Delhi High Court has on July 10 directed Kuku FM to halt the release of new episodes from five audio series until the next hearing on August 29, following a complaint by rival Pocket FM alleging copyright infringement.
This development marks the latest legal battle between the arch-rivals, who have clashed in court multiple times over the past few years.
Pocket FM has filed a lawsuit against Mebigo Labs, the parent company of Kuku FM, alleging repeated instances of infringement of its intellectual properties. This includes copyright infringement, passing off of trademarks, unfair trade practices, tortious interference, and inducement to breach contracts.
Pocket FM has sought approximately $10 million (Rs 85.7 crore) in damages, along with a permanent injunction to restrain Kuku FM from continuing such infringing activities. It has also sought the appointment of a local commissioner to conduct a detailed investigation and prevent any potential evidence tampering by Kuku FM.
Pocket FM claimed that Kuku FM specifically infringed its copyright in five shows by substantially and materially copying key elements, including core themes, concepts, thematic expression, characters, story arcs, and interpersonal relationships. This includes Super Yoddha, Insta Empire, Amrapali, Vashikaran, and The Immortal Warrior.
Senior advocate Amit Sibal, appearing for Pocket FM along with law firm Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, argued that "this is wholesale infringement of titles with an entire series of hundreds of episodes". The court has asked Kuku FM to submit details of the infringing series.
Pocket FM also alleged that Kuku FM continues to infringe repeatedly on its content despite four separate cases initiated by Pocket FM against the platform. In May 2025, Pocket FM filed a case in the Delhi High Court against Kuku FM for allegedly pirating its show Insta Millionaire, which resulted in an injunction order on May 30.
In today's hearing, Sibal stated that in that case, Kuku FM "bodily lifted" the show, to the extent that, at the end of each episode, it says “aage ki kahani jaane ke liye, log in kariye Pocket FM par” (To know what happens next, log in to Pocket FM). Moneycontrol has reached out to Kuku FM and Pocket FM for comments and will update the story once we hear back.
Cross-town rivals Pocket FM and Kuku FM offer audio content through a range of audio stories and original shows. Both companies have also recently forayed into video, offering serialised micro-dramas.
Pocket FM, started by Rohan Nayak, Prateek Dixit, and Nishanth Srinivas in 2018, has raised a total $196.5 million funding from investors such as Lightspeed and Stepstone Group.
Meanwhile, Kuku FM was started by Lal Chand Bisu, Vikas Goyal and Vinod Meena in 2018. The startup counts Nandan Nilekani's Fundamentum Partnership, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Google, and Krafton among its backers and has raised about $73 million to date.
Moneycontrol reported in June that Kuku FM is in advanced talks to raise about $70 million (around Rs 600 crore) funding led by Granite Asia.
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