Policy on open standards for e-governance released

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India’s Department of IT (DIT) recently finalized its policy on open standards for e-Governance. A write-up about a draft version of the policy and related discussion can be read here.  The final version of the policy adopts a single and Royalty-Free (RF) Open Standard.  The standard can be retrieved from: http://egovstandards.gov.in/  In our discussion of the draft policy, we had focussed on two key provisions of the draft policy as being of interest to patent practitioners-(i) whether the standard would be […]

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To amend Your Copyright Claim, Better hurry lest You miss the Game: Delhi High Court rejects Application for Amendment of Plaint

/ By / Copyright

Among the followers of Spicy IP, those who are musically inclined must be familiar with the name of Shubha Mudgal, a renowned artist by any standard in the world of music and theatre. The present matter deals with an ongoing dispute between her (hereinafter “Defendant”) and an institution named Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra (hereinafter “Plaintiff”), concerning an alleged violation of S. 14 of the Copyright Act, 1957 (hereinafter “the Act”). While the matter is still sub judice, the Plaintiff had

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Super Casette Industries vs Board of Film Certification: Certifications Galore

/ By / Copyright

The court has clubbed thirty six writ petitions together and the petitioners are mostly producers, manufacturers, sellers, and also replicators for music companies holding copyrights in audio-visual materials recorded on VCDs and DVDs (discs). The Respondents are the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), Union of India through the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Commissioner of Police, New Delhi. The petitions were filed, after the police conducted raids on shops and seized discs for violation of Section 52A(2)(a)

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A "Special" Copyright Victory for the Disabled

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Prashant recently highlighted the key findings of a Parliamentary standing committee constituted to study the copyright amendment bill. In particular, the report comes as a huge victory to two sets of stakeholders, namely film/music artists on the one hand (music composers and lyricists who can now claim a good 50% royalty on all exploitations of their work, notwithstanding any assignments) and the disabled or differently-abled communities on the other. Let me focus on the disability sector in this note. I’ll

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Parliamentary Standing Committee tables report on ‘Copyright Amendment Bill 2010’: Lyricists and Composers win the battle!

/ By / Copyright

The Parliamentary Standing Committee, headed by Shri. Oscar Fernandes, examining the ‘Copyright Amendment Bill, 2010’, has finally tabled its report before Parliament. The report is available over here on the website of the Rajya Sabha. This much awaited report runs into 118 pages and is one of the most comprehensive reports to have ever been authored by a Parliamentary Standing Committee. The report is a stunning victory for lyricists and composers. Book publishers, film and music producers are the big

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SpicyIP Tidbit: NGOs set up blog for FTA’s effects on Access to Medicine

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Several NGOs have been protesting the free-trade agreements that are being negotiated due to the detrimental effect that these multilateral and bilateral agreements would have on access to medicines. We too have covered the developments on the India – EU FTA in several posts here.  Recently, DNP+ and MSF Access Campaign India have set up a blog for more active discussion on these issues. “The blog was established to gather information like documents, drafts of agreement’s, news, pictures, videos, press releases

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SpicyIP Tidbit: Estee Lauder loses trademark case against Gufic Biosciences in the Supreme Court

/ By / Trademark

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected Estee Lauder’s appeal and upheld the judgment of the Delhi High Court allowing to Gufic to continue using the word ‘cliniq’ in its product. The Bench was headed by Justice B Suderhsan Reddy. Global cosmetics manufacturer Estee Lauder had filed a filed a trademark infringement case against Gujarat based Gufic Biosciences in the Delhi High Court. Estee Lauder alleged that the use of the word ‘Cliniq’ in Gufic’s product ‘Skincliniq Stretch Nil’ was identical

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SpicyIP Tidbit: 10 Million Euro claim by Lambretta against Scooters India

/ By / Trademark

Lambretta Consortium (Italian two wheeler manufacturer) has stated that it will claim over 10 million Euros from Scooters India in relation to the unlawful licensing of Lambretta trademark in the EU. Scooters India Limited is an Indian automobile manufacturer in which the government has a 95% stake. Lambretta has said that the European Union Office of Harmonisation (Trademarks and Designs Department) has ruled that Lambretta holds the rights to use the Lambretta trademark in the automotive sector in the EU.

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TRAVEL.INDIATIMES v. INDIATIMESTRAVEL – CLASSIC INSTANCE OF CYBER SQUATTING

/ By / Trademark

Cybersquatting (also known as domain squatting) is the act of mala fide registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with the intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else. The term is derived from “squatting,” which is the act of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use. The fact situation in the recent Delhi High Court judgment in Times Internet

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Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act: A Lesson in the Legislative Process

/ By / Copyright

I’ve picked up on this piece to illustrate and support the common notion that public discussion and transparency do in fact help to bring about sensible legislative and policy decisions, and there really shouldn’t be a doubt that important legislative changes must go through a consultation process, with as much public participation as possible before it is concluded. The post deals with the recent controversy surrounding the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) which is a proposed bill in

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