Author name: Lokesh Vyas

Lokesh is a PhD candidate at Sciences Po, Paris, where he examines the “genealogy of international copyright discourse (1850s–2000)” under the guidance of Professors Séverine Dusollier and Alain Pottage. He graduated from the Institute of Law, Nirma University, and later pursued an LL.M. at American University Washington College of Law as an Arcadia Fellow and Arodhum Scholar. He was previously a visiting scholar at the University of Cambridge. Lokesh is interested in questions of knowledge governance, which he enjoys exploring through historical and philosophical inquiry. He also takes a certain, steady satisfaction in essay competitions—having been fortunate to fare fairly well—securing, for instance, the first Shamnad Basheer Essay Competition in 2020 and the ATRIP Annual Essay Competition in 2024. He can be contacted at lokesh.vyas[at]sciencespo[dot]fr.

Journey Through “Septembers” on SpicyIP (2005 – Present)

/ By / Copyright, Innovation, Others, Patent, Trademark

Image from here. Continuing our Sifting Through SpicyIP Pages series, this post dives into September’s pages and sheds light on some stories, their evolution, or sometimes, their stagnation. In the past, much like intrepid time travelers, we journeyed through the months of June, July, and August, uncovering how some stories like the Mashelkar Report, the National Biotechnology Regulatory Authority (NBRA) Bill, the Whistleblower Act, or the Indian “Bayh Dole” Bill, unfolded with time. Without further ado, here’s what I found […]

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SpicyIP Tidbit: Acquiesce, Copyright Infringement, and Pending Suits in Trial Courts: Highlighting SC’s Recent Remarks

/ By / Others

Image source – here The Supreme Court in Brihan Karan Sugar Syndicate Private Limited vs Yashwantrao Mohite Krushna Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana dealing with issues of passing off, acquiescence, underscored the pendency of suits in the Trial Courts in the State of Maharashtra and urged the Bar members’ cooperation with the Trial Courts. The case contains a few notable points that I found worth tidbit-ing. Let’s unfurl the facts: The case involves an appeal challenging an order of the High Court

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Governance and Supervision of Trademark and Patent Agents: Discussing DHC’s Saurav Chaudhary vs. Union Of India

/ By / Others

Image from here The Delhi High Court recently in Saurav Chaudhary Vs Union Of India & Anr. underscored that there is a need to supervise or govern patent and trademark agents. Interestingly, the same has also been raised earlier by Prashant, Aparajita, and Praharsh. This post discusses the case and argues that there already exists a mechanism under the Patent and trademark laws that govern and supervise such agents. Plus, I argue that the liability of such an agent should be

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Journey Through “Augusts” on SpicyIP (2005 – Present)

/ By / Others

Image from here In the previous months, I journeyed through the posts published in “Junes” and “Julys” of decades past on SpicyIP, tracking how some IP stories developed over the years. Whether it is South Asian Basmati Brawls, the much-to-tread trail of transparency, the Statements of Patent (Non-)Working, or the Indian “Bayh Dole” Bill, some stories never cease to beguile us. In this post, let’s continue the journey and sift through SpicyIP’s “August” pages from 2005 to the present and

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SpicyIP Tidbit: Some Strengthening of the Right to Information Act, 2005 From the Judicial Side

/ By / Others

Image from studio tdes here Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 has been in the news for the last few days, especially for its dilution at the hands of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 which takes away the public interest test while exempting personal information from the RTI Act. (See here and here for more on this). While this move has the potential to severely impact the efficacy of the RTI Act, I recently came across two other

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Journey Through “Julys” on SpicyIP (2005 – Present)

/ By / Others

Last month, while sifting through the pages of “Junes” on SpicyIP, I pored over some old posts to see what has or has not changed in these years. Whether it’s P.H. Kurian’s trail of transparency, discussions about authors and copyright societies, updates on the international IP landscape, or the hustle and bustle of the domestic IP domain, including Statements of Patent (Non-)Working, the journey through Junes had its own jilts and joys. Now, once more, guided by Sankofa sense, I set

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Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023: Of Piracy and Penalties

/ By / Others

Image from here On July 31, the Lok Sabha passed Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which was earlier passed by the Rajya Sabha on July 27, 2023. It amends the Cinematograph Act, 1952 after almost 40 years, with the last significant amendments being made in 1984. There had been earlier attempts to amend the Act through amendment bills in 2010, 2019 (discussed by Divij here), and 2021 (discussed by Adyasha here). While the Amendment Act is not substantially different from the 2021

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Year 1958 and Government’s “Nadir-shahi Firman” Over Copyright Infringement!

/ By / Copyright

While glancing through some initial Indian copyright cases after independence, I chanced upon a quirky 1958 case from Allahabad High Court and thought of sharing it with our readers. So, the year was 1958, a curious case came before the Allahabad High Court – J.N. Bhagga And Ors. vs State (AIR 1959 All 492). It was an appeal by the State of Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) against the order of the Additional District Magistrate Allahabad acquitting the respondents of the offense

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Monday Trademark Musings

/ By / Trademark

We are having a lot of trademark disputes these days (keep a check on our weekly reviews.); with every other day seeming to bring new issues to look at. In the last two weeks, I noticed three cases that intrigued me and made me wonder about their conceptual coherence. In this post, I present those cases and broach some questions for discussion. Please note that a full discussion of facts and arguments is not done in this post. Who is

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SpicyIP Tidbit: Delhi High Court says Registration of a Design can be Prima Facie Proof of Validity.

/ By / Design

On March 14, 2023, in Sirona Hygiene Private Limited Vs Amazon Seller Services Private Ltd, the Delhi High Court provided three interesting points on the issue of design infringement and piracy, in the context of an equally interesting fact scenario! The plaintiff claims that the registered design of a disposable female urination device titled “Pee Buddy” has been infringed by defendant who allegedly manufactures and sells identical devices under the name “Namyaa”.  The first point is the court’s remark that

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