IPRMENTLAW HIGHLIGHTS (JULY 12-25)

INDIAN BROADCASTING FOUNDATION (IBF) MOVES TO SUPREME COURT AGAINST BOMBAY HIGH COURT RULING ON TRAI TARIFF ORDER

The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging a Bombay High Court order in relation to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Tariff Order Amendments. The Petition states that the new regulations were “arbitrary, unreasonable and violative of their fundamental right” .

KHADI TRADEMARK REGISTRATION IN MORE COUNTRIES: 

Recently, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), the statutory body for the promotion of enterprises in khadi and village industries under the Ministry of MSME, has secured ‘khadi’ trademark registrations in three more countries – Bhutan, UAE, and Mexico thus, strengthening and protecting the word mark and brand ‘khadi’ globally. As per the MSME Ministry, such applications for similar trademarks have been pending in 40 other countries including the USA, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Japan, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brazil, etc. (see here)

“ISKCON” IS A WELL-KNOWN TRADEMARK NO​​W

The Bombay high court (HC) has recently declared that the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is a “well-known trademark” protected under the provisions of the Trade Marks Act, 1999. The issue arose when ISKCON authorities sought a permanent injunction against Iskcon Apparel Private Limited, a private enterprise, for infringing on its registered trademark. But the issue was resolved after the defendant company changed its name to Alcis Sports Private Limited, and also gave an undertaking of not using ISKCON’s name in the future. (read here)

AMAZON LAUNCHED IP ACCELERATOR PROGRAM

Amazon launched its Intellectual Property Accelerator (IP Accelerator) Program in India, which offers sellers [who are also brand owners (including small and medium-sized sellers)] easy access to services from trusted IP experts and law firms. Businesses may also opt to engage with these IP law firms to help secure trademarks, protect their brands, and tackle infringement on Amazon.in and Amazon websites globally. (read here)

MAADHYAM PORTAL TO HELP DOING BUSINESS EASIER

Soon India will launch a national single window system for regulatory clearances that will facilitate domestic as well as global investors in getting over 560 types of regulatory approvals online, including permission to start a fuel retail business, get a permanent exporter license, set up a unit in the special economic zone (SEZ), register copyright, start a power exchange, or obtain a license to start a private security agency. (read here)

HACKERS SENDING FAKE COPYRIGHT COMPLAINT NOTICE WITH MALWARE TO FACEBOOK USERS

A security researcher recently warned that Cybercriminals are sending out fake copyright complaint notifications to Facebook users with malicious links that can harm computers, on Thursday. Criminals have created several pages in the name of Copyright Constraints Page 2021. (read here)

THE NEWS BROADCASTERS’ ASSOCIATION (NBA) CHALLENGES AMENDED CABLE TV RULES IN KERALA HIGH COURT

On hearing the plea filed by The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) over non-compliance with the Cable TV Act, The Kerala High Court granted interim relief to NBA and has directed the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) not to take any coercive action against members of the news broadcasters association (NBA) over non-compliance with The Cable TV Act.

DELHI HIGH COURT ISSUES NOTICE IN PLEA SEEKING GUIDELINES TO REGULATE ADVERTISEMENT OF CRYPTOCURRENCY EXCHANGES ON TV

On hearing the plea filed by Advocates Aayush Shukla and Vikash Kumar seeking issuance of guidelines or rules to be framed against the crypto currency exchanges in India, the Delhi High Court has issued notice to Centre and SEBI to respond to a plea seeking to direct the markets regulator to issue guidelines and take steps against crypto-asset exchanges advertising on television without standardised disclaimers. advertising on televisions without adequate standardized disclaimers. The court granted time to the authorities to file responses and the matter is scheduled for further hearing.

MTV ROADIES’ WINNER ASHUTOSH KAUSHIK MOVES DELHI HIGH COURT SEEKING REMOVAL OF ARTICLES FROM INTERNET.

Ashutosh Kaushik, who won reality television shows MTV Roadies 5.0 and Big Boss, has moved the Delhi High Court seeking the “right to be forgotten” by way of directing Google and others to remove all content including all the posts, videos, articles, etc. from the internet, allegedly sensationalising his past life related to certain incidents “erroneously committed”. The plea claims that the ‘Right To Be Forgotten’ is an part of the right to privacy.

BOLO INDYA TIES UP WITH AUDIBLE MAGIC TO MANAGE LICENSED, UNLICENSED USE OF MUSIC

Bolo Indya has partnered with Audible Magic, a rights management and identification solutions provider that will allow the social live streaming company to proactively manage both occurrences of licensed and unlicensed copyrighted media on its platform.

DELHI HIGH COURT RESTRAINS UNAUTHORISED BROADCAST OF UPCOMING TOKYO OLYMPICS

On hearing plea filed by Sony Pictures Networks India which is the exclusive broadcaster of Tokyo Olympics, the Delhi High Court directed internet service providers (ISPs) to block access to these websites that are illegally broadcasting these games on their platforms and also asked Central government to issue necessary directions / notifications calling upon various ISPs to block access to the rogue websites.