Category Archives: Geographical Indication

NUJS Webinar on ‘IPR& SMEs (Special Focus on Agriculture & Food Sector): Strengthening Bonds in Prime Times’ (April 25)

by SpicyIP April 21, 2021

We’re pleased to inform you that DPIIT IPR Chair, NUJS is organising a webinar on ‘IPR & SMEs (Special Focus on Agriculture & Food Sector): Strengthening Bonds in Prime Times’ on 25th April, 2021. For further details, please see the announcement below: National Webinar on ‘IPR& SMEs (Special focus on Agriculture & Food Sector): Strengthening Bonds in Prime Times’ 25th April 2021 | 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM (IST) SMEs are the backbone of the global economy. They account for around 90 percent…

The Compilation of the Decade of SpicyIP Posts on IPAB

by Swaraj Paul Barooah April 8, 2021

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[Co-authored/compiled with Praharsh Gour] Earlier this week, Praharsh blogged about the IPAB finally being scrapped through an ordinance, with its powers / duties transferred to High Courts and Commercial courts (for copyright matters). Long time readers may recall that Prof Shamnad Basheer, after pointing out various issues with it, had first started asking for the IPAB to be shut down 11 years ago, in this post titled “Pondering the legal competence of the IPAB”. Note the following lines – more…

Breaking: President Promulgates Tribunal Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance 2021

by Praharsh Gour April 5, 2021

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IPAB has been in the eye of the storm since its inception. While there are ardent believers of the institution (See here and here), there are equally strong arguments by the ones against it (few of them advanced by the former Chairperson of the institution itself!) (See here here and here). A few months ago, the Executive seemingly laid the debate to rest by introducing the Tribunal Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Bill 2021, proposing to scrap IPAB. However,…

SpicyIP Weekly Review (March 15 – 21)

by Nikhil Purohit March 22, 2021

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Topical Highlight Sherlyn Chopra Case- Non-Consensual Sharing of Intimate Images/Videos, Obscenity Laws and Copyright Remedies In this post, non-consensual sharing of intimate images or videos from a copyright perspective, in light of the recent case filed against Sherlyn Chopra for sharing obscene content online. She first analyses copyrightability of obscene content. She notes decisions from Israel and England that have used grounds of immorality to deny copyright protection to works. She contrasts this with Indian copyright law where such grounds…

Geographical Indication Trademark

Protection of Jewellery: A Combination of Trademark, Design and Copyright Law? – Part II

by Varsha Jhavar March 19, 2021

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In Part I, in the light of jurisprudence, I had analysed whether copyright or design law would be the appropriate IP for jewellery protection. Additionally, I had also discussed if ‘adaptation’ or ‘reproduction’ would be the more suitable term for referring to the conversion of 2D drawings into 3D jewellery. In Part II, I look at other questions such as what would happen if a suit in respect of copying of jewellery is brought under copyright law and passing off,…

Geographical Indication

The Third to Tango: After Pakistan, Nepal Opposes India’s GI Application for Basmati

by Praharsh Gour March 11, 2021

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In November, 2020, Varsha wrote a detailed piece on the ongoing dispute between India and Pakistan on registration of GI over Basmati in the EU. Seemingly, after months of speculations (here and here) Nepal has finally joined the fight, opposing India’s application. This perhaps makes it the first IP disputes between the three South Asian countries. While a more detailed post on this opposition will follow soon, I would like to quickly highlight a few interesting facts surrounding this event…

SpicyIP Weekly Review (February 22 – 28)

by Nikhil Purohit March 1, 2021

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Thematic Highlight A Draft “Open” IP Syllabus In this post, Swaraj shared the first draft version of an ‘Open’ IP Syllabus that he along with a small team of researchers has worked on in the last few months. The syllabus is aimed to contain materials that are legally and publicly available free of cost and outside of paywalls, touching upon diverse themes concerning intellectual property law. While the completion of the entire syllabus is expected to take some time, this…

A Draft “Open” IP Syllabus

by Swaraj Paul Barooah February 25, 2021

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Image showing various 'Open' related logos, with text "IP Textbooks. It's always Open Access O'Clock. Download and Enjoy"

Despite the plethora of materials online, any student, researcher or professor would know that access to scholarly information is a lot more difficult than what it should be. Most of the time, if you’re serious about research, the ‘research’ journey is more about how many paywalls you can climb (legally or not so legally), as much as it is about how good the material you can find is. To get around this, many folks rely on plug-ins like UnPayWall and…

Justice Prabha Sridevan on Govt’s Proposal to Shut Down IPAB and the Way Forward

by SpicyIP February 18, 2021

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We’re pleased to bring to you a guest post by Justice (Retd.) Prabha Sridevan on the recent Bill moved by the Government in the Parliament proposing to shut down IPAB and the way forward. Justice Sridevan needs no introduction – she served as a judge of the Madras High Court from 2000 to 2010 and as the Chairperson of the IPAB from 2011 to 2013 and her stint as both resulted in a number of significant IP developments, which we…

Justice Manmohan Singh Holds Hearings at IPAB Despite Supreme Court Ruling

by Praharsh Gour February 16, 2021

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Heard it through the grapevine and saw in the causelist that Retd. Justice Manmohan Singh is still holding hearings in the IPAB and passing orders. Just a couple of days ago we reported that the application for Justice Singh’s extension as the IPAB Chairperson was rejected by the Supreme Court. The Court in its judgement (pdf) expressly noted that the tenure of the incumbent Chairperson ended on 21.09.2019 and further rejected the notion that the incumbent must remain as the…

Adyasha Samal { That's right, it is an ad-interim injunction. I realize that's not very clear from the post (will add an edit), but my point here is not that granting... }
Jagdish Sagar { I have noticed this interesting article a little late. Three comments: (1) there is absolutely no discussion or reference to section 3 of the Copyright Act which defines... }
Anon { "It is important to note that S&S Canada had not filed a written statement, but the interim injunction was granted nonetheless." Please note that the language of the... }
V.P { Mr. Khadher, I am currently reading a copy of this book, and have read your review and comments with interest. I think you have made some valid points,... }
Devangini Rai { Thank you! Yours was equally good. }