The Delhi High Court has directed internet giant
Google LLC to block or take down from YouTube certain "defamatory"
videos, which targeted major brands including 'Catch' by alleging that Indian
spices contain urine and cow dung, in case they resurface.
The high court said it was convinced that creation
and uploading of such videos by defendants is a "deliberate attempt to
defame and disparage" the plaintiff's goods bearing the 'Catch' mark.
"A perusal of the comments to said YouTube
videos show that members of the public are being influenced and led into
believing such false statements, causing grave prejudice to Plaintiff
(Dharampal Satyapal Sons Pvt Ltd). Considering the easy and unrestricted
access, there is a high probability that the defamatory videos could be shared/
seen by a large number of unsuspecting members of the public," Justice
Sanjeev Narula said.
The two defendants who had allegedly uploaded the
videos were proceeded ex parte by the court since they did not join the
hearings.
The court was informed by the counsel for Google
that following its earlier directions, action was taken and the three videos
were no longer available for viewing.
The high court said the two defendant channels TYR
and Views NNews -- maliciously uploaded the videos containing derogatory and
untrue remarks against Indian spices, particularly those sold under plaintiff's
'Catch' brand.
"Their malafide is further manifested by their
inaction in removing the infringing content from YouTube after the plaintiff
had raised a complaint, which was duly acknowledged by defendant no. 2,"
it said.
The high court's order came on a suit by the
plaintiff seeking permanent injunction restraining defamation and disparagement
of its products manufactured and sold under their registered trademark 'CATCH.'
The company said it has a large number of customers and its spices have
exquisite flavours and aromas and maintains the highest standards of quality
and hygiene and conduct routine quality checks of its products.
It approached the court after coming to know about
the videos claiming that all Indian spices contain cow urine and cow dung and
they targeted major brands trading in spices, including its brand.
The plaintiff said the videos were shown with a
voiceover running defamatory and disparaging statements about its products.
The high court decreed the suit in favour of the
plaintiff and against the two defendant channels and said the videos contain
defamatory remarks against the plaintiff's products without any basis.
"Plaintiff has placed on record a list of
ingredients contained in their products/ spices advertised in the impugned
videos. They have obtained certifications from all concerned regulatory bodies
and have even presented reports of an independent food analysis from a
certified laboratory, which do not indicate presence of cow dung, cow urine or
any other contaminants, as alleged in the impugned videos," it said.
It added that there is no authoritative material or
underlying reason or assumption for the two defendants to make false claims and
disseminate fallacious information under the garb of revealing the 'truth/
facts about Indian spices.'
"It is directed that in the event the impugned videos 1, 2 and 3 resurface
on defendant no. 1's YouTube platform, the plaintiff shall be at liberty to
supply the concerned URLs to defendant No. 1 (Google LLC), who shall take
appropriate action to block/ take down the same, in accordance with law.
"However, in case defendant No. 1 comes to the
conclusion that the content is not identical to the impugned videos which have
been injuncted, they shall inform the plaintiff of the same, within a period of
one week from the date of receipt of the request, whereafter plaintiff shall be
free to take recourse to appropriate measures available under law," the
court said.