Cricket updates: SC asks firms to pay R10 lakh/match to licensee

The court ordered a status quo in the matter as on March 13 when the single-Judge bench of the Delhi High Court had passed the partial injunction order against the live score updates. The top court has,however,conditioned this status quo to the deposit of Rs 10 lakh for each match by Akuate Internet Services (Cricbuzz) Idea Cellular and OnMobile Global. The apex court has clarified that a match would include a test match,a one-day match as well as a T-20 match.

The court also directed the firms disseminating live alerts to maintain true and lawful accounts of the receipts in respect of the SMS alerts that they provide to the subscribers. The same shall be made available to the court on a monthly basis till the time the bunch of cases are decided. Had this been a non-commercial activity and for personal uses,we would have not intervened. But the question arises when it is used for commercial uses. It all depends on proximity of your activities (alerts) with the live events, observed the bench when lawyers for the Idea,Cricbuzz and OnMobile argued that once the telecast was on TV,no rights exclusive rested with Star.

As the counsel for Akuate pleaded that they might as well close down since they could not pay Rs 10 lakh as security,the court said that if Star and BCCI failed to prove their rights over such mobile alerts and live score updates,they would have to duly compensate Akuate for its closure.

Stakes are high

Asks the firms disseminating live alerts to maintain true and lawful accounts of the receipts in respect of the SMS alerts that they provide to the subscribers

Cellular service providers and cricket related websites will have to pay if they had not got the licence from Star India

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