The Delhi High Court has issued a restraining order against several entities that have been reproducing and disseminating content belonging to the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, which was established by ISKCON founder Srila Prabhupada. The court stated that while there can be no copyright on religious scriptures, adaptations of these scriptures that are considered “transformative works” are entitled to protection from piracy. Examples of such transformative works include Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana and BR Chopra’s Mahabharat.
Justice Prathiba M Singh, who presided over the Trust’s lawsuit, emphasized that copyright protection should be given to original parts of works that preach, teach, or explain the scripture. The court’s ex-parte interim order prohibits the printing, reproducing, communicating, or disseminating of any part of the plaintiff’s works in print form, audio-visual form, or electronic form, including through websites, mobile applications, or social media. Additionally, the court directed Google and Meta to take down any infringing works from their platforms and ordered the suspension and blocking of offending links by the authorities.
The plaintiff, the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, claimed copyright on all works of spiritual teacher Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who simplified religious books and scriptures to make them more accessible to the general public. The defendants were accused of making these works available on their online platforms, mobile apps, and Instagram handles without the necessary licenses or reproduction rights.
While the court acknowledged that the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita and other related scriptures are public domain works, it stated that any adaptations of these works, including explanations, summaries, interpretations, or audio-visual creations, would be entitled to copyright protection as they are considered original works of their respective authors. The court clarified that while the reproduction of the text itself may not be objectionable, the interpretation and presentation of the scriptures by different gurus and spiritual teachers would be subject to copyright protection.
The court highlighted that Prabhupada himself established the plaintiff Trust and transferred the copyrights to be administered by the trust. Therefore, the defendant’s complete reproduction of the plaintiff’s content without authorization, license, or permission constitutes copyright infringement. The court noted that this type of piracy significantly impacts the plaintiff’s revenue from the copyrighted work and stated that it cannot be allowed unchecked. The court concluded that the plaintiff has made a prima facie case for the grant of an ex-parte ad interim injunction.
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