'Lock Upp', a reality show produced by Ekta Kapoor and hosted by Kangana Ranaut was set to release on 27 February. The show has now been issued a stay order by the City Civil Court of Hyderabad. after a petition from Sanober Baig who claims to be the original and sole owner of the script and concept behind a similar show 'The Jail'.
Sanober Baig is the propereitor of Pride Media that claims to have first conceptualised the show. It has been written by Shaantanu Ray and Sheershak Anand and registered under the copyright act on 7 March, 2018. Sanober has also explained the process of how the show was created and how money was invested at every stage of the show's creative development. Because of this, he has accused Ekta Kapoor's Alt Balaji, MX Player, and Endemol Shine of plagiarism.
In a press conference on 25 February, Baig said, "When I saw the promo of the said show I was in shock. I have been in touch with Abhishek Rege from Endemol Shine for a long time and had several meetings about the subject in Hyderabad. He had promised that once the market gets better, we will get going. The show is not only similar to our concept but an absolute copy of the same. I could not believe that somebody could plagiarise the concept to such an extent. We have prayed to the court for infringement of the copyright and have got a stay order."
He also claims that he first approached the makers of the show regarding the infringement but they failed to act on it. If the infringement is proved, it will be a violation of sections 51 and 52 of the Copyright Act and will likely be postponed.
The show's contestants also include Munawar Faruqui, Babita Phogat, Karaanvir Bohra, and Poonam Pandey and it was set to release on MX Player and ALT Balaji on 27 February.
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