SJM, Sangh Parivar’s economic wing, raises concerns with draft IPR Policy

/ By / Others

In a very notable development, Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM), an economic wing of the Sangh Parivar, has raised serious concerns with the draft IPR Policy including concerns over its constituent members. Before I mention what the concerns were, I’ll put forward some background to place these comments in context: The Sangh Parivar is a group of Hindu nationalist organizations (which include the ruling party BJP) that have been founded/inspired by members/ideas of the RSS. While these different organizations within the […]

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My Parody, My Mind, My Choice

/ By / Copyright

So the internet is abuzz with Vogue’s latest ‘My Choice’ video starring Deepika Padukone and while the video has earned its fair share of brickbats, with social commentators such as Shobhaa De finding the video loathsome for its bland take on women empowerment, my curiosity in the matter was roused for a very different reason. It appears that someone among the hoi polloi had made a mash-up of Vogue’s video incorporating bits from Govinda’s famous song ‘Meri Marzi’ titled ‘Rogue

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Netflix Going Global?

/ By / Copyright

Netflix, it appears, wants to take its content archives global. But the problem is, a lot of the content that Netflix provides access to is actually provided under licenses which put geographical restrictions on the places where the content can be provided. So Netflix has argued, and kudos to them for this, that their move to go global is aimed at countering piracy. This is not an empty claim. There is an increasingly popular line of thought which argues that

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Missed Opportunities and Confusing Precedents: Airef Engineers (P) Ltd. v. Vinod Shetty, Delhi High Court

/ By / Others

Earlier this month, the Delhi High Court ruled on Trade Secrets and other confidential information in Airef Engineers (P) Ltd. v. Vinod Shetty.  In an ex parte ruling the Court granted an injunction against an ex-employee of the petitioner-company without really identifying a prima facie case that the defendant had such information or that he had in any way misappropriated it. In this relatively short decision by Justice Najmi Wazri, the Court seems to have passed on an opportunity to

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SpicyIP Tidbit – TRAI OTT Consultations on OTT Licensing and Network Neutrality

/ By / Others

The Shreya Singhal judgment, which declared the censorious S.66A unconstitutional, has indubitably been a huge victory for free speech in India, from the perspective of the users and the intermediaries, both. Yet, the struggle for free speech on the cyberspace in India is not yet over. There are multiple issues that still need to be addressed, one of the most crucial of them being that of Network Neutrality (see our previous posts on this issue here and here). Recently, the

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After IPRS, PPL next to claim that it is not a ‘copyright society’

/ By / Copyright

Last year, in a letter dated 20th May, Phonographic Performers’ Limited (PPL) withdrew its application for registration as a copyright society under The Copyright Act, 1957. The text of the letter, addressed to The Registrar of Copyrights, stated inter alia that PPL at the time of its inception in 1941 was registered as a ‘private company’ under the Companies Act. The letter also stated that PPL had submitted an application for registration as a copyright society in accordance with sections

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PPL’s defamation notice: More subterranean censorship?

/ By / Copyright, Others

Certain members of the Telangana Chamber of Events Industry (TCEI) received a 9 para defamation notice from PPL for few comments made by them on Facebook. The TCEI is a non-government organization, which aims at developing the Events industry in the State of Telangana. The TCEI comprises of sub sectors such as events, light/sound/video, event caterers, event venues etc. It therefore also uses sound recordings for various events that it organizes. PPL, on the other hand, is a ‘company’ (actually

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SpicyIP Weekly Review (March 22 – March 30, 2015)

/ By / Others

In what has been an extremely exciting week for SpicyIP, we have had several interesting developments, including Swaraj’s post on Data exclusivity, Anubha’s post on the IPRS, Dr. Arul’s post on copyright and access to law (more on each below), but the the SpicyIP Highlight of the Week goes to Madhulika’s two posts on the Glenmark-Merck dispute. In her first post on the issue, Madhulika analyses the injunction granted to Merck by the Delhi High Court against Glenmark, for the

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China rules on adjusted royalty base for SEP licensing

/ By / Competition Law

Earlier this month the Chinese Anti-trust authority (NDRC) gave its decision in the Qualcomm matter involving Chinese Anti-Monopoly Law (AML).  This decision is a landmark decision where Qualcomm was found to have engaged in anti-competitive conduct relating to the licensing of standard essential patents (“SEPs”) for wireless communication technology and baseband chip sales.  The original decision is available here.  While a summary of the decision (based on Google translate) is also provided in this post, I have put in my comments

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IPRS tries to derail enquiry into its affairs, loses battle in Bombay High Court

/ By / Copyright

The Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS) continues on its litigation streak by challenging government orders and bothering parties with impunity (last heard, IPRS was demanding hefty royalties from the Indian railways). This time though IPRS was at the receiving end, when the Bombay High Court  rejected IPRS’ challenge to an enquiry instituted by the Department of Higher Education, Copyright Office into its allegedly dishonest practices. Not only did IPRS file writ petitions to quash the order instituting the enquiry, but also

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