TEA BRAND PITCHERS FROM SEASON 2 RECEIVE A LEGAL NOTICE FROM SHARK TANK INDIA; PITCHERS TAG VINEETA SINGH, ANUPAM MITTAL AND PEYUSH BANSAL IN THEIR POST

We've seen and heard many success stories about start-ups after appearing on Shark Tank India. However, businesses in distress are a rare occurrence, and this has become a reality for Shark Tank India 2 pitchers who won funding from Vineeta Singh, Anupam Mittal, and Peyush Bansal.

Sony Pictures Networks India has issued a legal notice to the start-up that provides fresh-from-farm and organic Darjeeling tea to consumers across the country.

Sparsh Agarwal, Dorji's co-founder, reported on LinkedIn three days ago that Sony Pictures Networks India had written them a legal warning for exploiting footage from their own pitch in YouTube videos. He further claimed that they were not the only ones who received the notice, revealing that other pitchers, who featured on Shark Tank India did as well.

He wrote, "Day 10 of our Fundraise Challenge: Shark Tank India has sent us a legal notice!" Agarwal added, "We woke up to a number of legal claims made by the Sony Pictures Networks India team sending us copyright violation notice for using clips from our own pitch, on YouTube and Meta ads."

The co-founder further added, "And we’re not the only ones— they’ve cracked down on each and every startup that appeared on Shark Tank."

Sparsh Agarwal listed a few brands in the post and tagged them. He expressed his disappointment, saying that he didn't understand why the showmakers would do this. According to him, he and other brands pay a lot of money to promote Shark Tank material on various channels, which helps the show get free attention and strengthens its brand image.

He described this as a poor business choice taken by a Sony executive/legal representative, adding, "It also goes against the entire ethos of promoting small startups." Along with the lengthy commentary, he shared a video of the email he received from the team.

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Dorje Teas debuted on Shark Tank India 2. They agreed to a deal with Sharks Anupam Mittal, Vineeta Singh, and Peyush Bansal for Rs 35 lakhs and 15% equity.

In his post, he also tagged several Sharks from the season, including Anupam Mittal, Vineeta Singh, Namita Thapar, Aman Gupta, Ashneer Grover, Peyush Bansal, Ritesh Agarwal, Deepinder Goyal, and Radhika Gupta. The Sharks haven't responded to the post yet.