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.
In a brief hearing on Thursday, Nykaa’s lawyer told the court that the 12 links flagged by Zee had been taken down, according to a court order which has not previously been reported.
The case will next be heard on May 26.