Delhi High Court objects to YouTuber skipping hearing in copyright case for 'stealing' teacher's notes

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday took exception to a YouTuber's failure to appear before it in connection with a copyright case filed against him on allegations that he stole his former teacher's notes and used them without credit in online coaching classes [Shri Prem Prakash Dhawan V/S Mr. Aman Dhattarwal & Ors.]..By an order passed on May 8, both the teacher who filed the case as well as the YouTuber, Aman Dhattarwal, had been directed to appear before the High Court on May 14.However, Dhattarwal failed to be personally present in Court yesterday. Dhattarwal's lawyer submitted that the YouTuber had certain professional commitments, due to which he could not attend court. The Court was not impressed. “He is playing games with the court. Your client has taken the court for a ride. Why has he not come to court?” Justice Amit Bansal remarked..The Court further noted that Dhattarwal had refused to settle the matter or apologise. It proceeded to direct the YouTuber again to be present for the next hearing of the matter. “Despite the last order directing the defendant to be present, he is not present in court without giving any explanation. Court takes a serious view of the matter. It is directed that the Defendant shall be physically present in court. The Court records that defendant is not willing to give an apology,” the Court said. .The case before the Court was filed by Prem Prakash Dhawan, a school teacher who teaches Chemistry. He claimed that he has been making notes for the benefit of his students since 1994. He added that he also started digitizing these notes so that his students can access them better. However, in 2020, he allegedly found that an ex-student, Aman Dhattarwal, had placed these notes on various platforms, including the website apnishikhsa.com, under his (Dhattarwal's) name. Dhawan claimed that Dhattarwal was using these notes without permission and without giving Dhawan due credit for monetary gain. Dhattarwal is engaged in the coaching business for competitive exams and has over 4 million followers on YouTube..By an interim order passed in 2020, the Court directed Dhattarwal and Google to take down the allegedly stolen notes. The Court found that there was a prima facie case made out in Dhawan's favour. More recently, the Court issued notice on an application filed by Dhawan seeking the recovery and preservation of financial and revenue data related to 356 videos or weblinks with content (notes) that allegedly violated Dhawan's copyright. Later, on May 8, the Court added,“In order to bring a closure to the matter, it is deemed appropriate if the plaintiff and the defendant no.1 are present in Court on the next date of hearing."However, since Dhattarwal failed to appear, the Court yesterday adjourned the hearing till May 16, Friday. .Advocates Prabhas Bajaj, Krishnagopal Abhay and Pari Bhardwaj, with the plaintiff in-person appeared.Advocates Mayank Wadhwa, Muskan Gupta appeared for DhattarwalAdvocates Mamta Jha, Shruttima Ehensa and Rohan Ahuja appeared for Google.