Sound Board

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

Not very long ago, the Indian Designs Office notified the Designs (Amendment) Rules, 2021 and now the Copyright Office (hereinafter referred to as ‘CRO’) too has notified the Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2021. The Copyright Rules, 2013 was last amended in the year 2016 subsequent to which, it was done recently.

However, the question remains - why has an option for renewal not been provided? Granted, it would ensure fewer instances where the right would have lapsed, and the protection would continue unbeknownst to the authorities (although the right holder must inform customs authority when his intellectual property ceases to be valid or if he ceases to be the owner of such intellectual property right). In this respect, the lack of an option for renewal enables authorities to properly examine the…

The Australian government recently passed legislation that has the potential to completely rework the way in which news is disseminated on the internet. The Australian News Media Bargaining Code, passed by the Australian legislature in February 2021, seeks to mandate that Big Tech companies like Google and Facebook pay news producers in order to use their content. The timing of the move appears in line with developments around the world, with calls to regulate Big Techs seen all across the…

The Supreme Court indicated that it was proposing to lift the suo moto extension of the limitation period granted by it on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, with effect from March 15 this year. Following this, on 8th March 2021, the Court passed an order ending the extension of the limitation period.

More often than not, when a “bona fide” proprietor of the trademark (I use the term “bona fide” rather loosely here) finds unauthorized use of their mark by a third party, the first step taken (often) is to send the other party a legal notice. While some legal notices sent/received are convoluted and packed with legal jargon, some are brief and get the message across. A legal notice simply outlines the rights of the sender (“bona fide” proprietor) and cautions the infringing party to refrain…

“Intellectual property rights” is a paradox, where it promotes innovation and creativity, on the one hand, it might stagnate and monopolize ideas and business, on the other. With the development of human intelligence, complications also arose such that it became necessary to balance man’s imagination and the output of such imagination.

Most commercial establishments often play popular music as a form of entertainment for their patrons. Step into any mall, hotel, pub, restaurant, or gym, and there is a high chance that they will be playing a song that you know. Since music falls under the scope of copyright as intellectual property, any commercial establishment playing music must obtain a license from the appropriate rights holder in order to play such music.

The Indian Copyright Act provides who the Author and Owner are, with respect to any work. It uncomplicates matters by simply putting that the Author of the work is the First Owner of the Copyright (subject to provisions of course). While in most cases, a clear determination is possible, there are circumstances when the logic has to be reconsidered; example when a work (in which copyright exists) is prepared at the instance of another person. There appears to be a very thin hazy line between…

The paranoia around the COVID-19 continues to stretch the air, people, citizens and the government continue to strive to put their best foot forward to ensure maximum safety and avoid anarchy. With this, we would like to inform you that, the Indian government have been meticulous in their work and have always ensured the best for its citizens, with this the Indian Patent Office, the Indian Trade Marks Registry and the Indian Copyright Office have released their official notices dated,…

This order by the Hon’ble Bombay High Court, delivered on 28th September, 2019 pertaining to subtitles in movies, is one such droplet that will potentially open the floodgate for the entertainment and media law sector in India.