Razorpay has filed a lawsuit against PayU in the Delhi High Court. The dispute centers on an advertising campaign featuring startup founders, which Razorpay alleges is a direct copy of its IPL 2025 promotional series. Razorpay claims that PayU imitated the specific visual style, sequencing, and storytelling structure used to showcase entrepreneurs.
During the proceedings, Justice Jyoti Singh declined to grant Razorpay any immediate interim relief. The Court observed that while the screenshots provided by Razorpay suggested similarities, a full viewing of the videos showed the campaigns were materially different in structure and messaging. Consequently, the Court found no prima facie case for an immediate injunction and has scheduled the next hearing for March 30.
As per the Razorpay’s legal team, led by Senior Advocate Chander Lall, argued that their campaign featured 37 entrepreneurs in a unique ‘stylized composite video format.’ They contended that PayU copied this artistic expression ‘almost to the teeth’ by using a similar lineup of 36 founders, minimalistic white backgrounds, and specific framing of shots. The plea emphasized that the infringement was not about the idea of interviewing founders, but the distinctive way the content was presented.
Representing PayU, Senior Advocate Rajeev Mehra disputed these claims, stating that the comparison was based on misleading screenshots rather than the full films. PayU argued that its content is a documentary-style series rather than a traditional ad campaign. They further noted that Razorpay cannot monopolize the general idea of featuring startup founders, especially since the actual television clips used in the IPL were short 15-second segments.
The Court has granted PayU one week to file a formal reply, after which Razorpay may file a rejoinder. For now, the campaign remains in the public domain as the legal process continues.
Chander Lall, Senior Advocate for Razorpay, said, “The specific manner of expression adopted by Razorpay, including the uniform visual setup and sequencing, constitutes protectable artistic work.”
Rajeev Mehra, Senior Advocate for PayU, said, “The broader idea of featuring founders cannot be monopolised; the comparison must be of the entire film, not isolated frames.”
