Google CEO, others face FIR in Mumbai over ‘unauthorised’ uploading of film on YouTube

Mumbai, January 26

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A First Information Report (FIR) was registered here against Google, its CEO Sundar Pichai and seven others over a complaint filed by a film producer under the copyright act, Mumbai police said on Wednesday.

The search engine giant said in its reaction that it has a set mechanism which copyright owners can use to protect their content on platforms such as YouTube.

As per a police official, the case was registered at the MIDC Police Station in suburban Andheri on the orders of a magistrate’s court on Tuesday evening.

Film director and producer Suneel Darshan had approached the court seeking registration of a case against Google and its top officials over alleged copyright infringement, he said.

Darshan alleged that somebody uploaded the film “Ek Hasina Thi Ek Diwana Tha” on YouTube without its producers’ permission, said the police official.

The persons named in the complaint included Google LLC, YouTube LLC, Google India ltd, Pichai and others.

The offence was registered under sections 51, 63 and 69 of the Copyright Act, 1957 which relate to infringement of copyright.

When contacted for reaction, a Google spokesperson in India said the company relies on copyright owners to notify it of unauthorised 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.