'Kaise Banega Naya India?', Pitcher Gets Legal Notice From Shark Tank India For Using Clips

Business reality TV series Shark Tank India does get some credit for boosting startup culture in India. It has not only encouraged new founders to come forward with their ideas but also provided investments to those who showed immense potential.

However, a subscription-based tea startup Dorje Teas is not in agreement with the same. The brand that delivers fresh-from-the-farm and organic Darjeeling Tea to customers across India, recently got a legal notice from the makers of the show, Sony Pictures Networks India.

Why Did Dorje Teas Get A Legal Notice From Shark Tank India?

Dorje Teas

The co-founder of the startup, Sparsh Agarwal took to LinkedIn to reveal that he was served a legal notice by Shark Tank India for using video clips from his own pitch. For the unversed, Agarwal made his pitch last year on the show and secured investments worth Rs 30 lakh from Anupam Mittal, Peyush Bansal and Vineeta Singh for 15 per cent equity, valuing the company at Rs 2 crore.

Agarwal stated that they received the notice due to copyright infringement for featuring these clips in their YouTube and Meta advertisements. It appears that Dorje Teas isn't the sole company targeted by Sony Pictures; Agarwal mentioned that Sony has taken action against every startup that appeared on Shark Tank.

¡°While I understand the copyright laws supporting it, I don¡¯t understand why they would do this. After all at Dorje Teas, and other companies like Skippi, Assembly, Perfora, Hoovu Fresh, Beyond Snack, Wakao Foods, Nasher Miles and so many others, are spending lacs every month to boost Shark Tank content, thereby giving free publicity and brand recall to the Shark Tank India brand,¡± he wrote.

Calling it a bad business decision made by some executive/legal person within Sony, Agarwal further pointed out that it ¡°goes against the entire ethos of promoting small startups.¡±

¡°Also Shark Tank Season 3 has been all about supporting a startup ecosystem in India and building a new India. Magar iss tarah kese banega naya India,¡± he asked in a video.

Many On The Internet Agree With The Makers, Explain How Copyright Violation Works

sonyliv

Although Agarwal garnered support on social media, there were opposing views suggesting that Sony's actions were legally defensible.

¡°Dear Sparsh, it¡¯s crucial to understand that in this context, ¡®You are the content.¡¯ Your role in content creation is significant. You shared the content that features you on your social media(YT/FB/Insta and likewise) but not on Sony¡¯s social handles. In a way, the traffic they should have received would have been diverted to you. You are monetising your social channels with the content they produce,¡± a content strategist commented.

¡°You are spending lakhs to push Shark Tank, Shark Tank is spending crores to organise & promote the show in which your brand gets promoted. Just change the perspective,¡± another user wrote.

"Even celebrities get "legal notice" for posting their photos online. Reason: The ownership of those photos belongs to the one who produced those photos, not the celebrities who got featured in those photos. That's how Copyright Law works!", a third user wrote.

You can check out the post and the video right here!