ANI Sues Netflix And Producers Of ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ Over Copyright Infringement

The Delhi High Court has issued notices to the OTT streaming platform Netflix and the producers of the series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack following a lawsuit filed by Asian News International (ANI), which alleges copyright and trademark infringement.

The case was heard by Justice Mini Pushkarna, who has ordered Matchbox Shots, Benaras Mediaworks, and Netflix to respond to ANI’s request for interim relief within two days. The next hearing is scheduled for Friday, according to the Bar and Bench.

In the lawsuit, the agency claims that the series used its footage without permission, including clips featuring former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Pakistan’s General Parvez Musharraf, and terrorist Masood Azhar. Advocate Sidhant Kumar, representing ANI, argued that the series portrays Pakistan in a favorable light regarding the hijacking incident, which he described as a public relations exercise for the Pakistani spy agency ISI.

According to Bar and Bench, the plaintiff stressed that it does not wish to be associated with a show that they consider “anti-national” and “unpatriotic.”  Kumar said that four out of the six episodes of the series extensively use ANI’s footage, and he highlighted the presence of ANI’s logo in one clip, which he argues constitutes trademark infringement.

He requested the court to order the removal of the four episodes that utilize ANI’s content without authorization and to blur the agency’s logo. In response to the allegations, the producers’ counsel, Hiren Kamod, refuted these claims, asserting that the footage was obtained legally from two other firms, Conceptual and Wilderness, for Rs 1.75 crore. He noted that Reuters, a stakeholder of ANI, had provided the footage to these firms.