Ola facing the music for illegal download of songs on Ola Play
Jun 17, 2017, 18:00 IST
Ola’s new initiative to entertain the passengers on board didn’t go down well with Bengaluru police. The office of the cab aggregator has been searched and hard disks seized on allegations over Ola illegally downloading songs and playing it on Ola Play, an in-cab infotainment system.
Police also raided a few vehicles, which were using that infotainment system and have seized them. According to Times of India news report, a copyright infringement case has been filed against Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal and chief technical officer Ankit Bhati on a complaint by Lahari Recording Co.
"We have documented all the songs which were playing,” a police officer told media. "The notice has been issued to both the accused to show their copyrights on each song. Both accused didn't turn up on notice and we will wait for some more time. If they fail to appear, we will arrest them and produce before the court.
Luthra & Luthra, Ola's lawyers, said the company hadn't engaged in any wrongdoing.
"It appears that the management of Ola has been dragged into this issue with a mala fide intention,, it said in a release. "We are confident that our client will stand vindicated of these allegations. Our client is sensitive to their rights as well as that of others. We have taken appropriate legal steps to protect our client's interests and the matter is now before the courts.”
This incident came to light when Lahari had filed a complaint last month stating that the Ola Play feature launched by the company violated its copyrights.
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Police also raided a few vehicles, which were using that infotainment system and have seized them. According to Times of India news report, a copyright infringement case has been filed against Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal and chief technical officer Ankit Bhati on a complaint by Lahari Recording Co.
"We have documented all the songs which were playing,” a police officer told media. "The notice has been issued to both the accused to show their copyrights on each song. Both accused didn't turn up on notice and we will wait for some more time. If they fail to appear, we will arrest them and produce before the court.
Luthra & Luthra, Ola's lawyers, said the company hadn't engaged in any wrongdoing.
"It appears that the management of Ola has been dragged into this issue with a mala fide intention,, it said in a release. "We are confident that our client will stand vindicated of these allegations. Our client is sensitive to their rights as well as that of others. We have taken appropriate legal steps to protect our client's interests and the matter is now before the courts.”
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This incident came to light when Lahari had filed a complaint last month stating that the Ola Play feature launched by the company violated its copyrights.