The domain – JioHotstar.com is at the centre of a dramatic showdown involving an app developer in Delhi, siblings based in Dubai and the company Reliance Industries itself. It all started when a Delhi-based techie posted a letter on the internet, asking Reliance executives to fund his higher studies in exchange for giving up the jiohotstar.com domain that he bought in 2023. With the company rejecting his offer, the app developer has sold the domain to two young siblings – 13-year-old Jainam Jain and 10-year-old Jivika Jain. The episode also raises the question of domain ownership: Is it theft, extortion, or a more serious form of cybercrime?
Techie – ‘a dreamer’ proposes to sell domain to Reliance
Posting an open letter addressed to the executives of Reliance Industries, the app developer asked the company to fund his higher studies abroad in exchange for the domain. “In early 2023, while scrolling through social media, I came across a news piece stating that Disney+ Hotstar was losing daily active users after losing the IPL streaming license, and Disney is considering selling or merging Hotstar with an Indian competitor,” he said in the letter.
He added, “I thought, ‘If they acquire Hotstar, they might rename it to JioHotstar.com.’ I checked for the domain, and it was available. I was excited, as I felt that if this happened, I could fund my goal of studying at Cambridge.”
Act of stealing?
The act of purchasing a domain and using it to profit from a trademark, corporate name, or personal name of an individual is referred to as cybersquatting. In India, there is no law to deal with cases of cybersquatting. It falls under the Trade Mark Act, 1999. The first cybersquatting case in India was Yahoo Inc. vs Akash Arora. Yahoo filed a suit against Arora for registering the domain name “YahooIndia.com”, which was similar to Yahoo’s trademark. The court, then, ruled in favor of Yahoo, preventing Arora from using the domain name.
Reliance Industries refused the offer
In an update, dated October 24, the techie said that he was contacted by a Reliance executive, named Ambujesh Yadav, and that the company has turned down his request and it will proceed with legal action.
“An Executive from Reliance reached out – Ambujesh Yadav Ji, AVP, Commercials. A request was made for £93,345, which represents the tuition fees for the EMBA program. The request has been denied. Reliance will proceed with legal action. I hope they will reconsider this kind request. I wish such a large group could help. Thank you to all who shared and sent kind words. I don’t have the power to stand against Reliance. I don’t feel I infringed any trademark when I bought this in 2023, since JioHotstar was not even in existence at that time. No body has trademark for JioHotstar as of now. If any legal professional could help, I would be grateful,” he wrote.
Jiohotstar.com domain goes to Dubai siblings
In a surprising turn of events this weekend, the domain was sold to Dubai-based siblings. Visitors to the https://jiohotstar.com are now being redirected to a webpage featuring the story of two siblings from the United Arab Emirates who run an educational initiative for disadvantaged children. The website now reads “Hello! We are Jainam and Jivika – siblings from Dubai, UAE, on a mission to make a difference. Even though we’re just kids, we believe that age is only a number when it comes to spreading kindness and positivity. Our recent journey began during our summer holidays when we left our home in Dubai for 50 unforgettable days in India.”