Delhi High Court blocks rogue sites from streaming India–England series

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Delhi High Court blocks rogue sites from streaming India–England series

Grants ‘dynamic+’ injunction to protect JioStar’s exclusive digital rights for ITE 2025

Delhi High Court

MUMBAI: In a significant win for content rights holders, the Delhi high court has restrained multiple rogue websites from illegally streaming the India tour of England 2025 (ITE 2025), following a copyright infringement plea filed by JioStar India Pvt Ltd (formerly Star India Pvt Ltd).

Justice Saurabh Banerjee granted a ‘dynamic+’ injunction, enabling real-time blocking of infringing websites during live match broadcasts.

The five-Test series between India and England is scheduled from June to August 2025 and JioStar holds exclusive digital media rights for ITE 2025 under a licensing agreement with Culver Max Entertainment Pvt Ltd (Sony).

JioStar alleged various third party websites of streaming IPL 2025 illegally and were likely to do so again during the England tour.

As per the court’s orders:

. Immediate suspension of the four listed rogue domains by their respective registrars, including Namecheap Inc., Sav.com LLC, and Tucows Domains Inc.

Direction to internet service providers — including Airtel, Jio, and Vodafone Idea — to block access to these websites within 72 hours.

Permission for JioStar to notify additional infringing websites on affidavit during the series, without the need for separate court orders.

Coordination mandated between the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to ensure ISP compliance.

Inclusion of unnamed infringers as John Doe defendants to allow future enforcement.

This comes after the court addressed the growing challenge posed by “hydra-headed” piracy websites, which routinely mask ownership and replicate via mirror domains.

“The rights of an intellectual property holder cannot be rendered otiose in this world of rapidly developing technology,” the order observed.

The judgement referenced recent rulings such as Universal City Studios v. Dotmovies.baby and Applause Entertainment v. Meta Platforms, reflecting evolving judicial strategies to curb digital piracy. The matter is scheduled for the next hearing on 13 October 2025. In the interim, JioStar has been directed to file regular affidavits identifying any new infringing domains during the India–England series.