Court restricts cable from showing 'Thank You'

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Thursday restrained cable operators nationwide from distributing, telecasting and broadcasting the forthcoming release "Thank You" and/or otherwise infringing the copyright, production house UTV said in a statement.

Those thinking of enjoying on their home TV sets the Akshay Kumar starrer through cable network will have to scrap their plans after UTV, which filed a civil suit, obtained a court order.

The SHO/superintendent of concerned police stations have also been directed to render assistance to UTV for the purpose of enforcement of the order, a statement from UTV said.

"Piracy has been plaguing the entertainment industry for decades now and is one of the biggest impediments to the growth of the business. This decision by the Delhi High Court is a milestone judgment in our ongoing efforts to tackle piracy and we are confident it will act as a huge deterrent to cable piracy," Siddharth Roy Kapur, CEO of Motion Pictures, UTV, said in a statement.

The court's decision to grant pre-emptive relief from piracy to a plaintiff is being considered an important step forward in the ongoing battle against copyright infringement. The order restricts 1,600 known cable operators and unknown persons also from telecasting the film.

"Film piracy has reached gargantuan proportions, causing tremendous leakage in revenues of film producers. Cable operators have been exploiting the movie industry by illegally screening films on their networks almost immediately after theatrical release of a film," said Anand Desai, managing partner of DSK Legal, who was representing UTV.

"This verdict delivered by the Delhi High Court comes as a landmark judgment in curbing these illegal activities, including directing police assistance as required. This is a very positive step for curbing illegal activities in India," he added.

The film, directed by Anees Bazmee, has been produced by UTV Motion Pictures and Hari Om Productions. Releasing Friday, Thank You stars Akshay Kumar, Bobby Deol, Suniel Shetty, Irrfan Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Celina Jaitly and Rimmi Sen.