Delhi High Court refuses to stay Legends League Cricket

The inaugural edition of the ‘Legends League Cricket‘ got underway on Thursday (January 20) and fans went in nostalgia. The tournament sees many veteran and retired players back in action. While cricket lovers have high expectations from the competition, a lawsuit was filed on the tournament with the plaintiff claiming to have conceptualised having a tournament with retired legendary players.

However, the High Court has refused to stay ‘Legends League Cricket’ on the lawsuit, saying that no one can claim copyright over a cricket tournament, which has several permutations and combinations. Justice Asha Menon stated that plaintiff Samir Kasal couldn’t make out a prima facie case for grant of any interim relief. It was also concluded that none of the features of his concept reflected original thoughts.

Plaintiff’s ideas was “significantly different” from that of the organizers

As per the verdict, he plaintiff’s ideas have been in the public domain for a while and none can claim an exclusive right to any of these ideas. Justice Menon further said that the format of ‘Legends League Cricket’ was “significantly different” from that of the plaintiff. Hence, the organisers were not copying any idea or concept.

“To say that because the plaintiff conceptualized a league match with retired cricketers in a ‘T-10 Test Format’ to be played at venues where there is Indian diaspora, and that being his idea, had become his exclusive right, is to stretch it too far to claim a right to seek an injunction against the ‘Legends League Cricket’ tournament organized by the defendants,” said the court in its order as per the Times of India.

“In this case, the fundamental similarity will be the ‘game of cricket’ and no one can claim a copyright to the ‘game of cricket’. Several permutations and combinations in the format of playing the ‘game of cricket’ have been evolved over a period of centuries. Therefore, it is reasonable that there can also be no copyright in the evolution of cricket over a period of time, from a ‘5-Day Test Match Series’, to the latest of ‘T-20 Matches/One-Dayers’. Any such permutations and combinations would involve “innings” and “overs”,” it added.