Navigating Trademark Infringement Risks in India’s Booming OTT and Streaming Industry

Alisha Rastogi
Sep 4
7 min read

The digital entertainment landscape in India is currently undergoing a significant transformation. With an estimate of over 900 million internet users, India has become one of the fastest growing markets for Over-The-Top (OTT) and streaming platforms^[1]. As a result, major global OTT players such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ Hotstar coexist in a highly competitive ecosystem burgeoning with domestic and regional platforms, all while targeting an exceedingly demanding consumer base.

Given the high stakes dynamic of the current streaming industry, a platform’s brand value needs to be far more than just a label but rather has to consistently embody trust, relatability, quality and content value. With the onset of commodification of content, platform identity becomes of utmost importance and protecting intellectual property, an urgent and strategic priority.

The Rise of Content as Commercial Intellectual Property

In the OTT era, content is no longer seen as just a form of creative expression, it has in fact emerged as a core commercial asset. Nowadays, a compelling documentary, web series or movie is not only capable of generating massive viewership but also lasting brand equity. Moreover, titles of successful shows or movies can acquire elevated levels of public recognition and association rendering them with what trademark law refers to as “secondary meaning” i.e., from generic descriptors to protectable trademarks.

However, there’s a fine distinction between a protectable title and a generic one and the Indian courts have time and again recognized this nuance. For instance, the Bombay HIgh Court in the case of Karan Johar v. India Pride Advisory Private Ltd. & Ors.^[2] held that the unauthorised use of the name “Karan Johar” as part of the film title ‘Shaadi Ke Director Karan Aur Johar’ amounted to a clear violation of the personality and publicity rights that the filmmaker had acquired. The Court stated that a well-known personality’s name cannot be exploited for commercial or promotional purposes without consent owing to their name having acquired distinctiveness and a certain commercial value. This judgement underscores that personality rights also warrant legal protection in digital commercial contexts.

Likewise, the same reasoning also applies to show titles, where although generic or descriptive titles may be difficult to register, the ones that do gain public recognition over time may become strong identifiers thereby acquiring commercial value. This in turn opens doors to potential misuse by competitors or other individuals who may use deceptively similar titles to mislead viewers, ride on established success, often resulting in a diluted brand value.

Sub-Brands and Content Curation: A New Trademark Frontier

As content libraries continue to virtually expand, many OTT platforms have started adopting strategies such as sub branding in order to categorise content on the basis of genre, language, and curated content. The purpose of these sub-brands is dual i.e., enhancing discoverability and reinforcing brand identity.

However, this categorization further complicates the underlying trademark rights. This is especially seen in cases of similar sounding or overlapping sub-brand names, which often lead to legal disputes further emphasised in a fragmented market such as India, that is already dealing with a multilingual ecosystem. For instance, in the case of Living Media India Ltd. v. Aabtak Channel.com^[3], the Delhi High Court had restrained the use of the mark "AABTAK" that closely resembled the well-known news brand "AAJ TAK", on account of deceptive similarity. The Court affirmed that phonetic similarity in digital contexts can likely result in consumer confusion as well as dilution of brand equity.

Therefore, it is safe to say that for OTT platforms, the lesson is clear: sub-brands must be treated with the same seriousness as core platform branding. They require early registration, legal vetting, and ongoing protection.

The Visual Identity Challenge in a Digital-First World

Another branding element crucial to the current OTT ecosystem is visual branding such as logos, title cards, promotional posters, and even thumbnail art which are becoming powerful identifiers of a given platform’s quality and content. With a rise in their commercial value, infringement of these visual elements is becoming a growing concern. Here we see rising instances of piracy, spoofing, or even fake platforms. Fake social media channels, imitation apps, and piracy portals are also becoming a common sight, which are often caught mimicking the exact visual identity of legitimate platforms to mislead users. This not only diverts consumer traffic and revenue but also potentially damages brand credibility when consumers have a poor experience with the counterfeit content.

In such cases, Courts have consistently acknowledged the need for improvisation of enforcement mechanisms. The judgement rendered in Star India Private Limited v Jio Live.TV^[4] points to a similar scenario wherein the Delhi High Court had issued a dynamic injunction in order to allow rights’ holders to be able to quickly block new infringing URLs without having to return to court repeatedly. This proactive approach has become an essential mechanism in the fast-moving world of digital infringement, particularly in cases where live content and sports streaming are involved.

