The relationship between an author and a publisher is among the oldest and most commercially consequential in the creative economy. It is a relationship built on a fundamental asymmetry: the author possesses the creative work and the copyright that protects it, while the publisher possesses the infrastructure, expertise, distribution networks and capital required to bring
Social media has fundamentally transformed the relationship between copyright law and everyday human behaviour. Before the internet, the act of reproducing, distributing or communicating a copyrighted work to the public was largely confined to publishers, broadcasters and commercial enterprises with the infrastructure to do so at scale. Copyright infringement was, for the most part, a
Copyright Issues in Social Media and User-Generated Content Read More »
Delhi High Court | Manmohan J. | 1 July 2019 AIRONLINE 2019 DEL 972 | (2019) 262 DLT 734 | CS(COMM) 753/2017 Background MRF Limited (plaintiff), a leading tyre manufacturer operating in approximately sixty-five countries, launched a tyre series called MRF NV Series “REVZ” in June 2015. To promote this product, the plaintiff produced an
High Court of Delhi | 28 February 2014 CS (OS) 3193 of 2012 & CC No. 49 of 2013, IA Nos. 10389-90 of 2013, 10638 of 2013, 20025 of 2013, 18788 of 2013 Hon’ble Mr. Justice S. Muralidhar BACKGROUND The plaintiffs in the present matter are Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (“Teva”), Yeda Research and Development
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. & Ors. v. Natcopharma Limited Read More »
Among the most commercially significant and doctrinally complex questions in contemporary Indian trademark law is the extent to which the visual and physical appearance of a product or its packaging its trade dress can be protected as a trademark. In a marketplace saturated with competing products, the overall commercial appearance of goods has become one
Trade Dress and Product Shape as Trademark in India Read More »
Supreme Court of India | M. Jagannadha Rao & Y.K. Sabharwal JJ. | 9 May 2000 AIR 2000 SC 2114 | 2000 (5) SCC 573 Background The appellant, S.M. Dyechem Ltd., claimed to have commenced business in 1988 in food products including potato chips, potato wafers, corn-pops and preparations made of rice and rice flour.
High Court of Delhi | Justice S. Ravindra Bhat | 7 January 2010 I.A. Nos. 12940/2009, 12941/2009 & 12942/2009 in CS(OS) 1894/2009 BACKGROUND The plaintiff, ITC Limited, is described in the pleadings as one of India’s largest private sector companies with an annual turnover of Rs. 23,144 crores, engaged in diverse businesses including hotels,
ITC Limited v. Philip Morris Products SA and Others Read More »
Court: High Court of Calcutta | Date of Decision: 11 April 1996 Citation: AIR 1996 CAL 367; (1997) 1 CALLT 123 (HC); 100 CWN 562; (1996) 100 Cal WN 562; (1997) 2 CivLJ 302 BACKGROUND The plaintiff, Hindusthan Lever Limited, is a leading Indian manufacturer of soaps, detergents, cleaning preparations, chemicals and fertilisers, holding over
Hindusthan Lever Limited v. Godrej Soaps Limited and Others Read More »
High Court of Judicature at Bombay | Notice of Motion No. 230 of 2015 in Suit (L) No. 957 of 2014 Decided on 20 July 2016 Judge: Justice A.K. Menon Citation: 2017 (69) PTC 79 (Bom) Background Raymond Limited is a company based in Mumbai and is the successor to Raymond Woollen Mills Limited. It
Raymond Limited v. Raymond Pharmaceutical Pvt. Ltd. Read More »
The law of passing off occupies a foundational position in the Indian intellectual property landscape. It is the common law action through which traders protect the goodwill and reputation they have built in their unregistered marks, trade names, get-up and other indicia of commercial identity against misappropriation by competitors who seek to exploit that reputation
Passing Off in India – Elements, Evidence and Remedies Read More »