ANI sues Netflix for using its content in IC-814: The Kandahar hijacking
Indian news agency ANI has sued Netflix Inc. and producers of an Indian series about a plane hijacking, demanding that four episodes be removed because they used ANI content without permission, ANI’s lawyer told Reuters on Monday.
The series, called IC-814: The Kandahar Hijack – a fictionalised version of the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814 in Kathmandu – has been mired in controversy since its release last month.
Social media users and members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have criticised the show, saying it inaccurately portrayed the hijackers as Hindus with Hindu names, while they themselves were Muslim.
Netflix last week added new disclaimers to the six-episode show after its officials were summoned by India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It also said that code names used in the series matched those used during the actual event.
“They have used copyrighted archive material of ANI without license and they have also used the trademark (ANI),” said Sidhant Kumar, lawyer for ANI.
“Because the show is getting so much criticism, our trademark and brand name is being tarnished,” Kumar said. According to him, ANI wants Netflix to remove four episodes that used the show’s content.
The Delhi High Court had agreed to hear the case and sought a response from Netflix, he said.
Netflix did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters, which has a minority stake in ANI.
India blames Pakistan and Pakistan-based militant groups for the December 1999 hijacking, which was resolved after New Delhi released three Islamist militants, including Masood Azhar, the leader of one of the groups.
© Thomson Reuters 2024
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