India's Zee sues Nykaa over alleged copyright misuse of songs on Instagram reels

NEW DELHI: India’s Zee Entertainment has sued fashion-to-beauty retailer Nykaa for allegedly using its copyrighted songs in Instagram reels to promote its products, seeking $210,000 in damages, previously unreported court documents show.

In an April 3 lawsuit filed in the Delhi High Court, Zee argued it has a licensing agreement with Meta Platforms that allows individuals to use its music in Instagram posts for non-commercial use, but said Nykaa had used several of Zee’s copyrighted songs in reels to promote products to millions of followers.

The lawsuit documents are not public but were reviewed by Reuters. Nykaa and Zee both declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Short-video formats have become a key advertising tool for brands on social media platforms like Meta’s Instagram, often featuring popular Hindi songs as background music.

Twelve flagged links taken down

Zee listed 12 Instagram reels in its lawsuit, along with screenshots, where Nykaa allegedly used Zee’s licensed music to promote its products in social media posts.

In a brief hearing on Thursday, Nykaa’s lawyer told the court that the 12 flagged links had been taken down, according to a court order which has not previously been reported.

Nykaa allegedly used the music “without securing any permissions/authorisations from” Zee, according to the over 900-page lawsuit.

Zee has asked the court to award 20 million rupees ($209,742) as compensation over Nykaa’s illegal use of its music, the lawsuit said.

Zee and Nykaa are big listed players in their respective sectors in India, and legal experts said the case could have wider implications.

“Marketing departments often use content available on music libraries without reading the fine print of the Instagram terms” and the decision should “provide much-needed clarity,” said Aditya Gupta, a partner at India’s Ira Law.