Cine1 studio seeks stay of OTT release of 'Animal', files lawsuit against T-Series in High Court
OTT release of 'Animal': Cine1 Studios Private Limited, one of the co-producers of the film 'Animal', filed a suit in Delhi High Court against Super Cassettes Industries Private Limited (T-Series) seeking a restraining order to prevent the film from being released on any Over-the-Top (OTT) platform, digital streaming platform or satellite broadcast.
CINE1 Studios Private Limited (Plaintiff) claims that Super Cassettes Industries Pvt Ltd signed an acquisition agreement on September 11, 2019, a letter on October 13, 2021, and an amendment agreement to the acquisition agreement on August 2, 2022.
The plaintiff agreed to assign to Defendant No. 1 the right of first refusal and last matching to produce the second Hindi film directed by Vanga Sandeep Reddy. The parties agreed that each would own 35% of the 'Derivative Rights' and 'Intellectual Property Rights' to the cinematograph film to be produced.
It was also agreed that the plaintiff would receive 35% of the profit share. As stated in the suit, the agreement and amendment agreement established a number of additional rights and obligations in favour of the parties thereto.
The plaintiff Cine1 studio claimed that the Super Cassettes consistently violated their contractual rights.
According to the suit, "Super Cassettes has not only released the film without the approval, consent or consultation of the plaintiff, but it has also incurred expenses for making, promoting, and releasing the film without the plaintiff's approval or consent and received revenues from box office sales but failed to disclose or disburse any sums to the plaintiff."
Furthermore, the defendant failed to disclose the film's final production cost, according to the lawsuit.
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The suit alleges that in addition to financial breaches, the defendant failed to obtain consent from the plaintiff before releasing promotional materials for the film, including the pre-teaser and trailer.
"It also failed to ensure that the contractually agreed credits (including logos) are duly accorded and are of equal prominence in all modes of promotion as well as the film, failed to get the censor certificate issued in the joint name of the plaintiff and defendant, and failed to consult or obtain consent in regards to the marketing and publicity plan."
Senior Advocate Amit Sibal, who represented T-Series, said an amendment to the original contract was made on August 2, 2022, in which Cine1 allegedly gave up all intellectual property and derivative rights in the film for Rs 2.6 crores.
After taking note of the submissions, Justice Sanjeev Narula's bench set the matter for a further hearing on Thursday and granted the plaintiff's counsel time to obtain instructions regarding the amendment agreement.
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