Copyright case against Jodi Breakers makers in Bombay High Court

Copyright case against Jodi Breakers makers in Bombay High Court

Jodi Breakers

MUMBAI: The release of The Jodi Breakers is said to be in a limbo with Universal Pictures International France and Ors (a co-producer of Heartbreakers and a part of American entertainment company NBC Universal Inc) filing a case against producers Prasar Visions in the Bombay High Court for infringement of copyright. They have also asked for a compensation of Rs 500 million.

It has been reported that the Bipasha and Madhavan-starrer has been allegedly inspired from the French film Hertbreakers, starring Romain Duris and Venessa Paradis. It is also reported that Insia Dariwala, a relatively unknown writer-filmmaker, claimed to be the original owner of the idea behind the film.

It so happened that when several Bollywood filmmakers including Karan Johar were negotiating with the makers of the French film, the producers were surprised to see the promos of Jodi Breakers, the plot of which was strikingly similar to their film.

Accordingly, the French producers have filed the case against five people - the producer, director Ashwini Chaudhary, the writer and the processing lab. They have also questioned Dariwala’s claim that the producers stole her idea.

The Neolegal Associates (a leading intellectual property firm which handles litigations for Hollywood studios) is representing the producers of Heartbreakers in the Court case.

Other films that were caught copying Hollywood content were UTV that made Shoebite, based on Manoj Night Shyamalan‘s Labour of Love, Ravi Chopra‘s Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai that was a copy of Twentieth Century Fox’s My Cousin Vinny, and the makers of Knock Out that was copied from the Twentieth Century Fox film Phone Booth.