MUMBAI: The Delhi High Court today has put on hold the release of the Bollywood film Badmashiyaan on a plea filed by Multi Screen Media (MSM), which is the Indian subsidiary of Sony Entertainment Television, alleging copyright infringement by the movie’s producers.

Justice Indermeet Kaur has restrained the producers of the film from airing trailers of the movie, which according to MSM, is a copy of a Korean film titled Couples as well as its own production Mango, which is yet to be released.

The court, in its interim ex-parte order, also issued notice to VRG Motion Pictures, which has produced the film as well as Sidus FNH Corporation, the producer and copyright owner of the Korean film, and has sought their replies by 22 May, 2015.

MSM, in its petition has also sought damages of Rs 25 lakh from VRG for infringing its copyright. It has contended that rights to make a Hindi remake of Couples was obtained by co-producer Kaleidoscope Entertainment (KEPL) from Sidus FNH in March 2013. Thereafter, MSM and KEPL entered into a film production agreement, before commencement of production of the film, and “hence MSM is the first owner of copyright in and to the said film,” the petition claimed.

Mango, was produced in 2013-2014 while its trailers were exhibited in February-March 2014. In January this year MSM and KEPL had come across trailers of Badmashiyaan on YouTube and found that the movie was an adaptation of the Korean movie as well as that of Mango.

It was also alleged that the producer of Badmashiyaan copied the plot, treatment and screenplay of Couples as well as Mango. Badmashiyaan, starring Suzanna Mukherjee, Sharib Hashmi, Siddhant Gupta, Gunjan Malhotra and Karan Mehra, was slated for release on 27 February.