Biological Diversity Copyright Geographical Indication Others Patent Trademark

SpicyIP Weekly Review (January 4 – 10)

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Topical Highlight Issues in Sci-Hub Case ‘A Matter of Public Importance’ In this post, Swaraj highlighted some issues that came up during the hearing of the recent litigation, involving Elsevier, Wiley, and ACS suing Sci-Hub and LibGen for copyright infringement. He observed that it was a positive step for Justice Midha of the Delhi High Court to repeatedly point out that case was ‘a matter of public importance’, and he would not want to pass any orders without hearing the various…


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Copyright

Sci-Hub and Libgen Up against Academic Publishers: A Death Knell for Access to Research? – Part III

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This post is in continuation of my previous posts dealing with the background on the copyright infringement suit against Sci-Hub and Libgen (here) and the applicability of the fair dealing exception to the impugned use of copyrighted works (here). In this post, I discuss the exception in the Copyright Act for use of works for the purposes of education and the interim injunction plea sought by the plaintiffs. Education Exception Section 52(1)(i) of the Act allows for “the reproduction of…


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Copyright

Sci-Hub and Libgen Up against Academic Publishers: A Death Knell for Access to Research? – Part II

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This post is in continuation to my previous post (here) discussing the copyright infringement suit filed by academic publishers against Sci-Hub and Libgen, particularly the dynamic injunction sought by the plaintiffs. Here, I discuss the applicability of the fair dealing exception to the use of copyrighted works on the defendant websites in the instant dispute. Fair Dealing Even if the court rules that the defendant websites were indulging in activities amounting to copyright infringement, it is necessary for the court…


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Copyright

Sci-Hub and Libgen Up against Academic Publishers: A Death Knell for Access to Research? – Part I

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Recently, three major academic publishers Elsevier, Wiley, and American Chemical Society filed a copyright infringement suit in the Delhi High Court against two groups of websites going by the names ‘Sci-Hub’ and ‘Libgen’ which provide free access to millions of research papers/books. The plaintiffs have sought a permanent injunction against these websites and a dynamic injunction order so that the mirror links of these websites can be blocked as and when the plaintiffs notify. Additionally, the plaintiffs have sought an…


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Patent

SEPs and Confidentiality Clubs: Protecting Fair Play from Excessive Secrecy

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InterDigital, in its ongoing SEP infringement dispute with Xiaomi, proposed a Confidentiality Club for sharing confidential documents to assess whether the licensing terms being offered by InterDigital were on FRAND basis. While both parties were in agreement with the thought of having a confidentiality club, it is the structure of this club that was opposed by the defendants. Particularly, InterDigital’s proposal sought to restrict access to certain confidential information from the defendant’s representatives, and to be subject only to external…


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Biological Diversity Copyright Design Others Patent Privacy Trademark

SpicyIP Weekly Review (November 30- December 6)

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Topical Highlight COVID-19 Vaccines: Patent Ownership and the Barriers to Equitable Access In this post, Adyasha conducts a thorough analysis of the vaccines developed by Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca-Oxford, the complex ownership status of their intellectual property, the bilateral pre-purchase deals struck with higher-income countries and their implications on the Global South. She first notes the importance of public funding for the fruition of the three vaccines upon which patent protection is being claimed by their respective owners. She then…


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Copyright Others Patent Trademark

SpicyIP Weekly Review (November 23- 29)

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Topical Highlight A Copyright Reform Agenda from a Group of Like-Minded IP Teachers In this guest post, Prof. (Dr.) N.S. Gopalakrishnan provides us an overview of the recommendations focussing on desirable public interest oriented amendments to the Copyright Act prepared by a group of ‘like minded IP teachers’. He particularly summarises four broad themes of amendments. The first set of proposed changes deal with Section 52. These include an open-ended fair dealing clause under Section 52(1)(a), expanding educational use exception…


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Copyright Trademark

Officer’s Choice v. Chetak Whisky: An Incorrect Choice of Jurisdiction?

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Recently, Allied Blenders and Distillers Pvt Ltd filed a copyright and trademark infringement suit before the Delhi High Court protecting their ‘Officer’s Choice’ mark from the defendant’s ‘Chetak Whisky’. The court granted an ad interim injunction in the plaintiff’s favour. An interesting question that came up before the court was regarding its territorial jurisdiction to grant this relief, discussion of which formed the majority of the order. In this piece, I shall analyse the court’s treatment of the jurisdiction issue….


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Copyright

Amendments to the Copyright Act: Hidden Consultations and the Missing Public Angle of Copyright Law – Part II

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This post is in continuation to my previous post (here) highlighting the implications of closed door consultations on amendments to the Copyright Act. Here, I discuss some of the major themes that such amendments must consider. Please note that due to the scope of this post, it is longer than our usual posts. Fair Use and Free Speech The fair use principles (for ‘non infringing uses’) are carved out as exceptions and limitations to the rights of a copyright owner,…


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Copyright

Amendments to the Copyright Act: Hidden Consultations and the Missing Public Angle of Copyright Law – Part I

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A few weeks ago, NASSCOM had informed its members that the Copyright Office is seeking comments as to whether there was a need for amendments to be carried out to the Copyright Act. Subsequently, Medianama reported that the consultation process seeking opinions on whether to amend the Act seems to only include industry stakeholders. The updated deadline for sending in comments is November 30. It would seem that some law firms also have been invited to this process (for eg,…


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