Author name: Vishno Sudheendra

Reforming Legal Deposit: Why the Jan Vishwas Amendment Falls Short

/ By / Copyright, Others

This post has been co-authored with Charan Ashok. Charan is a fifth-year B.A., LL.B (Hons) student at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore. The Delivery of Books Act, 1956 (“DB Act”), one of India’s most forgotten statutes, has been amended via the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act 2026. The said Amendment Act was notified in the e-Gazette on 8th April, 2026 and has come into force. The amendments modify the penalty provisions of the DB Act and […]

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Copyright Strikes and Free Speech: Rethinking Automated Takedowns on Social Media

/ By / Copyright

The Delhi High Court (“DHC”), in the past month, has seen multiple ongoing cases where social media intermediaries’ copyright strike mechanism has come into question (see here and here). With social media platforms now serving as a principal forum for public expression, and a handful of platforms controlling access to much of this speech, the consequences of automated content removal extend beyond private copyright disputes. Under such mechanisms, social media intermediaries automatically take down allegedly infringing content merely based on

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Beyond Prius? The DHC’s ALPHARD Decision on Trans-Border Reputation

/ By / Trademark

Introduction  The Delhi High Court (“DHC”), on 4th May 2026 in Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha v. Tech Square Engineering Pvt. Ltd., overturned a Single Judge judgment (2023) and granted the mark “ALPHARD” well-known status while affirming its trans-border reputation. The judgment is noteworthy as it has articulated a test for trans-border reputation and has also observed that in luxury/niche markets, brand visibility and global reputation drive consumer awareness and not mass penetration.  In this blog post, I break down the judgment,

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ANI v. OpenAI: User Rights, Fair Dealing, and the Future of AI in Indian Copyright Law (Part II)

/ By / Copyright, Innovation

Part I examined the Court’s transformative approach to fair dealing, its recognition of Section 52 as embodying user rights, and its emphasis on public interest. Part II turns to the remaining issues: whether ChatGPT memorized or substantially reproduced ANI’s works, and whether the Delhi High Court rightly assumed territorial jurisdiction. No memorization, regurgitation or substantial reproduction – Issue II The Court split Issue II into two sub-issues [Para 75]:  The Court observed that ChatGPT could not have memorized (i.e., storage

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ANI v. OpenAI: User Rights, Fair Dealing, and the Future of AI in Indian Copyright Law (Part I)

/ By / Copyright, Innovation

The judgment in ANI v OpenAI has finally been pronounced! OpenAI’s use of ANI’s copyrighted works was held to be prima facie non-infringing. 24th July, 2026 would mark a monumental day in Indian IP history, not just because the DHC tackled a cutting-edge AI-copyright dispute while preventing copyright maximalism but also because of its emphasis on public interest and user rights embodied in the Copyright Act, 1957.  To be clear, this is only an interim order. Yet, anyone familiar with

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