iNDIA
Body Spray Ad Promoting Rape Banned, Indian Government Orders Social Media Platforms To Take Down Ad
The Indian government has ordered social media platforms such as YouTube and Twitter to take down the controversial ad of a body spray brand after outrage over its role in promoting rape.
The ad had caused outrage from netizens, who felt that it was promoting rape in a country, which is already struggling in controlling the sexual violence against women.
Karim’s v. Kareem’s: Delhi High Court Restrains Businessman From Infringing Trademark Of Old Delhi’s Mughlai Food Outlet
Coming to the aid of Old Delhi’s popular Mughlai food outlet “Karim’s”, the Delhi High Court has restrained Mumbai based businessman Kareem Dhanani from opening any further restaurants under deceptively similar marks, till August 8.
Justice Prathibha M. Singh further directed Dhanani to ensure that in the restaurants run by him or by his franchises, no representation is made to to the customers that it is associated with the Karim’s at Jama Masjid.
The order further stated:
- Two public notice shall be issued in prominent newspapers having circulation in Maharashtra and in North India that the defendant’s restaurant is not associated with the Plaintiff’s – KARIM HOTEL PVT LTD or KARIM/KARIM’S/KAREEM Restaurant from Jama Masjid or Delhi.
- All the advertisements and promotional materials, menu cards, etc. including all promotions on social media and online platforms, shall carry a prominent disclaimer to the following effect: “No connection with KARIM’S Jama Masjid/Delhi”.
Case Title: KARIM HOTEL PVT LTD versus KAREEM DHANANI
‘Pirates’ Robbing Entertainment Giants Back In Focus As Disney Star Files Fir On Leaked Shows
An FIR filed in Bengaluru by streaming platform Disney Star against alleged piracy of their content has again brought to the fore a problem that industry insiders claim has long troubled production houses, and, of late, OTT platforms.
The legal provisions invoked in the FIR are Section 66 of the Information Technology Act (computer-related offences), besides Section 63 (offence of infringement of copyright or other rights conferred by Copyright Act) and Section 65 (possession of plates for purpose of making copies) of the Copyright Act, besides Section 420 of the IPC (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property).
According to a report by the London-based Digital TV Research, OTT players in India risked losing an estimated revenue of $3.08 billion by 2022 because of piracy, where the revenue loss to piracy worldwide was pegged at $52 billion.
Meanwhile, a joint report published by content delivery network Akamai and tech company MUSO (which provides anti-piracy solutions) shows that global demand for pirated content went up between January 2021 and September 2021.
India, it said, recorded 6.5 billion visits to piracy websites, the third-highest after the US (13.5 billion) and Russia (7.2 billion).
Vikram: Madras High Court Restricts Websites From Unauthorised Screening Of Kamal Haasan’s Film
After the Madras High Court restricted Internet Service Providers (ISP) and over 1000 websites from unauthorised screening or copying of the Kamal Haasan starrer Vikram, the superstar’s production house Raaj Kamal Films International is on high alert.
The production house has communicated to all the Internet Service Providers and sites that stringent legal action would be taken if the movie is copied or transmitted or if misused. According to the report of IANS, Madras High Court judge, Justice Saravanan had on a petition filed by R. Murali Krishnan of Raaj Kamal Films International, restraining 29 ISPs including BSNL, Vodafone idea, Airtel, and Reliance Jio and 1308 websites from unauthorised copying or transmission of Vikram, the complete movie or in parts.
Money Laundering Case: Jacqueline Fernandez Gets Court Permission To Attend Iifa Awards In Abu Dhabi
The actor had moved an application in a Delhi court seeking permission to travel abroad for 15 days, for IIFA Awards in Abu Dhabi. She has also sought the court’s permission to travel to Abu Dhabi, France and Nepal.
The law enforcement economic intelligence agency under the Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance alleges that the prime accused in the Rs 200-crore money laundering case gave gifts worth Rs 5.71 crore to the Bollywood actor. The money laundering case pertains to the alleged extortion of Rs 200 crore from the family of former Ranbaxy owner Shivinder Singh by Chandrashekhar
Hurting Religious Sentiments Of Christians, Punjab & Haryana High Court Stays Fir Against Raveena Tandon, Farah Khan, Bharti Singh
The Punjab & Haryana High Court ordered that no coercive steps be taken against Bollywood actress Raveena Tandon, filmmaker Farah Khan and comedian Bharti Singh in relation to a First Information Report (FIR) lodged against them for the offence of hurting religious sentiments.
“Samrat Prithviraj” Film Is Caste Neutral, Does Not Depict King As Rajput Or Gurjar: Yash Raj Films Tells Delhi High Court
A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Sachin Datta closed the matter after counsel for Yash Raj Films made a categorical statement that the movie is absolutely neutral and does not refer to any caste, either Rajput or Gurjar.
Significantly, the film was earlier titled ‘Prithviraj’. However, subsequent to multiple challenges stating that the title disrespects and lowers the dignity of the great emperor, its title was changed to “Samrat Prithviraj”.
Case Title: Gurjar Samaj Sarv Sangthan Sabha Ekta Samanya Samiti v. Union of India & Ors.
MeitY withdraws proposed changes to IT rules; Chinese funds to face more scrutiny
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) released a draft proposing changes to the year-old Information Technology Rules, 2021. The proposed changes included setting up an appeals committee to review content moderation decisions of social media companies. But the ministry withdrew the draft just hours later.
