Trademark

PLEX v. ZEEPLEX: Passing Off at the Last Minute

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The multi-media conglomerate, Zee, has recently launched a pay-per-view service, ZEEPLEX. The service allows users to rent a movie from the platform by making a payment. This rent is valid only for 48 hours after the payment and the users can view the movie with their family within 6 hours of starting it. Zee seeks to make this platform “like a multiplex” and targets 50 million DTH subscribers. The platform, however, found itself in the midst of a passing off…


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Copyright Others Patent

SpicyIP Weekly Review (September 28- October 4)

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Topical Highlight National Digital Library of India’s (NDLI) Copyright Guide (Feedback) – Part I In this post, Anupriya reviews the copyright guide brought out by the National Digital Library of India (‘NDLI’) for Indian libraries for which comments were sought till September 30, 2020. At the outset she notes that the introduction to the guide should contain greater reference to user rights and the important role of libraries in furthering access. She then notes the unclear position of the Copyright…


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Comparative Advertising Copyright Design Geographical Indication Innovation Others Patent Trademark

SpicyIP Weekly Review (August 31- September 6)

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Topical Highlight T-Series’ Copyright Infringement Claim against Roposo: Intermediary Liability, Safe Harbour and Fair Dealing In this post, I analysed T-Series’ copyright infringement claim against Roposo. I first flagged two relevant features of the application- a music library and an option to ‘collaborate’. I explore whether Roposo can be considered an intermediary and argue that such holding is possible only for the ‘collaborate’ option, leading to personal liability for the music library. Subsequently, for the ‘collaborate’ option for which it…


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Copyright

T-Series’ Copyright Infringement Claim against Roposo: Intermediary Liability, Safe Harbour and Fair Dealing

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After the recent ban on TikTok by the government, several alternative short-video sharing services have seen a rise in their following. One such application is Roposo, a video creation and sharing app, available in 12 Indian languages. Riding on the ‘Made in India’ advantage, it saw a surge of 22 million in its user base in merely two days after the TikTok ban. MyGovIndia has also joined the platform to connect with Indian audiences and Indian achievers such as Babita…


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Copyright

Lootcase, Copyright and Last Minute Injunctions: A Failed Attempt towards Overprotection

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The movie Lootcase was recently released on Disney+ Hotstar with considerably positive reviews. However, one day prior to its release the Delhi High Court heard a petition filed by Mr. Vinay Vats seeking interim injunction on the release of the film owing to a copyright infringement claim. The court dismissed the application and declined to grant the injunction. Interestingly, the plaintiff’s claim was based on similarities as apparent in a trailer released by them in 2011 and the trailer of…


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Design Others Patent Trademark

SpicyIP Weekly Review (August 10 – 16)

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Topical Highlights Breaking News: Controller General’s Office Agrees with Our Petition for Scrapping the Intellectual Property Appellate Board In this post, Prashant reports on a petition he had submitted to the Ministry of Commerce along with Rahul Bajaj, asking it to consider shutting down the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (‘IPAB’). As seen from a file-noting of the Ministry accessed through RTI, the office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks has agreed with most of their contentions. Prashant…


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Design

The Dilemma of Graphical User Interfaces: A Need to Rethink Design Protection?

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In the previous post I had covered a specific element of the issues touched upon by the similarities in the interface of JioMeet and Zoom, that of possibility of a non-literal copying. While Zoom’s Graphical User Interface (‘GUI’) is not a registered design, the incident also rekindles the debate on the Indian position on GUI protection under its design laws. In this post, I seek to analyse the Designs Act, 2000, to argue that GUIs should be protected under the…


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Others Trademark

Budweiser’s Trademark Infringement and Disparagement Claim: Nipping Satire in the Bud?

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Budweiser recently filed a suit before the Delhi High Court against the defendants on grounds such as infringement of its trademark, unfair competition and commercial disparagement, and dilution and tarnishment of its goodwill and reputation. In an ex parte proceeding, the court held in Budweiser’s favour finding a prima facie ‘infringement of plaintiff’s registered mark ‘Budweiser’ and also amounting to commercial disparagement of the plaintiff’s products’. In this piece, I dissect this interim order and argue that it is completely…


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Copyright

Delhi High Court’s Dynamic Injunction in Favour of Disney: An Unclear and Overbroad Exercise?

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Recently, in a suit filed by Disney for protection of its copyrighted content, the Delhi High Court granted the interim relief in its favour. As aptly described in the order, Disney is ‘in the business of creation, production and distribution of motion pictures/cinematograph films.’ It filed the impugned suit against certain ‘rogue’ websites that were illegally making its copyrighted content available on their platforms. Through the injunction, the court has restrained the ‘rogue’ websites arrayed as defendants in the suit,…


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Copyright

Does JioMeet’s GUI Infringe Copyright in Zoom’s Software?

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Recently, Reliance Jio launched its video-conferencing application called ‘JioMeet’. The launch, however, has been muddled with controversy as the graphical user interface (‘GUI’) of the application is considerably similar to its competitor ‘Zoom’. In a recent statement, Zoom has mentioned that it is discussing with its legal team and is contemplating a possible suit for such copying of its interface. If the dispute does end up reaching the courts, it would be India’s first major litigation addressing the issue of…


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