 "'Flying Beast' faces court order to remove videos over copyright breach")
The Bombay High Court has directed YouTuber Gaurav Taneja, also known as the Flying Beast, to remove two videos from his YouTube channel after Castrol India Ltd accused him of copyright infringement. The videos, which were part of Castrol’s promotional campaign, failed to credit the company or promote the campaign, leading to legal action, reported Live Law.
The court’s decision came after Castrol India filed a copyright infringement suit against Taneja.
Justice Riyaz Chagla, while granting interim relief to Castrol, observed that the videos were shot during Castrol’s promotional campaign in the United States. Taneja neither acknowledged the company nor mentioned the campaign in his content.
The ‘Castronomy’ campaign
In April 2024, Castrol India launched a promotional campaign titled ‘Castronomy,’ which involved commissioning video bloggers to document zero-gravity flight experiences in the United States. Castrol India funded travel, accommodation, and participation costs for the bloggers, in exchange for content that would promote both the campaign and the company.
Gaurav Taneja participated in this campaign in May 2024, along with American YouTuber Eric Decker, capturing videos and photographs over three days. However, Taneja uploaded two videos on October 29 and November 1, 2024, titled ‘Ready to go in Zero Gravity with @airrack’ and ‘Flying in zero gravity,’ without crediting Castrol or promoting the ‘Castronomy’ campaign.
Castrol India made multiple requests to Taneja to remove the videos, even offering him Rs 5 lakh in exchange for the removal. However, Taneja did not comply, leading the company to seek legal action for the unauthorised use of its content.
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What did the high court say?
In its order dated December 4, Justice Chagla observed that Castrol appeared to be the producer and first owner of the copyright for the content.
The court also noted that Taneja had uploaded and leveraged the content on his social media accounts without permission, violating Castrol’s rights. Additionally, it ordered Taneja to remove the content from his social media handles.