Innovation

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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The Forgotten Half of the Copyright Bargain – Legal Deposit : Part 2

/ By / Copyright, Innovation

This is in continuation of Part 1 which dealt with the pre-independence history of Library Deposits and its Coupling/De-Coupling with Copyright! The scheme matured after independence. At a literacy rate near twelve per cent and in what the economist Malcolm Adiseshiah called a book famine, India enacted the Delivery of Books (Public Libraries) Act of 1954, Act 27 of 1954, for the promotion of public libraries and the encouragement of scholarship. Section 3 requires the publisher of every book published

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Wooden ladder leaning against shelves filled with old leather-bound books

The Forgotten Half of the Copyright Bargain – Legal Deposit : Part 1

/ By / Copyright, Innovation

In 2024 the Union Government approved One Nation One Subscription, a scheme to fund national access to commercial journals at a reported cost of six thousand crore rupees over three years. The scheme funds access for the term of the payment. When the payment ends the public retains no copy of what was read. Praharsh and Shravya have previously examined whether the scheme closes the access gap or extends the dependence that produced it. A prior question concerns the law

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Defragmenting the “Work” : A Critique of Ivy Entertainment’s “Hook” Injunction

/ By / Copyright, Innovation

On 15 May 2026, a Single Judge of the Delhi High Court passed an ex parte ad-interim order in Ivy Entertainment v. Rahul Singh restraining the defendants from making any use of one line of lyric, jaane meri janeman bachpan ka pyar bhool nahi jaana re, on the footing that this fragment is the “distinctive hook line” of a song in which the plaintiff, an acquisition vehicle that purchased a portfolio of 1,250 songs in November 2025, claims copyright. The

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The Inventor is still Human: Indian Patent Office’s DABUS Refusal

/ By / Innovation, Patent

In keeping with a broad global trend, the Indian Patent Office has refused Dr. Stephen Thaler’s patent application which sought to recognise Dr. Thaler’s AI system DABUS as the inventor of a ‘food container and devices and methods for attracting enhanced attention’. The Indian patent office’s decision goes a step beyond the refusals issued by other jurisdictions and discusses, along with inventorship, the question of patentability of the claimed invention. The refusal of the Indian Patent Office is a part

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Applications Open for the SpicyIP Summer School 2026! 

/ By / Innovation, Opportunities

We’re thrilled to announce that Applications for the SpicyIP Summer School 2026 are open! Following the success of our inaugural edition last year (see event report here, and video testimonials here), we’re looking to continue our foray into the offline space, focusing on cultivating critical pluralism in approaching IP law and policy, particularly as it relates to innovation and progress.  This year’s theme “Rethinking IP: Foundations, Faults, and Futures” takes cognizance of the changing times we’re in and will push participants to

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The Illusion of Innovation: Looking at the Galgotias University Patents

/ By / Innovation, Patent

Arguing that India’s patent regime is being distorted by seemingly flawed incentives, Kartikeya Srivastava explains how the NIRF’s publication-focused metrics have turned patent filings into a numbers game divorced from genuine innovation. Through a close reading of two contrasting Galgotias University patents, he highlights a structural system that risks rewarding low-quality filings. Kartikeya is a final-year law student in the LL.B. course at NLSIU Bangalore. He also has a B. Sc. degree in Biology. Having freelanced as a patent research

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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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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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