Delhi High Court: In this suit, the plaintiff represented the RCB team/franchise, who discovered that their team jersey was being used, rather derogatory, in the film ‘Jailer ', produced by Sun Pictures, Pratibha M. Singh, J., directed that with effect from September 2023, in the theatrical depiction of the film Jailer, the RCB team jersey shall stand edited/altered. Further, the defendants shall ensure that after 01-09-2023, none of the theatres would exhibit the RCB jersey in any form whatsoever and insofar as television, satellite or any OTT platform was concerned, prior to the release thereof, the altered version of the film shall be broadcasted/telecasted.
Background:
The plaintiff in the present suit was Royal Challengers Sports (P) Ltd., subsidiary of United Spirits Ltd. The plaintiff had applied and purchased rights for Bangalore franchise of Indian Premier League (‘IPL') from the BCCI. The name and logo ‘RC 
' and ‘Royal Challengers Bangalore (‘RCB')' along with the devices thereof were registered trade marks in various classes including 28, 41, 25, 16. The plaintiff submitted that RCB had attracted various corporates and brand sponsors over the years and the latest sponsor was the Muthoot Group which was the title sponsor for 2022. The 2022 jersey which reflected the branding of Muthoot group was depicted as 
.
The plaintiff found recently that the film ‘JAILER' featuring the well-known Tamil actor Rajnikanth had a scene in the said film wherein a contract killer was wearing the RCB jersey and was making derogatory and misogynistic statements about a lady in the said film. The plaintiff submitted that the RCB jersey was being used, firstly without the permission of the plaintiff and, that too in a negative depiction in the film. The plaintiff contended that this would likely dilute the RCB brand image, disparages the RCB brand, hurts the brand equity and the rights of the sponsors of RCB i.e., the Muthoot Group whose name was also reflected in the jersey. Further, it contended that this disparagement would result in tarnishing plaintiff's brand image apart from constituting violation of plaintiff's statutory and common law rights. The plaintiff therefore prayed for a permanent injunction against the defendants and for deletion of the said depiction of the RCB jersey in the film Jailer.
Analysis, Law, and Decision
The Court noted that the defendants had contacted the plaintiff and had resolved their disputes in respect of the depiction of the RCB jersey in the film. The terms which were agreed by the parties were:
-
The defendants would digitally alter the clippings of the movie that feature the RCB team jersey in a manner to ensure that the jersey was not identifiable as the RCB jersey, including deletion of primary colours of RCB jersey and also the branding of the sponsors, which appear on the RCB jersey.
-
The producers shall ensure that such alteration/editing was carried out prior to the release of the feature film on television, satellite or on any OTT platform.
-
In view of the fact that film had already been released in theatres, the parties agreed that the defendants should carry out this alteration in theatrical mode, within ten days, that is, by 01-09-2023.
The Court directed that all parties acting for or on their behalf of the defendants, including their distribution network, shall be bound by the above terms and conditions. With effect from September 2023, in the theatrical depiction of the film Jailer, the RCB team jersey shall stand edited/altered. The defendants shall ensure that after 01-09-2023, none of the theatres would exhibit the RCB jersey in any form whatsoever. Insofar as television, satellite or any OTT platform was concerned, prior to the release thereof, the altered version of the film shall be broadcasted/telecasted.
[Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited v. Sun Pictures, 2023 SCC OnLine Del 5263, decided on 22-08-2023]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
For the Plaintiff: Ms. Shwetasree Majumder, Ms. Priya Adlakha, Mr. Vardaan Anand, Advocates
For the Defendants: Mr. Deepak Biswas, Mr. Harsh Buch, Ms. Srishti Gupta, Advocates
