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The two defendants who allegedly downloaded the videos were unilaterally pursued by the court because they did not join the hearings (File Photo. Reuters)
The court was informed by Google’s lawyers that its earlier directives had been followed, action was taken and the three videos are no longer available for viewing
The Delhi High Court has directed internet giant Google LLC to block or remove from YouTube certain “defamatory” videos, which have targeted major brands including “Catch” by claiming that Indian spices contained cow urine and dung, should they surface again.
The Supreme Court said it was satisfied that the creation and uploading of such videos by the defendants was a “deliberate attempt to defame and disparage” the plaintiff’s “Catch” goods.
“A perusal of the comments on the said YouTube videos shows that members of the public are being influenced and led to believe such false statements, thereby causing serious harm to the Claimant (Dharampal Satyapal Sons Pvt Ltd). restricted, there is a high probability that the defamatory videos will be shared/viewed by a large number of unsuspecting members of the public.”
The two defendants who allegedly uploaded the videos were unilaterally pursued by the court as they did not join the hearings.
The court was informed by Google’s lawyers that action had been taken following its earlier instructions and the three videos were no longer available for viewing.
The Supreme Court said the two defendants’ channels – TYR and Views NNews – maliciously uploaded videos containing derogatory and untrue remarks against Indian spices, particularly those sold under the plaintiff’s “Catch” brand.
“Their misconduct is also evident in their failure to remove the infringing content from YouTube after the plaintiff filed a complaint, which defendant duly acknowledged No. 2,” he said.
The Supreme Court’s order came in a lawsuit filed by the plaintiff seeking a permanent injunction preventing defamation and disparagement of its products manufactured and sold under its registered trademark “CATCH”. The company said that it has a large number of customers, that its spices have great flavors and aromas, that it maintains the highest standards of quality and hygiene, and that it performs routine checks on the quality of its products.
She went to court after he became aware of the videos claiming that all Indian spices contain cow urine and cow dung and targeted major brands that trade in spices, including her own brand.
The plaintiff said the videos were shown with an audio commentary that included defamatory and derogatory statements about its products.
The Supreme Court ruled the case in favor of the plaintiff and against the two defendants and said that the videos contained defamatory remarks against the plaintiff’s products without any basis.
The plaintiff listed the ingredients contained in their products/spices advertised in the sanctioned videos. They obtained certifications from all relevant regulatory bodies and even submitted independent food analysis reports from an accredited laboratory, which did not indicate the presence of cow dung or cow urine or other contaminants, as alleged in the impugned videos.” .
It added that there is no reliable material, reason or underlying assumption for the accused to make false claims and spread false information under the guise of revealing the “truth/facts about Indian spices”. It is directed that if Videos 1, 2, and 3 appear on Defendant No. 1’s YouTube platform, Plaintiff is entitled to provide the respective URLs to Defendant No. 1 (Google LLC), which will take appropriate action to block/remove it, pursuant to to the law.
However, in the event that Defendant #1 reaches a conclusion that the content is not identical to the contested videos for which an order has been made, it shall notify the plaintiff thereof, within one week of the date of receipt of a request, whereupon the plaintiff shall then be entitled to recourse to the appropriate procedures available under the law.”
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is republished from a syndicated news agency feed.)
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