Mumbai Police books Google CEO, others for Copyright Act violation

The case has been registered following the complaint lodged by film director Suneel Darshan who has alleged that Google allowed unauthorized persons to upload his film 'Ek Haseena Thi Ek Deewana Tha' on YouTube.

Mumbai: The Mumbai Police has booked Google CEO Sundar Pichai and five other company officials for a Copyright Act violation in regards to a 2017 Bollywood film. The case was registered by Mumbai MIDC police in the Andheri area on Tuesday following a court order after filmmaker, director and producer Sunil Darshan filed the case in Mumbai's Andheri Magistrate's Court, as informed by the Mumbai police.

Darshan said that Google allowed unauthorized persons to upload his film 'Ek Haseena Thi Ek Deewana Tha' on YouTube and therefore sought action against the company for alleged violation of the Copyright Act. He also alleged that the platform made profits of crores of rupees while he consequently suffered the losses.

"We have not given the copyright of the movie 'Ek Haseena Thi Ek Deewana Tha' to anyone. Despite this, the songs and videos of the film have been uploaded by many on Google and YouTube. These companies did not restrict the uploading and made a profit of crores of rupees," he claimed.

On Tuesday, the MIDC police had filed an FIR in the matter and are now further investigating the case. As per the updates, the FIR is registered under the copyright act of 1957 under Sections 51, 63, and 69.

When contacted for reaction, a Google spokesperson in India said the company relies on copyright owners to notify it of unauthorized uploads and offers them "rights management tools, such as YouTube's Content ID system that gives rights holders an automated way to identify, block, promote, and even make money from uploads of their content."

"When a copyright holder notifies us of a video that infringes their copyright, we remove the content promptly in accordance with the law, and terminate the accounts of users with multiple copyright strikes," the spokesperson added.