In-depth analytical articles on Indian IP law including prosecution,enforcement, statutory interpretation and case developments
Music is among the oldest and most universal forms of human expression and it is also among the most legally complex categories of creative work that copyright law is called upon to protect. A single commercially released song involves, in the ordinary case, at least three distinct creative contributions – the musical composition created by […]
Copyright in Music – Composers, Lyricists and Performers Read More »
Trademark law exists to protect two distinct but related interests simultaneously. It protects the proprietor of a registered mark against the unauthorized use of that mark by others who would free-ride on the reputation and goodwill that the proprietor has built. And it protects consumers against confusion – against the risk that they will be
Trademark Infringement under Section 29 – A Complete Analysis Read More »
Among the three foundational criteria that a patent applicant must satisfy to obtain a grant novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability industrial applicability is perhaps the least litigated and the least theoretically contested, yet it performs an indispensable function in defining the outer boundary of the patent system’s reach. It is the criterion that ensures
Industrial Applicability as a Patentability Criterion under the Patents Act, 1970 Read More »
Few creative works demand as much capital, coordinate as many individual contributions, or generate as much commercial activity as a cinematograph film. A feature film involves the labour of writers, directors, composers, lyricists, performers, cinematographers, editors, sound designers, visual effects artists and hundreds of others whose individual creative contributions are assembled, over months or years,
Copyright in Cinematograph Films – Ownership, Rights and Exploitation Read More »
The Register of Trade Marks is not an immutable document. While registration confers significant legal presumptions in favour of the proprietor and is treated as prima facie evidence of validity under Section 31 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, the register is not beyond challenge. Marks may find their way onto the register through error,
Trademark Rectification Proceedings – Sections 57 to 60 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 Read More »
A patent, once granted, is not inviolable. The Patents Act, 1970 recognizes that the grant of a patent is an administrative act performed on the basis of an examination that, however thorough, may not always capture every deficiency in an application whether a failure of novelty, an insufficient disclosure, a statutory exclusion that was not
Revocation of Patents under Section 64 – Grounds and Procedure Read More »
The journey of a trademark application from the moment it is filed to the point at which it is accepted for advertisement is one of the most consequential phases in the entire registration process. It is during this period that the Trade Marks Registry scrutinizes the application against the requirements of the Trade Marks Act,
Trademark Examination in India – From Filing to Acceptance Read More »
The journey of a patent application in India does not end with filing. In many respects, it begins in earnest only when the Indian Patent Office issues what is formally known as the First Examination Report – the FER. For applicants who are new to the Indian patent system, the FER can appear daunting: a
Understanding the First Examination Report (FER) and How to Respond Read More »
Copyright law operates on two distinct but interconnected axes. The first is economic – the bundle of exclusive rights that allows a creator to control the reproduction, distribution, performance and communication of their work and to extract financial value from it. The second is personal – the connection between a creator and their work that
Moral Rights and Author’s Special Rights under Section 57 of the Copyright Act, 1957 Read More »
The grant of a patent is not an automatic entitlement that follows from novelty or inventive step alone. Before any invention can be examined on those standard criteria, it must first clear a foundational threshold: it must constitute a patentable subject matter under Indian law. The Patents Act, 1970 draws this threshold with deliberate precision
Non-Patentable Subject Matter in India: A Complete Guide to Section 3 Read More »