On 4th April 2011, the Delhi High Court (Justice Gita Mittal) restrained cable operators nationwide from distributing, telecasting and broadcasting the movie ‘Thank you’ and/or otherwise infringing the copyright. The Case Suit No.821/2011 was filed by UTV Software Communications Limited. The order restricts 1,600 known cable operators and unknown persons also from telecasting the film. The SHO/superintendent of concerned police stations have also been directed to render assistance to UTV for the purpose of enforcement of the order.
It is to be noted that Piracy has been plaguing the entertainment industry for decades and is one of the biggest impediments to the growth of the business. 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. This decision by the Delhi High Court is a milestone judgment in tackling piracy and is expected to be a huge deterrent to cable piracy. 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 film, directed by Anees Bazmee, has been produced by UTV Motion Pictures and Hari Om Productions. Releasing Friday 8th April 2011, "Thank You" stars Akshay Kumar, Bobby Deol, Suniel Shetty, Irrfan Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Celina Jaitly and Rimmi Sen.
In another case (Suit No. 850/2011) filed by Bollywood music composer Anandji Virji Shah, the Delhi High Court (Justice Sunil Gaur) on 6.4.2011 declined to grant a stay on the release of Akshay Kumar-starrer movie. But he sought a response from the film producer. In the civil suit, the music composer has said the re-mix version of the song 'Pyaar do pyaar lo' from the movie 'Jaanbaaz', released in early eighties, has been used in the Anees Bazmee-directed movie 'Thank You' without obtaining his permission.
