Delhi High Court says YouTuber Mohak Mangal must take down video targeting ANI

The Delhi High Court on Thursday observed that YouTuber Mohak Mangal's video against Asian News International (ANI) contains defamatory language and must be taken down. .ANI filed a defamation suit against Mangal after he posted a video stating that news agency's copyright strikes on YouTube and demands for licensing fees to use their videos, constitute extortion.Comedian Kunal Kamra and AltNews co-founder Mohammed Zubair have also been sued by the news agency for amplifying Mangal's "narrative".Justice Amit Bansal said Mangal should have put out his message in a more civilized manner and asked his counsel to seek instructions on taking down the video."Takedown. Whoever is using this kind of language, take instructions," the single-judge remarked.The case will be taken up for hearing again today..Senior Advocate Amit Sibal with advocate Sidhant Kumar appeared for ANI. Sibal argued that there has been unlawful publication of ANI's copyrighted content on YouTube. He also informed the Court about the system of copyright strikes on YouTube. "I offered a license. They could have rejected my offer but put to pressure on me, defamatory material is put by them. This is in retaliation to my offer," Sibal said."He starts a media campaign against me that has spiraled into a concerted campaign which is nothing short of vilifying and per se defamatory. They are calling me [ANI] thugs, extortionist, gunda, other expletives," he added..Sibal further said that Mangal was earning money not just by using ANI videos but also by posting the defamatory posts."He has 4.2M subscribers, he is using my content to earn money, they attract eyeballs. He puts my registered trademark. I have placed transcription of a fake conversation with me, he states in minute letters that it is a recreation," the senior counsel said..Sibal also read posts by Kamra and Zubair and alleged that there appeared to be a "concerted effort" against ANI."This is triggering all this. This is their modus operandi to put pressure on me," Sibal said.The Court was also informed that there have been calls to boycott ANI. "Live posts on YouTube calling for boycotting ANI, expletives are being used against me," Sibal said..Senior Advocate Chander Lall with advocate Nakul Gandhi, appearing for Mangal, submitted that ANI was not following the due process of law. "If they have a grievance against me, they can't call me and extort money from me that I will block your channel if you don't pay," Lall arguedHowever, the Court said his grievance may be right but how he would justify the utterances made in the video against ANI."You want to use videos without taking license. You use, why would you come out with these kind of statements? How do you justify that?," Justice Bansal said..Lall said ANI has to make out a case of infringement first. However, the Court asked him to limit the arguments on disparagement. "The videos on the face of it are disparagement," Justice Bansal remarked, adding Mangal should have put the videos in a civilized manner.After watching the video, the Court asked Lall to seek instructions on removing the defamatory portions of the video."They have no right to license and they are extorting ₹40 lakh from me. I must have a remedy which is going to press," Lall said in response..In the video published on May 25, Mangal accused ANI of extortion and blackmail after it initiated copyright strikes on YouTube against him for using the news agency's short clips in his videos. Mangal claimed that an ANI representative reached out to him and asked him to pay over ₹40 lakh to clear the copyright strikes against his channel.However, ANI has alleged that the video was an attempt to discredit and insult ANI and its services that are provided under its registered trademarks. The plea states that Mangal openly admitted to using the ANI’s original copyrighted videos to earn revenue. Despite this, he published a video filled with defamatory and damaging statements, it claimed..ANI has further alleged that the video deliberately spreads falsehoods to harm its reputation, discourages use of its services and misuses its registered trademarks with defamatory commentary.On Kamra, Zubair and others who have shared Mangal's video on their social media accounts, the suit states,"In addition to widely sharing the Impugned Video, these Defendants have independently published further false, baseless, and malicious statements targeting the Plaintiff and its founders. These statements are devoid of any factual or legal foundation and are clearly intended to malign the Plaintiff's reputation and lower its estimation in the eyes of the public.".ANI has sought ₹2.10 crores as damages and the following reliefs:- A permanent and mandatory injunction against Mangal, including directions to take down the video, stop using its trademarks and refrain from publishing or circulating any further false, misleading or defamatory content against ANI and its trademarks.- Similar restraining orders against Kamra, Zubair, and others, preventing them from making or sharing defamatory and false statements about ANI..Senior Advocate Chander Lall along with advocates Nakul Gandhi, Mujeeb and Tanish Gupta appeared for Mangal.