[Commons-Law] Olympics telecast: Prasar Bharati goes to court

[Prashant Iyengar]

http://www.indianexpress.com/printerFriendly/352318.html

Olympics telecast: Prasar Bharati goes to court

Krishnadas Rajagopal

Posted online: Saturday, August 23, 2008 at 0059 hrs IST

New Delhi, August 22
A complaint from Prasar Bharati against private TV channels for
"encroaching" on exclusive broadcast rights to the Beijing Olympics
2008 saw the Delhi High Court stepping in to restore order. The public
broadcaster's challenge in the High Court has found many of the
channels on the backfoot with at least six of the 13 media houses sued
going on to assure Justice Reva Khetrapal on Thursday to "deal fairly"
with the Doordarshan footages of the Olympic events.

The public broadcaster alleged that "commercial exploitation" by
private media has put to risk its $3 million-worth purchase of
exclusive television and radio rights of the Olympic Games. "Due to
wrong, illegal acts and infringement of our exclusive rights by the 13
TV channels, Doordarshan, which paid huge amount of Rs 13 crore,
besides operational costs for purchase of licence has suffered huge
damages not only in terms of money but skill too," said Doordarshan
which moved the High Court on an urgent basis, citing that the Games
is drawing to a close on August 24.

The channel lawyers on August 21 submitted before Justice Khetrapal
that "they will not telecast the footage of the Olympic events except
insofar as the telecast is consistent with fair dealing". "Fair
dealing means reasonable usage of Olympic footage for the purpose of
news bulletins alone," explained Prathipa Singh, one of the counsel
for the private channels.

"The defendants (media houses) have been found not only using the
footage of the Olympic events from Doordarshan, but also making undue
gains and profits by selling of commercials and advertisement space
and time before, after and even during the broadcast of such footage,"
contended Bharati. The broadcaster has tentatively ascertained its
damages so far at Rs 25 lakh.

Doordarshan had sought an order for permanent injunction against 13 TV
channels, the International Olympic Committee and the Asia Pacific
Broadcasting Union entity from which Doordarshan had bought the
exclusive rights on April 27, 2007.

"In fact some of the channels have used to an extent of over 17,000
seconds a day, even others are not far behind," the public broadcaster
said. "Doordarshan's footage were repeated by the defendants
throughout the whole day, time and time again, and not limited to once
in a while as a news item," it added.