No monopoly over ideas: Delhi High Court rejects plea to stop OTT streaming of Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Shamshera

The Delhi High Court recently rejected a plea by filmmaker Bikramjeet Singh Bhullar seeking an interim order to stop the streaming or broadcasting of the Ranbir Kapoor starrer movie Shamshera on Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms [Bikramjeet Singh Bhullar v Yash Raj Films & Ors]..Bhullar had filed a suit against production house Yash Raj Films and others alleging that the Shamshera's plot and theme were based on his work ‘Kabu Na Chhadein Khet’ and therefore, Yash Raj has infringed on his copyrighted work..Justice Jyoti Singh rejected the plea after noting that Bhullar had sought to claim a monopoly over themes such as a period drama, a father-son story where the two look alike, use of children, birds, hot oil, horse, underground tunnel and a plot based on the son’s revenge and rebellion against a foreign invasion.The Court observed that these aspects are common to most Bollywood movies and that, if the Court agrees with Bhullar, it would amount to granting monopoly over ideas, which is contrary to established legal principles. The High Court concluded that a comparison of Bhullar's script and that of the film Shamshera does not leave an impression that one is a substantial copy of the other.“Plaintiff (Bhullar) has been unable to make out a prima facie case of copyright infringement and thus no relief can be granted in favour of the Plaintiff injuncting the Defendants from continuing with the telecast of their film on the OTT Platforms,” the Court held..Bhullar had approached the High Court arguing that around the year 2006, he conceived the idea of a period drama set around the 18th century. In 2009, Kabu Na Chhadein Khet was condensed into a short cinematography film having a runtime of 10 minutes. The film was also screened at the Spinning Wheel Film Festival in Toronto and a voice over was done by late actor Om Puri.He stated that he was in touch with the writers and directors of the movie Shamshera who were interested in his work. However, in January 2017, he was informed that they had no intent to work with him.When the trailer of the film Shamshera was released on YouTube in June 2022, Bhullar said that there was substantial imitation/adaptation of his work. Therefore, he approached the Court for relief.It was his case that the similarity lies in both works being period dramas, having underdogs, set in North India and centering on oppression with an active protagonist and a legendary antagonist.Bhullar’s counsel argued that both stories involve revenge, enslavement and span two generations of father and son. Commonality lay in the use of burning oil, hot water, birds, the North star to navigate and secret underwater tunnels. The antagonists in both are barbaric, foreign invaders who pillage and plunder the village while the protagonists fight for freedom, the Court was told. The theme of the father dying and his son carrying on the legacy was also alleged to be a similarity and it was stressed that the lead characters in both works were initially bad characters who later have a change of heart.The defendants (Yash Raj, the movie’s producers, and writers) argued that there can be no copyright in a story only on account of it being a period drama and that there cannot be a copyright protection in themes or plots or ideas..The Court watched the movie Shamshera, analysed Bhullar’s script and observed that the dissimilarities between Bhullar’s script and the film outweigh the alleged similarities. The similarities by themselves were not sufficient to raise a presumption of copyright infringement at the present stage, the Court held. “Comparison of locations set in North India, as rightly contended by the Defendants, cannot be a ground to hold infringement of copyright and similarly features such as burning oil, water, birds, star for the purpose of navigation, secret underwater tunnels horses, ghaghra and its unswirling, sensuous scenes etc., have been used in movies from times immemorial and very many movies come to mind on this aspect readily and are hackneyed subjects of almost every fiction and matters of common grasp. There is no uniqueness in these ideas or expression and in the words of the judgements of this Court, almost every author of a fiction would conjure them as consequential concomitant effects, as a matter of common grasp and “Scenes a Faire” which carry no copyright,” the Court observed..It added that movies on father-son relationships that span over generations are "most common" in Bollywood. “As rightly contended on behalf of the Defendants, character of Shamsher Singh in the script is not the theme on which the story revolves, which is really about the resistance of Kartar to the invasions of Afghans. He does not carry forward his father’s legacy though in one of the plots a treaty is signed between the British and Shamshera for which Khameran had to pay the price of freedom. Character of the father is an important part of the movie, while in the script it is not very pronounced or significant," the Court further noted. The Court concluded that no prima facie case was made out in favour of Bhullar, that no irreparable loss would be caused to him if no injunction was granted and that the balance of convenience was also in favour of Yash Raj.Bhullar’s application for interim relief was, therefore, dismissed. The main suit is listed next on January 16, 2024. .Senior Advocate Chander M Lall along with advocates Joseph Koshy, Ananya Chugh, Indrani Mohan and Ankit Chauhan appeared for Bikramjeet Singh Bhullar.The defendants were represented through Senior Advocate Rajshekhar Rao as well as advocates Abhishek Malhotra, Atmaja Tripathy, Partharasarathy, Aman Gandhi and Deepak Biswas..[Read Judgment]