Amlan Mohanty

Authors, Academics and Students Protest Publishers’ Move in Delhi University Copyright Case

September 19, 2012 / By Amlan Mohanty / Copyright

If you have been following the recent copyright dispute between a group of publishers and Delhi University, you will acknowledge that the case primarily concerns three groups: (1) the publishers (2) authors, and (3) end users themselves (including universities, academics, research scholars, professors and students). But with the vehement objections from both authors and students to the publishers’ move against the university, raising concerns about restrictions on access to knowledge, perhaps it is time for the Government of India to […]

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Copyright Rules, 2012

September 18, 2012 / By Amlan Mohanty / Copyright

In the past, we have extensively covered the amendments to the Indian Copyright Act by way of the 2012 amendment that was recently notified by the Government. Now, the draft Copyright Rules, 2012 have been published, which seek to clarify some of the ambiguities in the amendments. A brief (but exhaustive, hence long post warning) overview of the different aspects covered by the Rules is given below: LICENCES FOR TRANSLATIONS Licences for translations of work can be applied for under S.32

Delhi University Must Defend

September 12, 2012 / By Amlan Mohanty / Uncategorized

In Prashant’s last post, he argued that the most appropriate legal position for Delhi University to take, would be to settle with the publishers and procure licences from the IRRO (a copyright society set up by the publishing industry) for photocopying portions of books that are compiled into course-packs for students. At the outset, I would like to respectfully declare my wholehearted objection to such an idea. I. THE QUESTION OF HOW MUCH First comes the question of how much Delhi University/the photocopy

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SpicyIP’s Weekly Review -September (Week 1)

September 10, 2012 / By Amlan Mohanty / Uncategorized

The weekly round up of notable IP developments in India and abroad for the first week of September is below. For our previous weekly round up, please click here. DEVELOPMENTS IN INDIA COPYRIGHT 1. EBC -Westtlaw/Indlaw Injunction: The publishing industry in India has witnessed a couple of important legal developments in the last few weeks. First, Eastern Book Company managed to secure an injunction (copy available here) against Westlaw and Indlaw (legal databases used by practitioners, academics and students) from

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Analysing the Delhi University v. Publishers Photocopying Case

September 4, 2012 / By Amlan Mohanty / Copyright

The on-going litigation between a group of leading publishers and a small photocopying shop attached to Delhi University has all the elements of a legendary ‘fair dealing’ debate. On one side we have Big Publishing (Oxford & Cambridge University Press along with Francis & Taylor) who argue that use of their intellectual and creative product require recompense; on the other, we have students (many of them from impoverished sections of society) who argue that gaining a functional education in India

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How Trivial is ‘Kajra Re’ and can Vasundhra Das’ Life Help Indian Copyright Law Progress?

August 23, 2012 / By Amlan Mohanty / Copyright

In my previous post I examined the possibility of using the maxim of de minimis non curat lex (which translates to the law will not resolve petty or unimportant disputes) in the context of Indian copyright law. I concluded that yes, in fact, one might rely on this doctrine to fight a claim for copyright infringement under the Indian Copyright Act. To do this, I relied on the decision in the case of India TV v. Yashraj Films (Delhi High

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Is the Delhi High Court the Fairest of Them All? Fair Use & De Minimis Examined

August 22, 2012 / By Amlan Mohanty / Copyright

I recently attended a roundtable conference on Patents and Copyright where Professor Shyamkrishna Balganesh, noted copyright scholar from the University of Pennsylvania, was talking about the development of the fair use doctrine in a U.S. context and how there is an unstated dependence on institutions (the judiciary/ U.S. Copyright Office) to do this task. I was concerned that India might have to suffer the burden of such institutional dependence, given the slow pace of case law development and the relative

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SpicyIP is pleased to announce that ILS, Pune will be hosting a 2 day national seminar on the recently notified Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012. Our previous posts on the amendments can be found here. The seminar promises to provide an exciting opportunity for students, academics, practitioners and professors to engage in discussions on the impact of the amendments on various industries and stakeholders. Over 250 participants are expected at the seminar. The schedule for the conference is available below.

Patentability of Computer Software Programs in India

July 23, 2012 / By Amlan Mohanty / Uncategorized

In my previous post about the Samsung-Apple patent war in the tablet and smartphone market, I ranted about the curse of patents in the industry and how Judge Richard Posner, of the U.S. Court of Appeals expressed his disdain for patents in the industry as well. Thus, I thought it may be useful to examine the issue of software patents in India – to lay down the present law on the subject. Thus, in the following paras, I will briefly

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Samsung v. Apple – Let the Patent Games Begin

July 23, 2012 / By Amlan Mohanty / Patent

While the patent wars between the various smartphone and tablet manufacturers (Apple, Samsung, Motorola, Google) have been raging for a while, there are a few recent stories that deserve a quick mention for being plain hilarious to downright ridiculous. SAMSUNG v. APPLE IN THE U.S. One might remember the order of a U.S. District Court late last month that granted Apple a preliminary injunction against Samsung for the sale of the Samsung Galaxy 10.1 tablet. Judge Koh remarked that there was enough

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Author name: Amlan Mohanty