Zee sues JioStar over alleged unauthorized use of copyrighted songs

Zee Entertainment Enterprises has taken on the newest giant in Indian media, accusing JioStar of using its copyrighted songs after licensing deals expired and turning a commercial dispute into a test of power in a consolidated market.

The suit, filed in the Delhi High Court on April 14, 2026, seeks $3 million in damages and alleges that Zee music was used on JioStar’s streaming platform and on some television channels without authorization. Court papers say the disputed songs were played at least 50 times after the relevant agreements lapsed in 2024 and 2025, with renewal talks collapsing over commercial terms.

The case lands at a sensitive moment for India’s entertainment business. Reliance, Viacom18 and Disney announced binding agreements on February 28, 2024 to combine Viacom18’s media and JioCinema businesses with Star India, with Reliance saying it would invest 11,500 crore in the venture. The merger became effective on November 14, 2024 after regulatory approvals, and JioStar later launched JioHotstar on February 14, 2025, folding JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar into one platform. Reliance said JioHotstar had 503 million monthly active users in March 2025, giving the company enormous reach for any disputed clip, song or promotional use.

That scale is exactly what makes Zee’s complaint significant. Zee says its music arm, ZEE Music Company, controls more than 19,450 songs in 17 languages, and its annual report for fiscal 2024 said the catalogue held 14,000-plus songs across 22 languages. In a market where subscriber scale, ad sales and content libraries increasingly reinforce one another, ownership of music rights can function as leverage just as powerful as a marquee sports contract or a premium streaming package.

The legal fight also sits alongside another bitter dispute between the two sides. Reliance is separately pursuing arbitration in London over a cricket licensing deal Zee exited in 2024, with Reliance reportedly seeking $1 billion in damages. Together, the cases show how aggressively media rights are being weaponized as India’s entertainment sector concentrates around a few immense players.

The Delhi judge reportedly directed JioStar to ensure that no ongoing infringement continued while the case proceeds. The next hearing is set for July 23, keeping a close spotlight on how far the merged company can push its content controls, and how hard Zee is willing to fight to defend its catalog in a market where licensing has become a strategic battleground.