Influencer Mohak Mangal agrees to remove ‘objectionable’ parts from YouTube video on ANI

Mangal claimed that ANI raised copyright strikes on his video and then approached him, offering an initial licensing deal of Rs 40 lakh for a year, which was then allegedly negotiated down to the same amount for a two-year licensing period.

Taking objection to the YouTube video titled ‘Dear ANI’, the news agency’s suit also included comedian Kunal Kamra, AltNews co-founder Mohammed Zubair, and unknown entities as defendants for sharing Mangal’s video on their X handles. Kamra and Zubair also agreed to take down the posts referring to the video.

The court directed that the posts be taken down within 24 hours, and following compliance, they may be deleted from being parties to the suit.

Mangal proposed to present a red-line version or a revised version of the video in the first half of the hearing after Justice Amit Bansal orally remarked on the use of imputations such as “vasooli”, “ghatiya”, etc, and said, “The videos on the face of it are disparagement.”

Senior advocate Chander Lall, appearing for Mangal, opposed ANI’s suit, submitting that they have no right to license in “de minimis” use, which refers to the principle that very minor or insignificant uses of copyrighted material are not actionable as infringement.

Lall further argued, “They have no right to license and they are extorting Rs 40 lakh from me. I must have a remedy which is going to press.”

However, Justice Bansal orally remarked, “You want to use videos without taking licence. You use, why would you come out with these kind of statements?”

Senior advocate Amit Sibal, appearing for ANI, told the court that with the use of ANI’s feed as well as logo in his videos, Mangal had violated ANI’s copyright, and is using the same to earn money from the videos he posts on YouTube.

“He starts a media campaign against me that has spiralled into a concerted campaign which is nothing short of vilifying and, per se, defamatory. They are calling me thugs, extortionists, gunda, other expletives,” Sibal said.

After presenting the red line version – through a revised transcript of the video after removing the parts ANI objected to – Justice Bansal recorded Lall’s submission that Mangal shall put the impugned video in private mode which would not be accessible to the public at large, and after making the necessary amendments to the impugned video with the objected portions removed, the video may be reposted back on the public forum.