HC imposed ban on using the content of ‘Tarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma’

Mumbai. The Delhi High Court (HC) has banned the unauthorized use of the name, characters and content of the popular television serial Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah. The producers of this serial have alleged that many entities are using its name, pictures of characters etc. for commercial gain by operating websites, selling goods and even broadcasting pornographic videos on YouTube.

Let us tell you that about four thousand episodes of this serial, which has been airing for more than 16 years, have been released. Justice Mini Pushkarna passed an interim order stating if a unilateral interim stay is not imposed, the plaintiff will suffer irreparable damage. Plaintiff Neela Film Productions Pvt Ltd said that it has statutory rights over the registered trademark related to the serial and its characters.

Its trademarks include Tarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, Ooltah Chashmah, Tarak Mehta, Jethalal, Gokuldham etc. The court was told that the plaintiff has the copyright of various characters and animations of this serial, but despite this some organizations are selling products illegally through websites and e-commerce platforms. The plaintiff said that the products being sold illegally include T-shirts, posters and stickers with pictures and dialogues of the characters of this serial.

The court said in its order issued on August 14 that YouTube videos containing characters or content of the serial, including pornographic content, need to be removed. The High Court said that if the objectionable videos are not removed within 48 hours, the Ministry of Information Technology and the Department of Telecommunications will ask the concerned Internet service providers to remove all links or videos. The producer of the serial, Asit Kumar Modi, welcomed the decision of the High Court. He said that it is disappointing to see our hard work being misused. We are grateful to the Delhi High Court for recognizing the importance of protecting our intellectual property.