User-Generated Content and Brand Dilution

In recent years, memes, reviews, fan art, or commentary, altogether termed as user-generated content (UGC) has also vastly benefitted OTT platforms, as such content can be very helpful in boosting a show or a movie’s popularity and consumer engagement well before and after its actual release. However, owing to the free flowing nature of such content, vigilant supervision has become a threat.

It is safe to say that UGC has the potential to blur the distinction between brand ownership and consumers. For instance, fan pages that use platform logos or series’ names may do so without permission which can inadvertently mislead audiences or even potentially dilute/miscommunicate the brand’s messaging. While most platforms have become cautious so as not to alienate fans, clear policies and proactive monitoring is now a prerequisite to consistently maintain brand integrity. Unauthorised or unsanctioned use of platform branding on the digital fronts such as mobile apps, etc. can potentially cause consumer confusion, and in extreme cases, may lead to legal liability for user harm or fraud.

Legal Enforcement: Challenges and Emerging Solutions

Although the Trade Marks Act, 1999 provides a robust statutory framework for rights’ protection, the sheer scale and dynamic nature of digital infringement presents unprecedented enforcement challenges. Since litigation is often time-consuming and expensive, leading platforms often prefer to prioritize faster remedies such as takedown notices, cease-and-desist letters as well as complaint mechanisms through intermediaries.

Recent judicial patterns suggest a growing recognition of these unique challenges posed by the everchanging digital IP environment. Courts are constantly tailoring judgements to overcome such challenges such as granting swift interim reliefs as well as an incline towards recognition of evolving forms of source identity, including celebrity names and domain names, as enforceable trademarks. For instance, in Star India Pvt. Ltd. & Anr. vs. Moviesghar.Art & Ors.^[5], the Delhi High Court granted a permanent injunction against numerous domains (determined as rogue), in order to ensure that they remain blocked, following a film/show’s release on legitimate OTT channels.

Such legal precedents mark a clear shift towards a more flexible and responsive judicial approach, one that aligns with the dynamic nature of digital entertainment.

Strategic Recommendations for OTT Platforms

In a complex and evolving legal landscape such as this one, it is imminent that OTT platforms adopt a more proactive trademark strategy in order to safeguard their IP assets. A few key recommendations include:

Early and Broad Trademark Registration: It is now crucial that registration of IP rights may extend beyond the platform name, but also to include logos, sub-brands, and potential blockbuster titles. One must also consider multilingual variations, considering India’s linguistic diversity.

Trademark Watch and Monitoring Services: It is highly recommended to explore automated services as a means to timely detect potentially infringing marks, domains, or even counterfeit mobile applications. Such surveillance services may also be extended to international markets, especially where content distribution is globally expanding.

Enforcement and Litigation: Another recommendation would be to establish a dedicated legal or technical team which deals with issuing prompt takedown notices across digital platforms such as social media, app stores, and ISPs. A streamlined internal process can significantly reduce response time, especially in cases of nearing release dates.

Consumer Education and Brand Clarity: It is also important to run awareness campaigns to help viewers be able to distinguish between official content and its knock-offs. Methods such as clear visual branding, watermarks, and on-platform verification systems are a few steps that can help combat such issues.

Fan Engagement with Guidelines: While fan participation may be encouraged to maximise engagement, it is important to do so with a preemptive publication of clear terms and conditions of use of brand elements, for instance, offering official media kits would likely reduce unauthorized adaptations of brand content.

Leverage IP as a Growth Asset: Building a strong trademark portfolio further supports merchandising, franchising, and licensing opportunities which often form key revenue streams beyond subscriptions or advertising.

Conclusion

In a market where content is king and branding is the crown, protecting brand ownership rights is no longer just a legal formality, rather it has emerged as a business imperative. As the OTT and streaming industry in India continues to become more nuanced, a well structured and up to date intellectual property management system for content creation and brand building is a no brainer. There is no doubt that the current system has adopted dynamic jurisprudence and swift enforcement tools, what is now required is a strategic foresight in order to help platforms invest in trademark protection and be better positioned in future for building a sustainable, trusted, and globally competitive brand value.