Author name: SpicyIP

(No) Royalty in the Clouds: Between Copyright and Consumption

/ By / Others

In a significant judgement, the Delhi High Court in Commissioner of Income Tax v. Amazon Web Service held that payments for cloud computing services to AWS do not constitute “royalty”(one of the reasons being the absence of any commercial exploitation of IP rights involved). Rupam and Kartik analyse this judgement, explaining how it marks a pivotal moment in India’s approach to taxing cross-border digital transactions. Rupam is a final-year law student at NLSIU, Bangalore, and a Foundation for International Tax Scholar […]

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Delhi HC’s Orders in Sadhguru & Ankur Warikoo Cases: What Indian Courts Are Getting Wrong About Personality Rights?

/ By / Copyright, Trademark

In light of the Delhi High Court’s recent orders in Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev and Ankur Warikoo cases, SpicyIP intern Anureet Kaur highlights how, instead of building a principled framework for assessing personality rights, the courts are granting injunctions without a firm doctrinal grounding. Anureet is a second year B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) student at Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab. She has a keen interest in Intellectual Property Law and enjoys exploring the intersection of legal principles with innovation and

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Preparedness Without Power? Analysing IP and Access in the WHO Pandemic Agreement

/ By / COVID-19, Others, Patent

After three years of negotiations, the WHO was finally able to come up with a final version of the Pandemic Agreement last month. SpicyIP Intern Riddhi Yogesh Bhutada takes a look at the key provisions of the Agreement and highlights how the instrument might not be able to overcome the challenges it originally aimed to resolve. Riddhi is a final-year law student at School of Law, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), with a focused interest in Intellectual Property Law and

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The Summer of the Superlative Injunction 

/ By / Copyright

Analysing the Delhi High Court’s recent “Superlative Injunction”, SpicyIP Intern Arnav Kaman highlights the key problems with the order. Arnav is a 3rd Year Law student from Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab. He’s interested in Narratives and the Law. His previous post can be accessed here.   The Summer of the Superlative Injunction  By Arnav Kaman For years now, as cricketers go onto the pitch to bat, the broadcasters of these events go to courts to bat against

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Ministry of Commerce Proposes Mandatory Online Payment of License Fees 

/ By / Copyright

Recently, the Ministry of Commerce proposed an amendment to the Copyright Rules making it mandatory for owners or licensors of literary work, musical work, and sound recording to establish an online payment mechanism to collect license fees. SpicyIP Intern Riddhi Yogesh Bhutada writes on this proposal, analysing the implications it may have on the copyright enforcement mechanism in India. Riddhi is a final-year law student at School of Law, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), with a focused interest in Intellectual Property

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Reversing the Opt-Out Burden: Why AI Firms Should Bear Licensing Obligations for Training Data

/ By / Copyright

In light of the various copyright disputes concerning AI firms, Tirthaj Mishra argues that India should shift the burden of licensing for AI training data from creators to AI companies. The guest post critiques the ineffectiveness of the opt-out model using robots.txt and proposes a statutory “Duty to License” framework inspired by India’s broadcasting laws under Section 31D of the Copyright Act. Tirthaj is a 3rd year law student at Maharashtra National Law University Mumbai. His academic focus centers on

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[Part II] ANI v. Open AI – The Storage Paradox is More Than Just Transient!

/ By / Copyright

Following the discussion on non-applicability of ‘derivative work’ theory in the Indian context in light of the ANI v. OpenAI case, in Part of her post, Shama Mahajan argues that the Fair Use defence of incidental or transient storage will be weak against the infringement allegations, given the dynamics of how the data processing and storage work in Gen-AI models. Shama is an LL.M Candidate at National University of Singapore, pursuing her masters in Intellectual Property and Technology Law. ANI

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[Part I] ANI v. Open AI – A Lesson in Resisting the Temptation to Borrow Excessively without Legislative Sanction

/ By / Copyright

In light of the first few issues framed by the Court in ANI v. OpenAI copyright dispute, Shama Mahajan in this two part post discusses the problem of excessive judicial borrowing and fair use defence vis a vis storage. In Part I of the post, she explains non-applicability of ‘derivative work’ theory in the Indian context owing to the lack of its statutory sanction. In Part II of the post, she argues that the Fair Use defence of incidental or

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[Part II] Going Green as a Garnish—A Brief Analyses of Green Trademarks Situation in India and related Ethos

/ By / Trademark

Continuing the discussion on greenwashing, Part II of Dr. Sunanda Bharti’s post will deal with the relevant changes that can be made in the Indian laws to address the issue of greenwashing. Dr. Bharti is a Professor in Law at Delhi University and has written several guest posts for us, which can be viewed here. [Part II] Going Green as a Garnish—A Brief Analyses of Green Trademarks Situation in India and related Ethos By Dr. Sunanda Bharti The author submits that while

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[Part I] Going Green as a Garnish—A Brief Analyses of Green Trademarks Situation in India and Related Ethos

/ By / Trademark

With an increasing number of corporations “going green” with their products, greenwashing seems to be the latest “it” factor for companies to boost their revenue. In this two part post, Dr. Sunanda Bharti explains this phenomenon and suggests ways through which Trademarks Act and other relevant legislations could step in to ensure that the public is not fooled by the blatantly terming their products as “green”. In part I of the post she explains the concepts of greenwashing and green

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