In the now-withdrawn draft, the IT ministry called for the creation of one or more grievance appeals committees to evaluate complaints from aggrieved social media users. It noted that such oversight would “provide an alternative” to users who do not agree with the decisions of any social media company or internet intermediary.
It said the appellate committees would have to decide on user appeals within 30 days and that platforms would have to comply with its orders.
‘Press freedom subverted’: NBF writes to I&B minister over BARC ‘skewing final data’ with ‘landing page’ views
The freedom of the press is being “subverted” due to the Broadcast Audience Research Council’s failure to address the issue of “landing pages” being included in viewership data, according to a June 1 letter from the News Broadcasters Federation to I&B minister Anurag Thakur.
The letter flagged five issues: that landing pages are a “restrictive trade practice”; they can be “bought at a price” to “artificially amplify” viewership data of some channels; the practice counters the government’s efforts to “democratise” the news media; and it subverts the freedom the press through the “validation of monopolistic practices”.
SquirrrelVerse launches NFT commerce platform
SquirrelVerse, a Metaverse first company, has announced the launch of Metascreen – a curated NFT commerce platform for showcasing unique NFTs as movie tickets. ‘Mithila Makhaan’, a national award-winning Maithili film will be screened on Metascreen as the first Indian movie that can be watched using NFT as a movie ticket.
Metascreen is a platform by SquirrelVerse for users to buy NFTs and watch movies as well. Creators can showcase and own their work and earn through trading royalties on the Metascreen platform.
Each creator will have complete ownership rights of their artwork where they can release movies, poetry, books, or any other artworks in digital form. Metascreen removes any third party or middle party in between the creator and the consumer changing the way content is created or consumed.
Delhi High Court imposes ₹25 lakh costs on website for infringing trademark of legendary film ‘Sholay’
The Delhi High Court has said that “Sholay” is the title of an “iconic film,” which, as a mark, cannot be held to be devoid of protection and restrained the use of the film title by persons alleged to be misappropriating the same.
Justice Prathiba M Singh, while dealing with a trademark lawsuit stated that titles and films are capable of being recognised under the trademark law. The judge noted that the case was contested for over 20 years and the adoption of the mark ‘Sholay’ by the defendants for selling the DVD of the film on their website etc was ‘clearly mala fide and dishonest’ and awarded Rs 25 lakh as costs.
Zee Signs Exclusive Media Rights Deal For Emirates Cricket Board’s UAE T20 League
Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) announced signing of a long term global media rights deal with Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE) for UAE T20 League.
As part of the deal, the league will be live telecast across ZEE’s 10 linear channels in English, Hindi, and Tamil language, as well as simultaneously streamed on ZEE5.
In 2017, ZEE had sold its sports business, TEN Sports, to SPN for approximately Rs 2,400 crore and signed a five-year non-compete clause. Earlier this year, the two companies have signed definitive agreements to merge operations and are waiting for regulatory approvals.
INTERNATIONAL
Shutterstock Acquires Splash News
Shutterstock, Inc., the leading global creative platform for transformative brands and media companies, announced the acquisition of Splash News, one of the world’s leading entertainment news networks for newsrooms and media companies. Splash News is an industry leader with customers including E! News, People, Daily Mail, TMZ, Dow Jones, Reach and News UK.
Splash’s vast collection provides a chronicle of some of the most iconic moments from the last three decades – from images of George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin’s 2014 wedding in Venice, to photographs of “Bennifer” from when they dated in 2002. A thriving archive of over 27 million images joins Shutterstock Editorial’s archive of over 60 million assets, making this one of the largest Editorial photo and video archives in the industry.
Mariah Carey Sued For Copyright Over “All I Want For Christmas Is You”
The complainant, a musician named Andy Stone, says he co-wrote and recorded a festive song of the same name in 1989 and never gave permission for it to be used.
In the suit filed in Louisiana, Stone alleges that Carey and her co-writer Walter Afanasieff “knowingly, willfully, and intentionally engaged in a campaign to infringe” his copyright.
He is seeking damages of $20 million for alleged financial loss.
Diageo Gets Mixed Verdict, No Damages In Whiskey-Bottle Trademark Row
A Manhattan jury found that the design of a Connecticut company’s bourbon does not infringe Diageo North America’s Bulleit trademark rights.
The jury also ruled in part for Diageo, affirming that the Bulleit bottle was entitled to trademark protection and that W.J. Deutsch & Sons’ Redemption bourbon bottle design diluted its distinctiveness. However, it did not award Diageo any damages.
But the jury cleared Deutsch from Diageo’s claim that Deutsch infringed the Bulleit bottle trademark by creating a high risk of consumer confusion.
The case is Diageo North America Inc v. W.J. Deutsch & Sons Ltd, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 1:17-cv-04259.
YouTuber Pulls Nintendo Soundtracks After Receiving Over 500 Copyright Claims
DeoxysPrime runs a YouTube account with 165,000 subscribers, that is home to all kinds of video game soundtracks. But now they have removed the entire library of Nintendo music after having “a dozen soundtracks blocked,” while receiving over 500 copyright claims from the trigger-happy company.
They weren’t hosting uploads of commercially-available albums; rather, like the rest of their channel (which we’ve featured on the site before!), they had uploaded the complete soundtracks to titles like Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon, taken directly from the games themselves.
Kanye West Files Trademarks Describing NFT Technology After Denouncing the Digital Collectible Concept
rapper and musician Ye and his company Mascotte Holdings filed new trademarks: “Kanye West has filed 17 new trademark applications around his YEEZUS name. The filings indicate an intent to launch YEEZUS-branded amusement parks, NFTs, toys, and more.”
