An FIR has been filed against Google CEO Sundar Pichai, based on filmmaker Suneel Darshan's complaint of an alleged infringement of copyright of his 2017 directorial venture Hindi film ‘Ek Haseena Thi Ek Deewana Tha’ on YouTube.
Darshan approached Mumbai court over the copyright issue, who then ordered an FIR against Pichai, YouTube’s Gautam Anand, and four others. The FIR was lodged on January 25 under sections 51, 63, and 69 of the Copyright Act. On the directions of the court, MIDC Police Station in Mumbai has booked Google CEO and five others for Copyright Act violation.
Reportedly, Darshan had filed several complaints with YouTube, the video streaming giant before approaching the court. He said, "I made so many complaints but no response at all. I finally had to approach the court on the matter, after which the court ordered Mumbai police to file an FIR and investigate," Darshan told Indian media.
Suneel is known for films such as ‘Inteqam’ and ‘Andaaz’. He has claimed that though he had not uploaded the movie anywhere, nor sold it to anyone, several channels on YouTube are profiteering off it and Google has refused to take the movie off those channels.
“My faith and belief in the advancement of technology are implicit, but the infringement of my rights is a cause of grave concern.M y entire copyrighted movie, apart from its songs and sequences from it, have been uploaded and monetised, and I have helplessly watched such illegal acts,” said Darshan.
