Author name: Divij Joshi

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

SpicyIP Weekly Review (April 8 -14)

/ By / Others

In case you missed this week’s posts, don’t worry, here’s a roundup below – The topical highlight of the week is Prashant’s post on the long running dispute regarding the patentability of Monsanto’s BT Cotton. In a significant ruling, the Delhi High Court denied Monsanto patent protection for its claim over a particular genetic sequence. The HC rejected the claim on the grounds that it was not patentable subject matter under Section 3(j), which prohibits the grant of patents for …

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Supreme Court Affirms that Only ‘Government Works’ under the Copyright Act Qualify as ‘Protected Systems’ under IT Act

/ By / Copyright

In B.N. Firos v State of Kerala and Ors., the Supreme Court of India, on March 27, held that only those ‘computer systems’ may be designated as protected system under the Information Technology Act, which qualify as ‘Government Works’ under the Copyright Act. Background The present dispute related to the ownership of copyright in software which was being used by the Government of Kerala for a project known as FRIENDS (Fast, Reliable Instant, Efficient, Network for Disbursement of Services). The …

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SpicyIP Fortnightly Review (March 11 – 24)

/ By / Others

The topical highlight for this fortnight has been Pankhuri’s post on the Delhi High Court’s judgement in Sphaera Pharma Pte. Ltd and Anr. v. Union Of India, where the Court reiterated that the Patents Act does not offer any scope for considering a request for patent examination filed beyond the prescribed period of 48 months from the date of filing of the application. In the present case, the plaintiff claimed that the request for examination was not properly uploaded although …

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Amitabh Bachchan Lashes Out at Copyright Limitations – Here’s Why He’s Wrong

/ By / Copyright

In a rather rambling blog post on Monday, Mr Amitabh Bachchan, Bollywood’s angry young man turned angry-preacher-from-the-social-media-pulpit, let loose a diatribe against the seeming injustice done to him by the Indian Copyright Act – specifically, the concept of copyright terms – which temporally limit rights in original copyrighted work, beyond which the works is included in the public domain. The motivation for the post seems to be the realisation that the copyright in Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s poetry, currently with his …

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‘Retroactive Bad Faith’ Gets a Quiet Burial – UDRP Moves Towards Fairer Standards for Domain Registrants

/ By / Trademark

Domain names constitute the signposts for the world wide web, making it possible to navigate the immensity of the internet. Given the transnational nature of the internet and the domain name registration system in particular, it was realized early on in its development that a suitable system must be developed to protect the rights of trademark holders in domain names, to prevent the misuse of brands and secure better consumer protection. Therefore, the ICANN, the apex body responsible for administering …

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SpicyIP Weekly Review (February 25 – March 3)

/ By / Others

In case you missed out on this week’s posts at SpicyIP, have no worries, here’s a roundup of the last weeks highlights. Our topical highlight of the week is my post on the Madras HC’s fairly straightforward decision examining film title protection in the context of copyright law. The judgement also deals with the important issue of the scope of protection offered by so-called ‘title registration schemes’ run by film associations, and whether they are effective at all. I recommend …

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Film Title Protection: Madras High Court Rejects Copyright Claim Over Film Title, Holds Trade Association Rules Not Binding on Non-Members

/ By / Copyright

A division bench of the Madras High Court, in its judgement in M/s Lyca Productions v J. Manimaran and Ors, delivered on the 22nd of February, overturned a single bench decision which upheld copyright protection to the title of a film. The judgement is significant not only for its analysis of the scope of copyright protection of film titles, but also for its sound rejection of the original plaintiffs argument that the rules of a trade association should be binding …

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Between a Croc and a Hard Place – Delhi High Court Rejects Interim Protection for Crocs’ Registered Designs

/ By / Design, Others

The Delhi High Court, in its judgement in Crocs v Liberty and Ors., on February 8, rejected Crocs Inc.’s applications for interim injunctions against the breach of copyright in their registered design. Mr. Justice Valmiki Mehta disallowed the applications for injunction, finding that Crocs’ designs for its namesake clog-type (see image) sandals were ‘liable to be cancelled’, and imposed substantial compensatory costs on the plaintiff. [TL;DR – Crocs fell short of the Design Act’s requirement that any trade variations to …

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SpicyIP Weekly Review (February 11 – 17)

/ By / Others

We’ve had a busy week at the blog this week, with several guest contributors and interesting discussions on our comments threads too. The week’s thematic highlight is Mathews three-part post analyzing Section 31D of the Copyright Act, and criticizing the order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in ordering the Registrar of Copyrights to exercise power under Section 31D. The first part of the post notes that the IPAB is supposed to function as an independent tribunal, which is …

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SpicyIP Weekly Review (January 28 – February 3)

/ By / Others

This week’s thematic highlight was Sreyoshi’s post on the controversy brewing between Indian textile artists and label ‘People Tree’ and the high fashion brand Dior, on what appears to be the copying of the former’s block print and artwork by the latter. The post examines the controversy in light of potential copyright claims that the designers may have and further uses the example to discuss the protection of Traditional Cultural Expressions in the context of cultural appropriation, and why we …

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