Author name: Nikhil Purohit

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

/ By / Copyright, Trademark

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

/ By / Copyright

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

/ By / Copyright

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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SpicyIP Weekly Review (November 2- 8)

/ By / Copyright, Patent, Trademark

Topical Highlight Trademark Renewal Procedure: A Slip in IPAB’s Decision in Eveready Industries v. Kamlesh Chadha? In this post, Adarsh notes the IPAB decision in Eveready Industries India Ltd v. Mrs. Kamlesh Chadha allowing rectification and directing the removal of two marks of the Respondent from the Trade Marks Registry. He deals with a specific aspect of the decision wherein IPAB considered one of the marks to have expired in 2006 due to non-renewal, and no restoration petition being filed.

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SpicyIP Weekly Review (October 19- 25)

/ By / Others

Topical Highlight Delhi HC Delivers a Blow to “Delhivery”: Rules the Mark to be Phonetically Generic; Ineligible for Statutory Benefits In this post, Praharsh analyses the Delhi High Court order vacating an earlier interim injunction granted in favour of DELHIVERY. He first notes the arguments made by both parties towards distinctiveness of the mark. He highlights the spectrum of distinctiveness approach followed by courts to determine if a mark is registrable and thus assess whether it fall within the following

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PLEX v. ZEEPLEX: Passing Off at the Last Minute

/ By / Trademark

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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SpicyIP Weekly Review (September 28- October 4)

/ By / Copyright, Others, Patent

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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SpicyIP Weekly Review (August 31- September 6)

/ By / Comparative Advertising, Copyright, Design, Geographical Indication, Innovation, Others, Patent, Trademark

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

/ By / Copyright

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

/ By / Copyright

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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