AI and copyright: More developments – human prompts are not ‘direct instructions’

/ By / Others

Image from here. Théâtre D’opéra Spatial. On September 5, 2023, as explained here, the US Copyright Office (USCO) issued an interesting decision in a copyright registration matter that involved AI-generated work. Previously, in the Thaler case, the US Copyright Office had refused to register an AI-generated work since the application named the AI-system as the author. This case revolved around the question of whether or not an AI system can be an author. The USCO ruled that it cannot since […]

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Delhi High Court Calls Out the Practice of Granting Ad-Interim Ex-Parte Injunction Without Granting the Defendant an Opportunity to Reply

/ By / Trademark

The Delhi High Court’s August 21 order in Dabur India v. Emami has grasped the attention of the IP community in the country. Setting aside the Single Judge’s order, the court held that the appellant should have been allowed to file a response opposing the ad-interim injunction application. One of the key considerations for this order was the appellant’s use of the mark before the institution of the suit. Later, the Single Judge in another case (Silvermaple v. Dr. Ajay

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Have a break, have a KitKat: The chocolate or chanachur?

/ By / Others

Last month, the Calcutta High Court decided a trademark dispute between KitKat (chocolate coated wafers) and KitKat (chanachur – a savoury chickpea snack) after 23 years. For those who may not know, chanachur is a very popular street food/snack which Calcutta is famous for. Street vendors across the city make their own versions of chanachur mixed with fresh onions and spices. While chanachur can be bought from street vendors, it is also sold in packets in retail stores. In 2000,

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Preliminary Exams for the Recruitment of Patent and Designs Examiners Cancelled!

/ By / Design, Patent

Just a day after conducting the Preliminary exams for the recruitment of the Patent and Design Examiners, the Quality Control Council of India (QCI) on September 4, announced that the same has been cancelled due to “some irregularities/ technical glitches.” The reason for such a move is stated as “to ensure fairness, credibility, and transparency in the recruitment process.” But it is surprising to see that the public notice neither specifies what these irregularities and technical glitches were nor does

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SpicyIP Weekly Review (August 28 – September 3)

/ By / Copyright, Others, Patent, Trade Secret, Trademark

Wondering what IP developments took place last week? Look no further as we present to you the SpicyIP Weekly Review, highlighting the discussions that took place on the blog along with other IP news. Highlights of the Week Microsoft Corporation V. Zoai Founder: How an Arbitrator’s Self Praise and Improper Research Led  to Setting Aside a Domain Dispute Award Akshay Ajayakumar discusses an interesting development of how an arbitrator’s self-praise and improper research led to setting aside a domain dispute award by

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Analysing “Dynamic+” Injunctions: Delhi High Court’s Latest Judicial Invention

/ By / Copyright

On August 9, 2023, the Delhi High Court issued the first ever “Dynamic+” Injunction order in Universal City Studios LLC and Ors v. DotMovies.Baby and Ors, protecting the future works of the plaintiffs from copyright infringement by flagrantly infringing online locations (FIOLs). We are pleased to bring to you a guest post by Reva Satish Makhija analysing the justifications of the court and discussing the potential impact it may have. Reva Satish Makhija is a 3rd Year law student at

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Microsoft Corporation V. Zoai Founder: How an Arbitrator’s Self Praise and Improper Research Led  to Setting Aside a Domain Dispute Award

/ By / Others, Trademark

We are pleased to bring to you a guest post by Akshay Ajayakumar on the Delhi High Court’s order in Microsoft Corporation v. Zoai Founder. Akshay is a graduate of National Law University, Jodhpur, and has an LL.M in IP and Competition Law from the Munich Intellectual Property Law Center (MIPLC). He is currently a consultant for domain name disputes at Sim and San, Attorneys At Law. His previous posts can be accessed here. Views expressed here are those of

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SpicyIP Tidbit: Some Strengthening of the Right to Information Act, 2005 From the Judicial Side

/ By / Others

Image from studio tdes here Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 has been in the news for the last few days, especially for its dilution at the hands of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 which takes away the public interest test while exempting personal information from the RTI Act. (See here and here for more on this). While this move has the potential to severely impact the efficacy of the RTI Act, I recently came across two other

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SpicyIP Tidbit: CGPDTM Calls for Comments and Suggestions on Different IP Manuals and Guidelines

/ By / Copyright, Design, Geographical Indication, Patent, Trademark

On August 30, the office of the Controller General of Patents, Design and Trademarks (CGPDTM) released a public notice inviting comments from stakeholders to revamp the Patents, Designs, Trademarks, GI and Copyright Manuals and Guidelines. The role of these manuals and guidelines is paramount as they help in implementing the provisions of the Statutes and Rules in a more streamlined manner by the officers and give an insight into the functioning of the office. Interestingly, the issue of revising the

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Smells like Luxury, Does it Cost a Trademark Battle?

/ By / Trademark

Recently, there has been an increase in the number of advertisements on social media for perfumes that offer the same fragrance as a luxury one at a reasonably affordable rate. If you have come across such ads and have wondered whether such use of a mark infringes the mark of the luxury brand, then you are not alone. We are pleased to bring you a guest post by our former SpicyIP Intern Ishant Jain, who shares his opinion on this

Smells like Luxury, Does it Cost a Trademark Battle? Read More »

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