Delhi High Court Summons PTI Over ANI's Copyright Infringement Allegations

The Delhi High Court has summoned the Press Trust of India (PTI) in response to allegations of plagiarism and copyright infringement made by Asian News International (ANI). This significant development follows ANI's claims that PTI duplicated their footage of passengers aboard a SpiceJet flight from Delhi to Darbhanga, Maharashtra, who suffered without air conditioning for nearly an hour on June 19, during a scorching hot day.

ANI alleges that its video team was responsible for shooting the original footage in long and short formats, subsequently broadcasting it on their social media account, X. However, PTI is accused of releasing the same videos without proper authorization, significantly impacting ANI's rights and reputation.

In their petition, ANI seeks a permanent injunction to prevent PTI from publishing any further original works from ANI. They are also demanding damages of over Rs 2 crores, highlighting the severity of the dispute.

Justice Mini Pushkarna, presiding over the case, has instructed PTI to file a response and scheduled the next hearing for August 9.

PTI's Response and Legal Proceedings

During the hearing, PTI's senior counsel, Rajshekhar Rao, assured the court that the news organization would remove the contested videos within a day. However, ANI's legal team, including Senior Advocate Chander M. Lall and Advocate Sidhant Kumar, called for additional measures. They demanded an apology and a public clarification from PTI to media outlets that had credited PTI for the report.

"They have to remove it and accept that it is my creation. They have to say sorry. They must send letters to every publication carrying the PTI feed report," emphasized Lall. "PTI has been stealing my feeds."

Rao countered by arguing that the disputed footage contained third-party content and contended that an apology was unnecessary. "No apology is required. There is still more to be discussed here. We had stated that the video is third-party content," he argued during the hearing.

The legal ramifications and potential resolution of this PTI v. ANI case will likely become clearer at the next hearing scheduled for August 9.