Court Rules Against Producer in 'Lootere' Title Dispute... published at LexSonic.

Court Rules Against Producer in 'Lootere' Title Dispute.

18 August 2025 Interim Application >> Civil & Consumer Law

The Bombay High Court, in a judgment delivered on August 18, 2025, by Justice Sandeep V. Marne, dismissed a plea for an interim injunction filed by film producer Sunil, who sought to prevent Star India Pvt. Ltd. from using the title 'LOOTERE' for its web series. The court's decision hinged on the principle that there is no copyright in a mere title.

The case, officially titled Sunil v/s Star India Pvt. Ltd. & Others, stemmed from a suit filed by Sunil, the proprietor of Shree Krishna International, a film production business. Sunil had produced a Hindi feature film named 'Lootere' in 1993, starring Sunny Deol and Juhi Chawla, and claimed ownership of the title. He alleged that Star India, the producer of the web series, was unlawfully exploiting his rights in the title. He also claimed to have registered the title with film producers' associations for various formats, including feature films, TV serials, and web series.

Intellectual Property Rights-Intellectual Property Rights

Sunil's legal counsel, Ashok M. Saraogi, argued that the registration of the title with the associations was intended to protect a person's rights from unauthorized exploitation. The counsel also pointed to the fact that the defendant had sought a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from another producer, Bonney Kapoor, to use the title, which, according to the plaintiff, proved that rights in a title were relevant.

In response, Ashish Kamat, the senior advocate for Star India, countered that there can be no copyright in a mere title of a film. He cited the Supreme Court judgment in Krishika Lulla and Others Versus. Shyam Vithalrao Devkatta and Another, which held that a title is not considered a "work" under the Copyright Act, 1957, and thus cannot be subject to copyright. He also argued that registration with a film producers' association does not create any statutory rights.

The High Court agreed with the defendant's position, stating that the position in law is "fairly well settled" that no copyright subsists in a mere title. Justice Marne noted that the plaintiff's claim of copyright in the cinematograph film itself was irrelevant, as the defendant was not streaming the plaintiff's film. The court also found no similarity between the story of the plaintiff's 1993 film, which was a love story, and the defendant's web series, which explores piracy on the Somalian seas.

Furthermore, the court ruled that the registration of the title with the producers' associations was a "purely a private arrangement" that had no legal sanctity in law. It held that such a registration does not create any statutory rights for the plaintiff to restrain others from using the title.

The court also took into consideration the plaintiff's delay in filing the suit. The plaintiff had become aware of the web series' trailer in September 2022 but did not file the suit until March 2024, by which time the web series had already been released and was streaming on the Disney Hotstar platform. The court stated that the plaintiff's prayer for an injunction had become "infructuous" and that the balance of convenience was tilted against granting the relief. The court noted that the plaintiff could still seek damages, although no such claim had been made in the suit.

The court concluded that the plaintiff failed to establish a prima facie case for the injunction, and the application was therefore dismissed.