Zee alleges JioStar violated Delhi High Court order on expired music rights

Mumbai: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. has alleged before the Delhi High Court that JioStar India Pvt. Ltd. continues to use its music despite an earlier court order directing it to stop using the copyrighted works.

The allegation was made on Friday during the hearing of a copyright dispute between the two companies. Zee told the court that JioStar remains in violation of the Delhi High Court’s 5 May order, which had directed it to stop using Zee’s music.

The dispute has returned to the high court after being referred to mediation. The latest proceedings centre on whether JioStar complied with the court’s earlier directions and stopped using Zee’s music.

While referring the matter to mediation, the court had instructed JioStar to cease using, publishing, broadcasting, streaming, or uploading Zee’s copyrighted works. It also allowed Zee to notify JioStar of any infringing content identified on its platforms, upon which JioStar was required to remove it.

The arguments

Counsel for Zee informed the court that JioStar’s licence to use its sound recordings had lapsed on 31 October 2025. Zee alleged that despite the expiry, its copyrighted music continued to be broadcast across JioStar’s television channels and streaming platforms.

Zee argued that because JioStar retains full operational control over the content broadcast on its television and streaming platforms, it cannot shift the burden onto Zee to first detect copyright violations before taking down infringing material. “This defence of me notifying them and then taking it down in case of an infringement is available only to an intermediary,” Zee’s counsel told the court.

Zee also informed the court about JioStar’s own communication from November 2025, in which the company had asked for a month to remove Zee’s content. According to Zee, that deadline passed without all of the music being removed, forcing it to eventually approach the court.

Meanwhile, counsel for JioStar told the court that the company had already removed a large portion of Zee’s music following the licence expiry. JioStar explained that certain legacy programs still feature Zee’s tracks as background score, and that it has deployed automated systems and algorithms to scrub the music, though a few isolated instances might still remain. “I have run algorithm after algorithm to find whatever I could and remove every bit,” JioStar’s counsel said.

JioStar also said it was willing to sit down with Zee and remove the remaining instances. “I am willing to sit with them for the next two weeks and remove everything that they tell me,” the counsel said.

After hearing both sides, Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani sought to narrow the dispute by directing Zee to supply JioStar with specific instances of content allegedly violating its copyright. The court refrained from issuing an immediate finding of non-compliance regarding the 5 May order, instead instructing JioStar to file a formal response to Zee’s contempt application.

A spokesperson for Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. declined to comment, noting that the matter remains sub judice. Queries emailed JioStar remained unanswered at the time of publishing.

Media giants clash

JioStar, formed following the $8.5 billion merger of Reliance Industries and Walt Disney’s Indian media assets in November 2025, owns a content library comprising thousands of shows along with broadcast rights for major sporting events across its television channels and digital platform, which serves roughly 500 million monthly active users. Zee, among India’s oldest media conglomerates, operates multiple television networks alongside its own streaming service and controls a music catalog exceeding 19,450 songs across 17 languages.

The lawsuit forms part of a wider effort by Zee to enforce its music copyrights. The company has also initiated legal action against fashion and beauty retailer Nykaa for allegedly featuring copyrighted tracks in promotional Instagram reels. Zee contended that while its licensing agreement with Meta Platforms permits non-commercial music usage on Instagram, Nykaa deployed the tracks for commercial brand promotion.