Filmmaker Suneel Darshan has gone on to file an FIR against search engine Google, its boss, Sundar Pichai, and many other employees. He has alleged an infringement of copyright on YouTube of one of his films, Ek Haseena Thi, Ek Deewana Tha, which was released in 2017.
The filmmaker claims that he has neither uploaded the movie on any of the internet platforms nor sold its rights to anyone, yet several channels listed on YouTube are minting profits from it. In a statement given by the filmmaker, he says that he has tremendous faith in the advancement of technology, but that the infringement of his rights is a matter of grave concern to him.
He adds that his entire copyrighted movie has been uploaded on the internet and monetised and that he is just helplessly watching it. Darshan says that despite repeated requests made to Google on his behalf, which went unanswered, he has sought to take a legal route. He further said that he has the utmost respect for Google for the funds it brings to India, but their reluctance to work with experienced original content creators and get benefits from their knowledge is leading to a mutual loss. His next step regarding this issue will be based upon his lawyers advice.
