivasan.
Sun TV claimed that copyrighted music was used at several points in CSK's video, including scenes depicting the arrival of CSK captain MS Dhoni at the team camp, to enhance the promotional impact of the campaign.
The company also sought ₹1 crore in damages and a direction for CSK to disclose revenues generated through the promotional campaign that allegedly used the copyrighted music.
During the last hearing, CSK told the Court that the songs in question are no longer being used in the IPL team's promo videos. In response, the Court told CSK to file a formal affidavit with this statement.
The said affidavit was filed today by CSKL, which was signed off by its MD, Kasi Viswanathan.
Senior Advocate J Ravindran appeared for Sun TV and raised concerns that even though CSK had ceased using copyrighted music in its earlier promo without licence, there was a need to ensure that such a lapse does not recur.
In response, CSK's counsel assured that his client has no intention of using music without a licence going forward. He also questioned whether the main copyright suit should continue, in view of the undertaking given by CSK today.
The Court then asked Sun TV to file its response on whether the main copyright case can be closed, in view of CSK's undertaking.
Ravindran (for Sun TV) was briefed by advocates M Sneha, Vimal Mohan, Dinesh Raja, V Rani, Kavin Bharathan and Vishwesh K.
Raman (for CSK) was briefed by advocate Thriyambak Kannan, Partner at Khaitan & Co.