Brief Note on John Doe Order

What Is John Doe Order?

John Doe order is a blanket Order and a pre-infringement injunction remedy provided to safeguard the intellectual property rights of the creator of artistic works like movies, songs, etc. The term “John Doe” is used to identify unknown/nameless defendants/ infringers, who have allegedly committed some wrong, but whose identity is unknown to the plaintiff.

To avoid delay and render justice, the court names the defendant as “John Doe”, until such time the defendant is identified. The orders passed by Court in such cases are thus popularly known as “John Doe orders”. In India the Civil Procedure Code still governs the regulations pertaining to such aspects as John Doe Order is granted under Order 39 rule 1 and 2 of the Code, which refers to court’s power to grant a Temporary Injunction read with Section 151 of CPC and Part III Chapter VII of the Specific Relief Act 1963 pertaining to permanent injunction. For instance, where an order is passed to seize counterfeit goods in possession of an unknown person for infringement of trademark and copyright of the plaintiff is one such example of John Doe order.

Benefits Of John Doe Order

John Doe order helps filmmakers/producers and creators of intellectual property to fight against digital piracy and copyright infringement. The remedy of John Doe order has been invoked several times by the filmmakers to prevent the movies from being illegally downloaded from the internet. For the first time, in UTV Software Communication Limited v Home Cable Network Ltd , the Delhi High Court issued the John Doe order against the cable operator who illegally telecasted pirated version of films ‘7 Khoon Maaf’ and ‘Thank You’. After this instance, John Doe order has become a tool often used in the Media industry and seems to offer an effective way to curb piracy.

Who Can File John Doe Order

It is a remedy permitting the Plaintiff to search and seize the premises of the infringer with the intention of preserving the evidence that may be destroyed by the unidentified Defendant. The name “John Doe” is used to identify unknown/nameless defendants/infringers, who have allegedly committed some wrong, but whose identity is unknown to the plaintiff. To avoid delay and render justice to the plaintiff, the court names the defendant as “John Doe”, until such time the defendant is identified.

The orders passed by court in such cases are thus popularly known as “John Doe orders‟. Once the defendant(s) are identified, “John Doe” is replaced with the name of the concerned defendant, who defends the matter as in any other intellectual property infringement case. However, it has been a common practice in the Indian legal system, wherein such orders have been passed in the past, in criminal proceedings for protection against infringement requesting initiation of search and seizure proceedings against known and unknown persons.

Conditions For Obtaining John Doe Order In India

The courts in India have laid down various restrictions and conditions which the plaintiff needs to comply with before obtaining a John Doe Order.

Firstly, the Plaintiff has to satisfy the Court that his/her right has been infringed, with instances of the previous breach and sporadic infringement by known and unknown persons. Secondly, the plaintiff has to establish a prima facie case before any pre-emptive relief can be granted. Thirdly, the plaintiff has to establish that, in the absence of the requested John Doe order, defendant’s actions will potentially result in some financial or irreparable damages.

In UTV Software Communications Limited v. Home Cable Network Ltd. and ors.  while granting a John Doe order against the cable operators, who illegally telecast pirated version of the films, the Court relied on the fact that a single telecast by the defendant would simultaneously reach several hundred thousand homes resulting in loss which are irreparable and cannot be computed in terms of money.

Once these conditions are satisfied, several Courts in India have proceeded to issue John Doe orders against cable operators, internet service providers etc. In the case of Satellite Singapore PTE Ltd. v. Star Cable Network & Ors, the Delhi High Court in order to check piracy and unauthorised transmission passed orders prohibiting the respondents from broadcasting/using unauthorized signals of the appellant for downloading/ telecasting purposes during the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament.

The Bombay High Court issued guidelines not just for the executive authorities but also for the jury and the plaintiff, to deal with the unknown defendants, especially ISPs and unidentified bloggers who violate the piracy laws. The guidelines are as follows:

The copyright holder has to verify and authenticate the alleged illicit links prior to submitting a request to block them.

The Courts while issuing a John Doe order are advised to review the list and verify the authenticity or delegate a neutral third party to do so.

The ISPs are instructed to display a message on the blocked webpage that includes the particulars of the case and the reasons for blocking.

Websites would be blocked for only 21 days, and for extension of the ban, the plaintiff would be required to approach the court.

Why A John Doe Order Is Necessary In An Ott Platform

The current situation of COVID-19 pandemic has raised two-fold concerns, Firstly the movie industry is forced to enter into new markets and use new platforms to release movies such as Netflix, Amazon, Hotstar etc. Secondly, the OTTs are also producing their own original content/cinematographic work which needs to be protected from piracy and copyright infringement.

The protection is necessarily required to restrain the defendants from hosting, communicating, and making available, etc. the original content of the plaintiffs on their website. Internet Service Providers (hereinafter referred to as “ISPs”) need to block access to the websites of the defendants. It is vital to identify the defendant-websites to disclose the contact details and other relevant details of the registrants.

Recently in the case of UTV Software Communication Ltd. and Ors. vs. 1337X to and Ors. , Delhi High Court passed a decree of permanent injunction restraining the defendant-websites and their owners, partners, proprietors, officers, servants, employees, and all others in capacity of principal or agent acting for and on their behalf, or anyone claiming through, by or under it, from, in any manner hosting, streaming, reproducing, distributing, making available to the public and/or communicating to the public, or facilitating the same, on their websites, through the internet in any manner whatsoever, any cinematograph work / content / programme / show in relation to which plaintiffs have copyright. The court further directed the ISPs to block access to the defendant websites.

In the case of Singham movie case, though no actual infringement had taken place, apprehending copies of movie being made and sold/distributed in the form of DVDs/CDs in the market and/or shown on TV by cable operators, interim applications were filed for injunction to prevent piracy and loss of revenue to the plaintiff. In this case, the Delhi High Court on plaintiff establishing three basic ingredients of prima facie case, imminent danger, and balance of convenience passed John Doe order restraining all defendants and other unknown persons constituting part of the same class from distributing, displaying, duplicating, uploading, downloading or exhibiting the movie in any manner. Eventually, several Indian ISP’ s was contacted to block access to several file sharing websites. Thus, John Doe orders are becoming quite common in the film industry and seem to be an effective way to curb piracy.

This article has been contributed by Mr. Kartik Sandal from Statesman Law Partners. The views are personal, if any.