iSun TV Network, owners of Sunrisers Hyderabad, has sued Chennai Super Kings in the Madras High Court for copyright infringement. The lawsuit concerns CSK's unlicensed use of songs from Rajnikanth's films in their social media promotions, sparking a legal battle and a heated debate among fans before the IPL season.
With the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) still two weeks away, the tensions have already begun with the Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad being involved in an unexpected off‑field tussle over copyright infringement at the Madras High Court.
Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad are both southern franchises and have their bases in Chennai, Tamil Nadu’s capital city. However, the off‑field drama erupted because Sun TV Network, who own Sunrisers franchise, filed a lawsuit against the Indian Cement-owned Chennai franchise over the usage of Tamil cinema legend Rajinikanth’s film songs in their promotional content.
Sun TV Network sued Chennai Super Kings in the Madras High Court over the unlicensed use of Rajinikanth’s songs in promotional content on social media.
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Copyright Dispute Explained
Rajinikanth is a popular Tamil actor, and songs from his movies are often used for creating content. Chennai Super Kings’ social media team has oftentimes used popular Rajinikanth songs in their promos and videos to engage fans. The songs from the movies Jailer, Jailer 2, and Coolie, all of which starred Rajinikanth, were used by CSK to create social media content.
The songs were used to draw parallels between Rajinikanth and CSK stalwart MS Dhoni, highlighting Dhoni’s iconic leadership and on-field charisma. However, the copyright dispute stemmed from CSK not obtaining proper licensing or permission from the rights holders.
Since Sun TV Network has produced and holds the rights to these songs, prompting them to file the lawsuit to protect Rajinikanth’s intellectual property. Chennai Super Kings’ digital team used the Rajnikanth-starrer movie songs to create engaging promotional content, reels, and hype videos for fans, which Sun TV Network argued amounted to copyright infringement without proper authorization.
Despite the Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad having their headquarters in the same city and sharing a southern fan base, the legal clash has created tensions between the IPL franchises ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.
Since Rajnikanth’s movie songs are copyrighted, using them without permission led to a lawsuit by Sun TV Network against Chennai Super Kings at the Madras High Court.
Madras High Court Response
Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy of the Madras High Court presided over the legal battle between Sun TV Network and Chennai Super Kings, hearing arguments on copyright infringement and the need for proper licensing.
The senior counsel, representing the CSK, already informed the court that the franchise removed all the content from the social media platforms that used Rajinikanth’s songs without permission after receiving a warning mail from the Sun TV Network on March 1.
However, the Sun TV Network sought INR 1 Crore in damages and a full account of any revenue that was generated through the promotional clips, which featured tracks like ‘Hukum’ from the movie Jailer.
Hearing the lawsuit filed by Sunrisers Hyderabad’s owners, Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy directed the Chennai Super Kings to submit an affidavit that they will not use any copyrighted Rajnikanth songs in future promotional content without proper permission and license from the right hilders and adjourned the matter to March 16, Monday.
CSK must stop using Rajinikanth songs without permission, report any earnings from past clips, and appear in court on March 16.
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SRH vs CSK Legal Battle Sparks Social Media Debate
The legal battle between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Chennai Super Kings over copyright infringement by the five-time IPL champions has sparked an intense debate on social media, especially X (formerly Twitter), where fans and cricket enthusiasts expressed strong opinions.
Taking to their X handles, fans and cricket enthusiasts expressed a mix of opinions over the legal battle, with many criticizing CSK for using Rajinikanth’s songs without proper licensing, while others joked about political affiliations influencing the dispute, debated the fairness of Sun TV’s actions, and suggested CSK create their own original content.
Some supported the franchise, as they believed the copyright infringement issue was overblown, and others highlighted the complexities of intellectual property rights in the entertainment and sports world.
Meanwhile, the Chennai Super Kings will kick off their quest for the record-breaking sixth IPL triumph when they take on the Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati on March 30, and Sunrisers Hyderabad will aim for the second title as they take on the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the season opener on March 28.
