Author name: SpicyIP

When General Powers Swallow Special Design: A Critique of Surinder Kumar Case of the DHC

/ By / Others

Did the Delhi High Court compromise on doctrine while maximising outcome? Discussing some knotty procedural law, Arshiya Gupta examines DHC’s decision in Shri Surinder Kumar v. Registrar of Copyrights and argues how it collapses a carefully designed special procedural regime in favour of general transfer powers. Arshiya is a third-year law student at National Law University, Delhi, with a keen inclination towards PIL, IPR, and criminal law. When General Powers Swallow Special Design: A Critique of Surinder Kumar Case of the […]

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Copyright Maximalism by Design? Rethinking DPIIT’s Licensing Centric Approach to AI Training

/ By / Copyright

Critiquing Part – I of the DPIIT committee working paper on the “intersection between Artificial Intelligence and Copyright” for copyright maximalism, Vishno Sudheendra discusses, in this entry for the SpicyIP–jhana Blogpost Writing Competition, the viability of a fair sharing arrangement as a solution to the structural and diffuse impact of GenAI on the creative industries. He strongly argues that the solutions for structural problems posed by GenAI do not lie in copyright law but outside of it. Vishno is also

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A Look Back at India’s Top IP Developments of 2025

/ By / Competition Law, Copyright, Data Exclusivity, Design, Drug Regulation, Geographical Indication, Innovation, Patent, Plant Variety Protection, Podcast, Trade Secret, Trademark

[This post is completely human authored 🙂 These humans include – Praharsh Gour, Vasundra Koul, Arshiya Gupta, and Vikram Raj Nanda. Selection and Supervision by- Praharsh Gour, Swaraj Paul Barooah, and Bharathwaj RamakrishnanResearch Inputs from Yohann Titus Mathew, Riddhi Yogesh Bhutada, Ayush Shetty, Sumit Kumar Singh, Shailraj Jhalnia, Himanshu Mishra, Bhavya Gupta, Aali Jaiswal, Anushka Kanabar, Srishti Gaur, Arshya Wadhwa, and Daanish Naithani.] 2025 was quite an eventful year. On the judicial side, we saw a variety of novel developments, such

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One Nation, One License, One Big Shortcut: Doctrinal Stagnation in the DPIIT AI Working Paper

/ By / Copyright

Swaraj, in his detailed blog post criticizing the DPIIT AI Working Paper, had highlighted the absence of a strong jurisprudential basis in the Working Paper’s proposals and the supporting reasoning. Building on this missing link of jurisprudential rigour, Shivam Kaushik looks at Kant’s distinction between noumena and phenomena to critique the DPIIT Committee’s approach and the Working Paper’s methodology. Shivam is a practicing lawyer based in Delhi. His interest lies in legal issues posed by emerging technologies. One Nation, One

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Spicy IP Weekly Review (December 22- December 28)

/ By / Copyright, Patent, Trademark

This weekly review is authored by Vikram Raj Nanda.  From ‘bulldozer justice’ entering the Gen-AI copyright debate to courts pushing back against overbroad foreign discovery requests, this week brought some sharp IP questions to the fore. Also, if you still haven’t sent your submission yet for the SpicyIP-Jhana Blogpost Writing Competition, this is the chance to do so! The deadline is 11:59 PM IST on 30th December. Anything we are missing out on? Drop a comment and let us know.

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Dead Assets in a Digital Economy: Why Online Gaming Licences Should Be Treated Like IP

/ By / Copyright, Innovation, Trademark

Examining how non-transferable online gaming licences function as core digital assets yet lose economic value due to rigid regulatory constraints, Srija Singh highlights a critical gap in the current framework. In her submission for the SpicyIP- jhana blogpost writing competition, she argues that these approvals should be treated as IP-like intangible assets to preserve enterprise value and foster innovation in India’s digital economy. Srija is a final-year law student at Amity Law School, Noida, with a research interest in intellectual

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Injunction or Copyright Strike: Examining the DHC Order in ANI v Dynamite News

/ By / Copyright

The Delhi High Court’s refusal to re-block Dynamite News’ YouTube channel exposes the litigation strategy prevalent against digital news platforms. Analysing the decision, Md. Thahir Sulaiman assesses the limits of asserting copyright and trademark claims through a combination of court proceedings and YouTube’s takedown regime and explains the implications these moves have in curbing free speech. Thahir is a third year BALLB (Hons) student from the National Law School of India University, with interests in corporate law and technology law.

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Redefining the Digital Perimeter: The Delhi High Court’s Expansive Stance on Copyright Jurisdiction in Zee Entertainment v. Mohalla Tech 

/ By / Copyright

The Delhi High Court’s decision in Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. v. Mohalla Tech Pvt. Ltd. revisits the perennial question of territorial jurisdiction in copyright infringement suits. Analysing the decision, Arshiya Gupta highlights how the Court appears to depart from its own recent reasoning in Vikrant Chemco, prompting closer scrutiny of how the cause of action is assessed in online copyright infringement cases. Arshiya is a third-year law student at National Law University, Delhi, with a keen inclination towards PIL, IPR,

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SpicyIP Tidbit: “Instant” Karma? Delhi High Court Flags Suppression of Material Facts in the Instant Bollywood Dispute

/ By / Trademark

[This post is authored by Pranjali Bhatt. Pranjali is a third-year B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) student at National Law University Delhi, with a keen interest in trademark and copyright law.] Can a court still grant interim relief after holding that the petitioner suppressed relevant and material facts? The Delhi High Court(DHC) recently responded to this question in Mandeep Singh v. Shabir Momin & Ors, by granting the petitioner, Mandeep Singh, founder of ‘INSTANT BOLLYWOOD’, interim relief despite finding suppression, after imposing

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Drawing the Line on What a Foreign Court Can Ask: Madras High Court Pushes Back on U.S. Letters Rogatory in the Softgel v Pfizer Appeal

/ By / Patent

The Madras High Court’s decision in Softgel Healthcare Pvt. Ltd. v. Pfizer Inc. revisits the limits of cross-border judicial cooperation in patent litigation. Tharun Tomy analyses the Division Bench judgement and notes that the ruling draws a clear line on when Indian courts may refuse assistance to foreign courts seeking evidence through Letters Rogatory, while also pointing out a few misses in this otherwise well-reasoned order. Tharun is an advocate and PhD candidate at Inter University Centre for IPR Studies,

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