Sound Board

Our thoughts and views on the practice of Intellectual Property in India and around the world.

Goa, with its stunning beaches and lively festivities, has always been a popular destination for weddings and social events. However, a recent circular from the Goa government has stirred up a legal battle regarding copyright laws. This circular aimed to exempt wedding ceremonies and related festivities from the need to secure copyright permissions for musical works, citing the need to support local economic and tourism activities. But, as expected, this move has faced strong backlash from…

In this era of Millennials and Gen Z, Spotify and other music apps seems to be the go-to platform, with everyone tuning in to music. From vibing to popular tracks to setting the trends on Instagram reels, music has been intertwined into everyone’s life so much that even common people are involved in the trends industry. A significant aspect of this trend is the rise of song remixes, which, now accessible to anyone, have also led to an increase in IP infringement issues – particularly copyright…

The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 which came into effect recently on August 1, 2024 has garnered significant attention across the country. The Act, having brought amendments to various Acts of our legislation, including those related to Intellectual Property (IP) and media laws among others, primarily aims to decriminalise the provisions – aiming to shift from punitive measures like imprisonment to more lenient penalties such as fines and pecuniary penalties.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting vide notification dated March 15, 2024 has introduced the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024, (hereinafter “new Rules”) in order to amend the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 1983 (hereinafter “old Rules”). The new Rules aim to provide clarity and coherence in the certification process and hold significant implications for filmmakers, distributors, and audiences as well as align with contemporary standards and societal values.

The Copyright & Design Section operating under the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India by Public Notice dated July 24, 2023 has addressed concerns surrounding the alleged collection of royalties by Copyright Societies for musical performances and sound recordings during marriage functions.

Indian business owners are constantly worried about the Ease of doing business, but yet they were not aware of one ranking where the country was in the top 10 places once. It is the Ease of doing Piracy. Twenty years back computer and computing services were very rare thing that was used only for exceptional activities, but now it has become a necessity for everything. When computers started to become the norm for every business in the first decade of the 21st century, businesses had to incur a…

Microsoft discovered that the defendants were illegally using its software products, including Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, and Windows Server. Upon investigation, it was found that the defendants had 130 computer systems, most of which had Microsoft's software installed on them, but the licenses held by the defendants did not match their usage. This indicated that the defendants were engaging in the unlicensed use of Microsoft's software products. Despite repeated requests from…

The Court held that in an intellectual property case, where the matter affects not only the disputants but also the consumers and the plaintiff has already exhausted all possible recourses to amicably resolve the matter, then the plaintiff’s application seeking exemption from instituting pre-litigation mediation proceedings in accordance with section 12-A of the Act can be allowed. Thus, it can be said that in intellectual property cases, such reliefs are granted by Courts not merely for the…

Alternate methods of dispute resolution are amicable methods of resolving disputes without the intervention of courts. It decreases the burden of the courts and encourages settlement proceedings among the parties. Generally, Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) uses one or more neutral third parties who help the parties to communicate, discuss the differences and resolve the dispute. ADRs are a set of methods that enable individuals and group to maintain cooperation, and social order and provides…

Simply put Artificial intelligence (AI) is non biological intelligence. But what is ‘intelligence’? Well, there is no conclusive answer to the definition of ‘intelligence’ and over the years there is no agreement even among AI researchers on the definition of ‘intelligence’. To paint a broad picture, intelligence means the ability to solve complex problems.