Celebrating 20 Years of IP Excellence

The featured image shows the word copyright written over a grey background. The post summarises the case The Indian SingersRights Association v. Chapter 25 Bar and Restaurant. To know more, please click here.

Indian Performing Right Society v. Aditya Pandey & Ors.

Facts IPRS (Indian Performing Right Society) has its grievance against the broadcasters of Private FM Radio Channels and Event Organizers for paying royalties to only the owners in copyright of the sound recording but not to the authors of the lyrical or musical scores. The Single bench of the Delhi High Court Justice S.Ravindra Bhat ruled in favor of the radio broadcasting channels and IPRS then appealed to the Supreme Court, which delivered its judgement in September.  Question of Law The question…

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The Indian Singers Rights Association v. Chapter 25 Bar and Restaurant

The Indian Singers Rights Association v. Chapter 25 Bar and Restaurant Citation:CS (OS) 2068/2015 & IA No. 14261/2015 Facts The Defendant in this case, Chapter 25 Bar and Restaurant during the month of April 2015 had been illegally communicating to the public numerous songs containing performances of various member singers of the Plaintiff copyright society, Indian Singers Rights Association (ISRA), without obtaining appropriate clearance from ISRA and paying the requisite royalty fee. ISRA had issued a legal notice against the Defendant…

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DNC may face Disney’s infringement lawsuit

  We all know Donald Trump is a presidential hopeful, has been a savvy business man and somehow always manages to make or stay in the news. This time however it is not his doing. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has come up with a mascot which bears a striking resemblance to a famous Disney duck, but with the slight variation of Trump's blond mop of hair. The mascot is called “Donald Ducks” and will be used by the committee to…

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The featured image shows a picture of the actor Hrithik Roshan. The post is about the recent copyright infringement action initiated against the film 'Mohenjo Daro'. To know more, please click here.

Mohenjo Daro triumphs infringement battle

Another film met the fate of being brought before the court in the 11th hour for plagiarism. The film Mohenjo Daro, directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar is scheduled for release on 12th August 2016. The movie was brought before the Bombay High Court with a claim that it was a product of plagiarism. But the film triumphed its first ever legal battle. The Plaintiff, Mr. Akshayaditya Harishchandra Lama ("Lama") claimed that the 1st Defendant, Mr. Ashutosh Gowarikar directed film Mohenjo Daro…

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The featured image shows the logo of the fashion house Burberry which is affixed to a particular cloth. The post is about a dispute between the Fashion house Burberry and music producer Perry Moise. To know more, please click here.

“Don’t Use my Name”, “Okay, Cool”

Fashion houses rarely stay out of the news, especially when it comes to IP related matters. Recently the English luxury fashion house Burberry sued rapper and music producer Burberry Perry (real name Perry Moise). Can anyone take the hint, why Mr. Perry was sued? Yes, it’s a no-brainer, for trademark infringement and dilution. Besides using the name of the fashion label as a part of his stage name, the rapper also used Burberry’s trademark check print and the equestrian logo…

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The featured image shows a signboard with the words 'No Piracy' written in black , bold letters. A skull with two cross bones is also present next to the words. The post is about a john doe order that YRF secured in its favour regarding the movie 'sultan'. To know more, please click here.

John Doe Orders obtained by makers of ‘Sultan’

This post discusses the latest development relating to the movie ‘Sultan’. The movie was released today, i.e.on 6.07.2016. Ahead of the release of the much awaited movie ‘Sultan’, Yash Raj Films approached the Bombay High Court ,seeking for an interim injunction to fight piracy. Yash Raj Films filed an application after they came across websites hosting several links to download the yet to be released movie ‘Sultan’. These links although dormant at the time of making the application are bound…

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Udta Punjab and Online Piracy of Bollywood Movies

  Udta Punjab, the recently released bollywood movie on substance abuse prevalent in Punjab has been mired in controversy from the beginning. Earlier, when the movie had commenced its shooting,the production unit faced trouble for not taking mandatory permission from the district administration and police authorities of Amritsar. However, recently the movie drew attention due to its certification and censorship by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) which became the bone of contention between the producers and the CBFC. In…

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The featured image shows the face of a man with his eyes and mouth covered by the palms of another person. The post is regarding the row between producers of Udta Punjab and the CBFC. To know more, please click here.

Dust settles down in the Udta Punjab row

“Submitting to censorship is to enter the seductive world of ‘The Giver’: the world where there are no bad words and no bad deeds. But it is also the world where choice has been taken away and reality distorted. And that is the most dangerous world of all “ – Lois Lowry Indian film fraternity has now entered a new era where both realistic films as well as commercial films are equally appreciated by audiences.  The success of Gangs of…

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The featured image shows the word censored written in white letters on a grey background. The post relates to the recent row between producers of udta punjab and CBFC. To know more, please click here.

Freedom of expression and Censorship

  The Central Board of Film Certification’s (CBFC) discomfort to allow filmmakers’ “freedom of expression” has been a subject of clash quite often, with the recent one involving the producers of the film Udta Punjab, a drug abuse themed film, who approached the Bombay High Court challenging the order of CBFC asking it to delete different items, words, references etc.The Court said that CBFC’s power is to only certify movies for public exhibition and not to censor them. The parties have…

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The image is of a jigsaw puzzle game which forms a heart as the post is about love patents

Valentine’s Day Gifts ( Love Patents V):Well Played!

"All you need is love, Love is all you need"- The Beatles Its two days to go for Valentine’s Day, and it’s about time you stepped  up your game. Although you don’t need a special day to express your love for someone, it doesn’t hurt to make this one extra special. A lot of you might be suiting up and you probably will be making dinner reservations, at a nice, posh restaurant. Maybe you will order her favourite wine or …

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