India’s courts are keeping up with the times in their efforts to curb online piracy of films and television shows by issuing dynamic plus injunctions that are effective even for content that hasn’t been released yet.
“We are witnessing a pivotal transition toward the dynamic plus injunction, where the Indian judiciary is providing ex-ante protection for content that hasn't even been expressed yet,” said Yash Vardhan Singh, counsel at Sarvaank Associates. “By moving away from static, URL-based orders, the courts are addressing the intractable reality of digital piracy, ensuring marquee properties like Stranger Things and Friends are protected from the moment of creation.”
Experts said recent anti-piracy orders, particularly the dynamic plus injunction, expand the scope of dealing with emerging cyberspace issues. However, while such orders try to keep remedies in pace with practical and legal realities, internet architecture and cross-border enforcement face recurring limitations.
Website-blocking is inherently a response to a problem, but piracy networks reappear quickly under new domain names, mirror sites, redirects or slightly modified alphanumeric URLs. A key challenge remains websites hosted overseas, making enforcement difficult. And with piracy moving to encrypted platforms, peer-to-peer channels and time-sensitive live streams, traditional domain-blocking mechanisms may have limited reach.
Earlier this year, the Delhi high court strengthened protection for global entertainment companies Warner Bros., Netflix, Apple, Disney and Crunchyroll by ordering the blocking of websites that illegally hosted pirated films and television series.
A week ago, the Delhi high court issued orders to internet service providers and domain name registrars to restrict access and block names specified in a petition filed by the Union of European Football Associations during the ongoing UEFA Champions League 2025-26 season.
In response to a recent Delhi high court ex-parte ad-interim injunction in its favour, JioStar said the court reaffirmed that injunctions in piracy matters must be effective, dynamic and technology-responsive, particularly where content is generated and infringed in real time.
Pre-emptive protection
Recent anti-piracy jurisprudence in India has evolved significantly through the introduction of dynamic plus injunctions, which represent a sophisticated leap from traditional John Doe or static blocking orders, said Anupam Shukla, a partner at Pioneer Legal. While older orders required rights holders to approach the court for every new infringing URL, dynamic plus orders allow for pre-emptive protection of future works—content that has not even been released yet—and empowers the plaintiffs to add mirror or alphanumeric pirate sites directly through the court administrative office without a fresh hearing.
“This shift addresses the whack-a-mole nature of digital piracy by reducing the time lag between the discovery of a rogue site and its blocking, providing marquee properties with critical protection during their high-value initial release windows,” Shukla said.
This is not a change in the statute, but a change in judicial approach, according to Vishal Gehrana, partner-designate at Karanjawala & Co.
“Timing is everything. When high value content is released, the first few days often determine the financial outcome. If infringing streams are freely accessible during that period, the damage is immediate and difficult to reverse,” Gehrana said. “By reducing the enforcement gap, these orders help protect the most vulnerable window of exploitation. They do not eliminate piracy, but they make enforcement less reactive and more aligned with commercial realities. In that sense, they are undoubtedly more evolved than earlier static injunctions.”
The key challenges, though, are the legal, practical and jurisdictional limitations. Pirates remain several steps ahead of enforcement agencies. In several states, local cable TV and satellite TV operators have political connections and can circumvent such threats, a senior executive at a broadcasting network said.
Many piracy websites operate overseas, where copyright laws are lax, making it difficult to enforce court orders, according to Germaine Pereira, a partner at Solomon & Co. The cost of litigation is a challenge, especially for smaller entertainment companies and independent filmmakers.
Hydra-headed menace
When a pirated site is blocked, the infringer creates mirror-image websites causing static injunctions to be ineffective, Pereira added. New, AI-powered technologies have evolved significantly, making it hard for the existing laws to keep pace.
“Courts have often described online piracy as a hydra-headed menace— when one website is blocked, clones or mirror domains surface almost immediately. This problem is acute where the protected content is time-sensitive, such as live sporting events,” said Bharadwaj Jaishankar, partner at CMS INDUSLAW.
A further limitation lies in the territorial limitations of such injunctions. Court orders typically direct internet service providers to block access to infringing websites within India. However, the ease with which users can circumvent these measures through virtual private networks reduces their effectiveness, Jaishankar pointed out.
Companies that own or license content are adopting a layered enforcement strategy. Gaurav Sahay, founding partner of Arthashastra Legal, said rather than rely on reactive domain blocking, many rights holders now proactively integrate real-time monitoring and analytics to detect piracy threats faster.
Advanced content recognition technologies can identify infringing copies across millions of URLs, file-shares, streaming services, social media postings, IPTV listings, and peer-to-peer networks. These technologies go far beyond manual identification, enabling compilation of evidence of infringement, migration patterns and unauthorized streams, Sahay added.
“Media companies are adopting a multi-pronged approach to tackle piracy. A few OTT platforms use forensic watermarking and content fingerprinting systems, while sports broadcasters deploy real-time stream monitoring and automated takedown bots during live matches,” said Kalindi Bhatia, partner, technology, media and communications, at BTG Advaya. “Combating piracy now involves a combination of anticipatory court relief, continuous digital tracking and platform-level enforcement rather than relying solely on post-facto takedowns.”