Zee Sues Nykaa Over Alleged Use Of Copyrighted Music In Instagram Reels

Zee Entertainment Enterprises has filed a lawsuit against Nykaa in the Delhi High Court, alleging the retailer used copyrighted songs in promotional Instagram reels without obtaining proper authorisation.

According to court documents reviewed by Reuters, the lawsuit was filed on April 3 and seeks damages of 20 million rupees. The dispute centres around the alleged commercial use of songs owned by Zee in social media promotions tied to Nykaa’s products and marketing content.

Also Read: Nykaa Converts Bandra Fort Into a Live Canvas for ‘Concern Week: Pigmentation’

In its filing, Zee stated that it has a licensing arrangement with Meta that allows individual users to access and use its music library for non-commercial Instagram content. However, the company alleged that Nykaa used the music in branded promotional reels aimed at marketing products to its audience, which, according to Zee, falls outside the scope of that agreement.

The court documents identified 12 Instagram reels where the songs were allegedly used without permission. The filing, which reportedly runs over 900 pages, also included screenshots of the posts in question as part of the evidence submitted to the court.

During a brief hearing on Thursday, Nykaa’s legal representative informed the court that the flagged Instagram links had already been removed. Zee, however, maintained in its filing that the retailer used the music “without securing any permissions/authorisations” from the company.

For marketers and digital brands, the case draws attention to a growing grey area in social media advertising the use of copyrighted music in branded content. As platforms like Instagram increasingly blur the lines between creator content, entertainment and commerce, questions around licensing rights and commercial usage are becoming more significant.

The dispute also reflects the growing scrutiny around influencer-style marketing formats used by brands on social media. Many companies rely on trending audio, film tracks and platform music libraries to make branded reels feel more organic and culturally relevant. However, legal experts say commercial use cases often operate under different licensing requirements than personal or creator-led content.

Also Read: Nykaa celebrates 14 years with giant cake at Bandstand

From a business perspective, the outcome of the case could influence how brands, agencies and creators approach music licensing for social-first campaigns in the future. It may also push companies to review whether platform-based music access automatically covers advertising and promotional usage.

As short-form video continues to dominate digital marketing strategies, the case underlines the increasing legal and financial risks attached to copyrighted content in brand communication.

The next hearing in the matter is scheduled for May 26.