Three-panel bicycle meme showing “Intermediaries” initially riding smoothly under “Section 79: Stay neutral and retain safe harbour,” then being thrown off balance by “Rule 4(1A), IT Amendment Rules, 2026,” and finally lying on the ground beside the fallen bicycle.

India’s ISP Copyright Problem – Self-Inflicted?

/ By / Copyright

India’s intermediary liability framework has long struggled to reconcile copyright enforcement with the protections afforded to platforms under Section 79 of the IT Act. This tension has recently been amplified by the Delhi High Court’s directions seeking clarity from Meta on its policies governing access to its Rights Manager tool (a development we will examine in one of our forthcoming posts), as well as by the amendments to the IT Rules tightening intermediary obligations (discussed by Sonisha here). Against this […]

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Playing by Different Rules: Why Equating Section 3(m) to European Patent Law Doesn’t Hold Up

/ By / Patent

[This post is co-authored by Swaraj Barooah and Maneesha Gupta. Maneesha is a fifth-year B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) student at NMIMS School of Law, Bengaluru, and a participant in the SpicyIP Summer School 2026.] A part of the Patents Act that has seen almost no litigation action till last year, has slowly started finding itself in the midst of more and more patent action. Section 3(m) (mere schemes or rules / method of performing of mental act / method of playing

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SpicyIP Bells & Whistles: IP Events and Opportunities (11.08.2026)

/ By / Courses & Workshops, Opportunities

Welcome back to another week of Bells & Whistles. As always, we’ve rounded up a mix of developments, opportunities, and thoughtful reads from across the IP world along with a Bell of the Week that’s well worth revisiting. Bell of the Week: oriGIn Some bells are about protecting a product. Others are about giving the communities behind that product a voice. This week’s bell goes to oriGIn (Organization for an International Geographical Indications Network), a global alliance bringing together around 600

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How Much Evidence Is Enough? The Evidentiary Threshold for Interim Injunctions in Saregama v. Ilaiyaraaja

/ By / Copyright

How much evidence is enough to establish copyright ownership at the interim stage? Unpacking the Delhi High Court’s latest decision in the Saregama-Ilaiyaraaja case, Umeshwari Ranjan explains how the decision offers an important answer, while leaving some questions unanswered about assignment validity, irreparable injury, and the scope of decades-old rights in the age of digital exploitation. Umeshwari is a third-year B.B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) student at Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar, and an IDIA Scholar. Her academic interests lie in Intellectual

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SpicyIP Weekly Review (August 3- August 9)

/ By / Copyright, Patent, Trademark

[The Weekly Review is authored by Vishwas Kumar Tripathi. Vishwas is a 4th year law student at RGNUL, Patiala.] Posts on MeitY’s stricter compliance rules for takedowns, Delhi High Court’s decision in HBO v. Streamzy[dot]to, Madras High Court’s Bolar judgement in Novartis v. Venkata Narayana Active Ingredients, and Delhi High Court’s Alphard decision. This and much more in the second SpicyIP weekly review for August. Anything we are missing out on? Drop a comment and let us know. Highlights of

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Old Rule New Amnesia: A 6 Month Old Takedown Rule Rebranded as “Breaking News”

/ By / Copyright, Others

August 6th, Breaking News! The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has introduced stricter compliance rules for social media platforms, significantly reducing the time available to remove “unlawful” content from 36 hours to 3 hours of receiving a government or court notice, and from 24 hours to 2 hours for sensitive content! (here, here, here) But wait, it seems like a déjà vu! Didn’t the February 2026 amendments to the The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code)

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Dynamic Injunctions, Website Blocking, and the Limits of Section 79 of the IT Act: Analysing the Delhi High Court’s HBO Order

/ By / Copyright

The Delhi High Court’s decision in Home Box Office Inc. v. Streamzy.To attempts to strike a balance between the need to effectively combat online piracy and the concerns raised by increasingly expansive website-blocking orders. Explaining the order, Vikram Raj Nanda examines whether the Court’s approach marks a meaningful course correction in the law on dynamic injunctions, and whether its framework for involving ISPs and domain name registrars truly preserves their role as neutral intermediaries. Vikram is a fourth-year student at

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Bearing the Burdens of Bolar

/ By / Patent

The Madras High Court’s decision in Novartis AG v. Venkata Narayana Active Ingredients offers the first post-trial examination of the evidence required to invoke Section 107A for exports to get regulatory approval. While the Court’s attempt to bring greater evidentiary clarity to the Bolar exemption is welcome, Arnav Kaman argues that its approach risks placing burdens on manufacturers that may undermine the provision’s underlying purpose. Arnav is a 5th-year law student from Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab. He’s

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Beyond Prius? The DHC’s ALPHARD Decision on Trans-Border Reputation

/ By / Trademark

Introduction  The Delhi High Court (“DHC”), on 4th May 2026 in Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha v. Tech Square Engineering Pvt. Ltd., overturned a Single Judge judgment (2023) and granted the mark “ALPHARD” well-known status while affirming its trans-border reputation. The judgment is noteworthy as it has articulated a test for trans-border reputation and has also observed that in luxury/niche markets, brand visibility and global reputation drive consumer awareness and not mass penetration.  In this blog post, I break down the judgment,

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SpicyIP Bells & Whistles: IP Events and Opportunities (03.08.2026)

/ By / Courses & Workshops, Opportunities

Welcome back to another week of Bells & Whistles. As always, we’ve rounded up a mix of developments, opportunities, and thoughtful reads from across the IP world along with a Bell of the Week that’s well worth revisiting. Bell of the Week: EIFL (Electronic Information for Libraries) Some bells don’t just ring in libraries, they resonate in legislatures.  When we think about copyright reform, we often think of governments, courts and international treaties. Rarely do we think of the organisations

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