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Divij Joshi

Divij Joshi is a lawyer and tinkers in technology and policy. He tweets @divij_joshi.

Copyright Trademark

Draft E-Commerce Policy Extends India’s Intermediary Liability Woes

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It’s been a rough time for online intermediaries operating in India, lately. Jumping on the techlash bandwagon in the wake of multiple social media fiascos concerning online disinformation, data breaches, and mass propagation of hate speech and abuse, governments across the world are taking this as an opportunity to tighten regulation for online ‘intermediaries’ – platforms which host third party content, such as social media or online marketplaces. Similarly, the hornet’s nest of intermediary liability for copyright and trademark infringement…


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Copyright

Breaking: The Background Music to Spotify’s India Launch is a Crucial Legal Battle on Music Copyright

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It’s the one we’ve all been waiting for. Spotify, the Swedish music-streaming service, finally launched in India after months of speculation as to when and how the service would reach Indian consumers. Yet, an as yet unknown number of works in Spotify’s catalogue are in a precarious position, and could at any moment be pulled from the service. While we enjoy tunes from the world’s largest online streaming service, the background music to the launch is an intense legal battle…


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Copyright

Update: European Union Agrees on Copyright Directive Text, ‘Upload Filters’ and ‘Link Tax’ Closer to Becoming Internet Norms

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In a major development in the European Union with repercussions for the internet at large, the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission on February 13, 2019, agreed upon the final text of the new EU Copyright Directive. While the text of the new rules has not yet been released, and they are yet to be officially confirmed by the parliament and council, a press release by the European Commission stated that a political agreement was…


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Copyright

SaReGaMa Pa-rdon Me, You Have the Wrong Address: On the Perils and Pitfalls of Notice and Takedown

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The universe surely has a strange sense of humour. Imagine our surprise when we received a notice from Google Inc., that they had de-indexed one of blogs after a complaint was filed against it by Saregama India Pvt. Ltd. On December 13, 2018, Google informed us that: “Google has been notified, according to the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), that some of the material found on your site allegedly infringes upon the copyrights of others. Although some…


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Drug Regulation Patent

Guest Post (Adarsh Ramanujan): Why Donald Trump’s Union Address Matters for Pharma Patents in India

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We’re pleased to bring to you a guest post by Adarsh Ramanujan. Adarsh is an advocate primarily assisting clients as a litigation attorney. He has recently started his own counsel practice with offices in Delhi and Chennai after having spent considerable time with Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan at their New Delhi and Geneva offices. He obtained his B.Sc. LL.B. (Hons.) degree (Gold Medalist) from National Law University, Jodhpur  and LL.M. degree from University of California, Berkeley. He is a qualified Patent Agent…


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Copyright

Draft Intermediary Guidelines Rules will Undermine Fair Dealing and Access to Knowledge Online

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The Ministry of Information Technology has released a draft of proposed changes to the Intermediary Guidelines Rules, 2011, made under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (“IT Act”). Section 79 provides that certain categories of intermediaries which merely host third party content shall not be liable for such third-party content, provided that certain conditions are complied with, which is known as a ‘safe harbour’. Compliance with the Intermediary Guidelines Rules drafted under Section 79 is a pre-requisite to…


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Copyright

A Draft Amendment to the Cinematograph Act could Put You In Jail the Next Time You Record an End-Credits Scene in a Movie Hall

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The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting recently published a draft amendment to the Indian Cinematograph Act of 1952, with the stated aim of countering film piracy. The draft amendment, to Section 7(4) of the Cinematograph Act reads – “Notwithstanding any law for the time being in force including any provision of the Copyright Act, 1957, any person who, during the exhibition of an audiovisual work, cinematographic in an exhibition facility used to exhibit cinematograph   films   or   audiovisual   recordings   and   without  …


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Trademark

Delhi High Court Examines Intermediary Liability for Trademark Infringement (Part – II)

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In my previous post, I broke down Ms. Justice Prathiba Singh’s recent judgement in Christian Louboutin v Nakul Bajaj, and noted its importance for intermediary liability and e-commerce players in India. In this post, I examine the Court’s approach towards intermediary liability, and attempt to outline what exactly the judgement means for e-commerce platforms. (Update: On November 12, the Court also made a similar ruling on similar facts in L’oreal v Brandworld, relying upon its earlier judgement in Christian Louboutin.)…


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Trademark

Delhi High Court Examines Intermediary Liability for Trademark Infringement (Part – I)

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In a significant judgement for e-commerce in India, the Delhi High Court in Christian Louboutin SAS v Nakul Bajaj and Ors., (decided on November 2), has recently attempted to clarify the responsibilities and liability of online intermediaries for trademark infringement. The judgement both clarifies and in some part obfuscates India’s intermediary liability regime as it relates to trademark infringement. Ms. Justice Prathiba Singh’s judgement is particularly important considering it is the first time the issue of trademark infringement by online…


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Overlaps in IP Patent

India’s IPR Regime Looks to Hi-Tech to Improve Administration – From Video Conferencing to AI and Blockchain

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The IPR administrative offices form the backbone of the legal system of India’s IP regimes. The efficacy of the law depends, to a large extent, on how these offices manage their administrative tasks, which includes substantive evaluation of claims over IP, as well as tasks of effectively maintaining registries and public records. We have written, in the past, about many worrying aspects of their administration, such as non-transparent functioning of the Copyright Office, or the skewed incentives system within the…


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