Copyrights

Can food recipes be protected under intellectual property?

Ever wanted to know the recipe for your favourite dish in a restaurant? Or wished that you could make Pringles at home? They wouldn’t be special or in demand anymore if you could do make it by yourself! This got me thinking on the best ways to protect food recipes and prompted me to write this…


Don’t mess with the wrestlers! – WWE awarded an injunction and damages against unauthorised distributors in India

If you are a wrestling fan, you would have definitely heard of John Cena, Randy Orton, The Rock, Cm Punk, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, The Great Khali, Rey Mysterio, HHH, Edge etc. As a fan of these mega stars, you would have purchased many merchandise to be more like them and also would have made…


How to protect your music or art in India?

YouTube is filled with videos of people (budding artists!) singing songs of their favourite artists in their own style and giving it their personal touch or artists who are remixing songs. In the first scenario, it would be a most likely be cover version of the original song since the singer is…


Assignment of Copyright in India

There have been too many copyright issues in the recent times, either between the producer or the director of the film with regard to ownership of copyright or between say, a scriptwriter and the director. This got me thinking about the rights of the different people who contribute toward making a…


Copyright on Architectural Works in India - A weak foundation?

Copyright law never ceases to surprise us with its complex yet interesting issues that affect our day to day lives. About a week ago, the IP world was flooded with news that pictures of the Eiffel Tower taken at night would amount to infringement of copyright, however pictures taken during the day…


Intellectual Property Law for Fashion designers

The Fashion Industry is an Intellectual property intensive industry as it is that industry that involves continuous creation of new and innovative ideas that are commercially exploited. If you just look at your reflection in the mirror, you will find that you are literally wearing “ Intellectual…


Copyright for script writers – Don’t copy, just write!

“I could not afford to go to Delhi just to register my script” says Mr. Gopi, a script writer who recently filed a suit against the “Kaththi” director Murugadoss accusing him of stealing his script. I watched this very interesting interview of his where he says that he’s met with the director…


Copyright in Images - Myths Galore with the MODIfication of Bimal Nepal’s Photograph

I’m pretty certain that most people with Facebook accounts in India have seen the Prime Minister’s post on his Facebook page wishing people for Dhanteras on October 21, 2014. While the photograph was visually striking, it appears that someone who knew the photographer tagged him on the post since…


Radio Sa Ga – Record Label fined for Anti-Competitive practices in Licensing Music

The Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) entrusted with the job of maintaining healthy competition and curbing abuse of monopoly in the market place was tasked with examining the actions of Super Cassettes Industries (“T Series”). The Informant/Complainant in this matter was HT Media Limited…


Magic and Intellectual Property: Very Tricky!

Magic tricks don’t cease to surprise and most often, they leave us befuddled with a lot of questions. But if we knew how the trick was performed, would we be as amused? Probably not. And that’s exactly why the magicians’ community thinks it is important to protect their tricks under the law. This…