Sun TV Network has moved the Madras High Court against the owner of IPL cricket team Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for copyright infringement over the alleged use of music, background scores and dialogues from the films Jailer, Jailer-2 and Coolie in a promotional video for the IPL 2026 jersey launch.
The civil suit has been filed by Sun TV Network Limited against Chennai Super Kings Cricket Limited (CSKL) and three of its officials.
The civil suit accuses the IPL franchise company of using music and dialogues from films to which Sun TV holds copyright without obtaining a licence.
Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy heard preliminary submissions in the matter today, before adjourning the case till March 16.
CSK has also been directed to file a formal affidavit confirming a statement made before the Court that the songs in question are no longer being used in the IPL team's promo videos.
Sun TV's commercial copyright infringement suit names CSK and its officials, including CEO and Managing Director Kasi Viswanathan, Head of Finance Avinash Sridharan and Head of Content Radhakrishnan Sreenivasan as defendants.
The suit recounts that CSK released a promotional video on March 1 to launch its IPL 2026 jersey on its official social media platforms, including Instagram, X, YouTube and Facebook.
Sun TV alleges that the video incorporated audio tracks, background scores and dialogues from Jailer, Jailer-2 and Coolie - three high-profile Rajinikanth projects produced by Sun Pictures, the film production arm of Sun TV Network.
Jailer, released in 2023, was one of the biggest Tamil box-office successes of the year and featured a widely popular soundtrack composed by Anirudh Ravichander. The film’s music, particularly tracks like Hukum and its background score, became viral hits across social media and stadium events.
The upcoming sequel Jailer-2 and the film Coolie are also Rajinikanth projects produced by Sun Pictures with music by Anirudh Ravichander.
In its suit, Sun TV states that Anirudh was appointed as the music director under agreements that vest all rights in the films' music with the producer, making Sun TV the exclusive copyright holder entitled to license or exploit the music across platforms.
The company claims such 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. Sun TV further contends that the video was intended to promote CSK’s merchandise, including its IPL 2026 match jersey priced online at around ₹2,399.
Sun TV has sought a permanent injunction to restrain CSK from using such songs, dialogues or background scores from Sun TV films on any medium, including social media, stadium broadcasts and promotional material.
The company has 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 today's hearing of the matter, Senior Counsel J Ravindran appeared for Sun TV and told the Court that CSK has stopped using the songs after the television network sent an e-mail objecting to their use.
Ravindran nevertheless urged the Court to ensure that the franchise does not infringe Sun TV’s copyrights in the films going forward.
Senior Counsel PS Raman, appearing for CSK, too informed the Court that the songs from Jailer, Coolie and Jailer-2 had already been removed from the cricket team's promotional videos. Raman further assured the Court that the franchise would not use the songs without obtaining a licence from the appropriate authorities.
The Court proceeded to adjourn the case till next week after directing CSK to file an affidavit with its statement that the songs referred to by Sun TV are no longer being used in CSK promos without license.
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.