Rogue websites capitalizing on the borderless nature of the Internet have met their match, as an Indian court has wielded a "dynamic+" injunction to defend the global streaming rights of British sports platform DAZN for the FIFA World Cup 2025 currently underway in the US. The court emphasized the urgency of the order, stating that without the injunction, DAZN would suffer "irreparable loss and injury" due to the rapid spread of illicit streams.
Rogue websites capitalizing on the borderless nature of the Internet have met their match, as an Indian court has wielded a "dynamic+" injunction to defend the global streaming rights of British sports platform DAZN for the FIFA World Cup 2025 currently underway in the US.
The court order, issued by the Delhi High Court on May 28, represents a significant multi-jurisdictional triumph over online piracy. It restrains identified rogue websites and any future infringing sites from "communicating, hosting, streaming and/or making available for viewing and downloading" DAZN's FIFA World Cup content without authorization on their websites or any other platforms.
The dynamic+ injunction also compels domain name registrars to "lock/suspend (on real time basis)" the infringing domain names and disclose complete details of the registrants and payment information.
In addition, the court has directed local Internet Service Providers to "block access (on real time basis)" to these various websites. The Department of Telecommunications and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology were impleaded to ensure comprehensive enforcement.
Delhi High Court Judge Saurabh Banerjee said in his 10-page ruling that the case "appears to be a classic case of copyright infringement by masked players... who use the veil of today’s technology to conveniently conceal their true identities and unabashedly abuse and enrich themselves by using the protected works of parties like the plaintiff herein through URL redirection/ masking, etc. Such entities are sprouting and have to be stopped at the earliest given opportunity."
"The Delhi High Court has always played the role of a swift, vigilant but fair referee in the ever-evolving game against digital piracy," IP lawyer Aman Sinha told MLex.
Just like the Video Assistant Referee who catches an offside before a goal can be counted, the court judgment "ensures that piracy is flagged and removed before it can score" illicit gains, Sinha said.
"In the digital match against piracy, dynamic+ injunctions are the new offside trap, anticipating the move before the infringers strike," he added.
A second IP lawyer agreed and pointed out the global reach of Indian courts. "The judgment — demonstrating a robust approach to intellectual property enforcement across international digital borders — proves that the Internet's borderless nature doesn't equate to lawlessness," he said.
DAZN, incorporated in England and Wales, alongside its Indian operations arm, DAZN Software, holds exclusive global media rights for the FIFA World Cup 2025, which is being hosted in the US from June 14 to July 13. These rights — encompassing television, digital and ancillary rights — grant DAZN the sole authority to broadcast, re-broadcast, retransmit and stream the event worldwide.
DAZN filed a lawsuit against "BUFFSPORTS" and a number of unnamed defendants, detailing how rogue websites were illegally broadcasting its streams for the World Cup. The suit followed DAZN's investigations of these sites circumventing its exclusive streaming mechanisms, effectively "financially enrich[ing] themselves" by providing pirated content. DAZN sought a permanent injunction, damages and a clear directive for immediate action.
Emphasizing the urgency in his ruling, Judge Banerjee said that if a dynamic+ injunction is not granted, DAZN "will likely suffer irreparable loss and injury." He also highlighted that "any delay in blocking these 'rogue websites' would, in fact, result in irreparable loss and injury to the plaintiffs and cause violation of the intellectual property rights of the plaintiffs."
The "dynamic+" nature of the injunction allows DAZN to inform relevant Domain Name Registrars and ISPs of any new mirror, redirect or alphanumeric variations of the infringing websites that emerge, thereby ensuring that these are promptly blocked on a real-time basis. This proactive measure is a crucial tool against the ever-evolving tactics of online pirates.
The case is set for its next hearing on Oct. 8, 2025, as the legal battle to secure digital content in a borderless world continues.
