Author name: Rishabh Mohnot

Thematic Highlight I wrote a post on the extent of TRAI’s regulatory powers. The Supreme Court, in TRAI v DIPP, held that TRAI’s regulatory powers include the power to prohibit. Further, it held that a TRAI’s regulation are in public interest, and therefore, will remain valid even if they impinge upon rights under the Copyright Act, which only protects authors. I argue that the court’s findings on the purpose of the Copyright Act may be inaccurate in light of recent […]

Thematic Highlight In the first of a two-part post, I wrote on the Supreme Court’s judgment in Star India v DIPP. In its judgment, the court delineated the regulatory powers of TRAI, in light of alleged overlaps with the Copyright Act. The court noted that the regulations passed by TRAI did not tread onto the ‘broadcast reproduction right’ granted under Section 37 of the Copyright Act. In the next part, I will discuss the court’s holding on the outcome if

Thematic Highlight Our thematic highlight came from Prarthana, who wrote on the impact of intellectual property law may on culture. In her post, she discusses the meaning of the term ‘cultural appropriation’, which she notes may be lost due to incorrect usage. She notes that the crossroads between intellectual property and culture comes most concretely in WIPO’s draft articles on ‘traditional cultural expressions’, which speaks of protecting community rights over cultural expressions and manifestations. She concludes by discussing two recent

Topical Highlight Prof. Basheer wrote a post on the Monsanto decision that was recently passed by the Supreme Court. In his post, he highlights the magnitude of the litigation that has taken place and the different areas of law that must be considered. He also notes that much is yet to come from the dispute since the Delhi High Court will now conduct a trial over the patentability of the technology, which he suspects will also be a decision that

Here’s the round-up of the last fortnight of 2018! Thematic Highlight Prarthana wrote a post on Carlsberg Breweries v. Som Distilleries, in which a 5-judge bench of the Delhi High Court held that a composite suit for design infringement and passing off is maintainable, and further, a remedy for passing off for a registered design can be brought if the said design is not functioning as a trademark and if the remedy of passing off is claimed for trade dress

Prashant wrote a post about the impact of India’s biodiversity laws’ impact on scientists and businesses. After tracing the history of the biodiversity laws that we see today, he argues that the legislation should be repealed because it opens the door for arbitrary enforcement against businesses and impedes research efforts by scientists. Pankhuri informed us of the invitation for applications for the CLPR Equality Fellowship with the Centre for Law and Policy Research. The fellows will be expected to engage