Madras High Court rejects Netflix’s plea in Dhanush's copyright case against Nayanthara

The Madras High Court has dismissed Netflix India's plea to reject a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by actor Dhanush against actress Nayanthara. The suit pertains to a 3-second film clip from Dhanush's production, Naanum Rowdy Dhaan, used without permission in Nayanthara’s Netflix documentary, Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale.

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Dhanush had approached the court in November 2024, seeking legal action against Nayanthara, her husband Vignesh Shivan, and their production house, Rowdy Pictures. The lawsuit claims that footage from Naanum Rowdy Dhaan was used in the documentary without proper authorization.

Further, Dhanush's company, Wunderber Films Private Limited, had filed a petition seeking permission to sue Los Gatos Production Services India LLP, Netflix's content investment arm in India, for hosting the unauthorized content.

This legal move followed Dhanush's demand for the content to be removed within 24 hours, warning of a ₹10 crore lawsuit if the footage wasn’t taken down. Dhanush's legal team had emphasized the seriousness of the copyright violation.

In response, Nayanthara took to Instagram, criticizing Dhanush for his demands, claiming that his compensation request was unreasonable for the brief clip. This legal dispute has sparked widespread media attention, drawing a line between artistic rights and industry practices. 

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