Former Times Now anchor, Arnab Goswami received a legal notice from a “top media house” over his classic phrase “nation wants to know”.
In an audio clip Goswami said that he was sent a six-page long legal notice which threatened him with imprisonment if he were to ever use the phrase that was popularized in this primetime segment on “The Newshour” on Times Now.
In his audio message, Arnab daringly said:
The threat of imprisonment will not deter me. Bring your moneybags and your lawyers, file the criminal case against me for using the phrase ‘Nation Wants to Know’. Do everything you can, spend all the money you have and arrest me. I am waiting right now in my studio floor. Come, enforce your threat.
He further explained that the phrase belongs to “you, to me and to all of us, every citizen of this country.”
Every Indian has a right to use that phrase. And this phrase comes from the heart.Every Indian, through his or her questioning spirit, can use the phrase Nation Wants to Know.
Without naming the media house that sent him a legal notice, he said that they have been trying to delay the launch of Republic TV.
After quitting Times Now, Goswami went ahead with new venture with Republic TV, which is a part of a company called ARG Outlier Media Pvt. Ltd. The company is expected to launch the news channel soon.
According to The News Minute, sources placed at Times Group confirmed sending the legal notice to Goswami’s Republic TV, adding that Times Now had applied for trademark registration for the phrase before it came to use. The sources also said that the legal notice was to caution the ‘little known media company’ that had applied for the same phrase in January 2017.
The spokesperson of Times Group said:
ARG Outliers had filed for trademark for these and similar phrases which were already filed for and extensively used for years by Times Now. We have responded with a standard caution notice. He is just trying to gain soundbytes from it.
In a surprising move, former NDTV journalist Barkha Dutt who has often crossed words with Arnab sided with him over the issue saying it was unfair for media owners to “force-own copyright of shows created and nurtured by individuals”.
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