Reliance denies Delhi Techie’s EUR 93,345 request for 'JioHotstar' domain; company to take legal action instead

Delhi Techie secures `JioHotstar` domain

The much-talked-about merger between JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar is set to make waves in India's streaming market. With both platforms being among the largest in terms of subscribers, the combined entity could dominate the scene, according to industry insiders. While there's no official confirmation yet on how the merger will take shape, some reports suggest that a unified platform called JioHotstar is in the works. However, things might get complicated, as a techie from Delhi has already snatched up the JioHotstar domain name. Now, the techie has revealed that Reliance has actually denied the buyout and would like to take legal action instead.

Reliance declines 'JioHotstar' domain buyout; legal steps ahead

Currently, visiting the JioHotstar site brings you to a simple page with the headline "JioHotstar Reliance Industries, If you could help...." The page doesn't have any logos or official branding, but there's a new note that reads, "Update as of October 24th: An Executive from Reliance reached out - Ambujesh Yadav Ji, AVP, Commercials. A request was made for EUR 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 had trademark for JioHotstar when i bought it. I might automatically lose access of this domain in few hours. If any legal professional could help, I would be grateful (sic.)"

What did the page say before the update?

The message stated, "I am an app developer based in Delhi, currently working on my startup. 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. This led me to hypothesize that, since Sony and Zee were pursuing their own merger, Viacom 18 (owned by Reliance) is the only major player with sufficient resources to acquire Disney+ Hotstar. This reminded me of when Jio acquired the music streaming service Saavn, they rebranded it to JioSaavn, and changed the domain from Saavn.com to JioSaavn.com. 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," they said, explaining that a project of theirs was selected for the Cambridge University Accelerate program a few years ago, and they want to study there but are unable to due to financial constraints. "Cambridge also offers a full degree program in entrepreneurship, which I've always dreamed of pursuing but could never afford, It's Cambridge, quite expensive. When I saw this domain become available, I felt things might just fall into place. My intention of buying this domain was simple: if this merger happens, I might be able to fulfill my dream of studying at Cambridge. For a multi-billion dollar company like Reliance, this will be a minor expense, but for me, the sale of this domain would be truly life-changing," the message concludes.

Netizens react to Reliance wanting to take legal action