Sony Pictures Networks India, the makers of Shark Tank India has issued legal notice to a subscription-based tea firm for using their pitch clips in YouTube videos. Dorje Teas, a subscription-based tea startup, has received the legal notice from the channel over copyright violation for using pitch videos in YouTube and Meta ads. For the unversed, the firm ships organic Darjeeling Tea to consumers all over the country.
Sparsh Agarwal, Dorje Teas' co-founder, took the tea startup to the Shark Tank India platform in 2023, and got investments from sharks Anupam Mittal, Peyush Bansal and Vineeta Singh of Rs 30 lakh for 15 per cent equity, valuing the company at Rs 2 crore. He evealed in a LinkedIn post that they were served a notice a legal notice by Shark Tank India.
Agarwal also said that Dorje Teas is not the only start-up company to have been served with the notice over copyright violation by Sony Pictures. He wrote, “We’re not the only ones — they’ve cracked down on each and every startup that appeared on Shark Tank''.
He added, “While I understand the copyright laws supporting it, I don’t understand why they would do this. After all at Dorje Teas, and other companies like Skippi, Assembly, Perfora, Hoovu Fresh, Beyond Snack, Wakao Foods, Nasher Miles and so many others, are spending lacs every month to boost Shark Tank content, thereby giving free publicity and brand recall to the Shark Tank India brand''.
Agarwal also called it a bad business decision made by some executive and legal person within Sony. He said it “goes against the entire ethos of promoting small startups.” In a video he said, “Also Shark Tank Season 3 has been all about supporting a startup ecosystem in India and building a new India. Magar iss tarah kese banega naya India (How will we build a ‘new India’ this way?)''.
