In response to a copyright infringement suit filed by Indian writer and producer Armaan Sharma over the show ‘Get Out Alive with Bear Grylls’, the Delhi High Court has issued summons to the British adventurer, among others. Warner Brothers Discovery, National Geography and over-the-top (OTT) service Hotstar were also summoned by Justice Amit Bansal.
Meanwhile, the court referred the parties to mediation following a request by Grylls’ counsel.
The matter has been listed before the Delhi High Court Mediation Center for January 17, 2023 and before the court on February 22. Sharma moved the High Court alleging that Grylls’ show infringed his original copyrighted work, ‘Aakhri Dum Tak’.
Armaan Sharma, a writer and television/film producer, conceptualized and scripted the reality show in 2009, while Grylls’ show debuted in 2013. Sharma pitched it to Discovery, but the channel said the script did not meet the needs of its current programming and inventory.
Further, he alleges that Grylls was working with Discovery at that time and later resigned, after which he produced the allegedly infringing show with another channel called NBC, in which Defendant No. 2 (Tom Shelley) cited its original format/show developed with a producer named
Sharma’s counsel told the court that “However, the shocking thing is that in March, 2022, the plaintiff came to know through a close friend that his copyright in the said original literary work was being infringed upon by the defendants, and the defendants A show titled ‘Get Out Alive with Bear Grylls’ is being produced by Numbers 1, 2 and 4 and is being aired on Disney Plus Hotstar.”
Counsel for the plaintiff submitted that the places mentioned in the said work are identical to the said infringing shows. The introduction, interlude, climax and show were based on the concept and were filmed in the manner described and prepared by the Plaintiff in his original copyrighted script, with Defendant No. 1 (Bear Grylls) as the host of the program and Defendant No. 3 ( Discovery) was presented.