- Delhi High Court permanently restrains the use of ‘Facebake’ and other Facebook formative marks
In a trademark infringement suit, the Single Judge Bench headed by Justice Navin Chawla has permanently restrained the use of marks, ‘facebake’, ‘facecake’, Facebook marks, Facebook Visual Presentation and any other Facebook formative trademarks of the tech-giant, Meta Platforms, Inc., erstwhile Facebook.
The court also awarded nominal charges of Rs. 50,000 along with the cost of the suit in favour of Meta. The matter came to the Court after Meta filed trademark infringement case against ‘Facebake” for allegedly mimicking the visual presentation by copying the color scheme, font, commercial impression and overall look and feel of Facebook.
The decision of the Court dated July 06, 2022 can be accessed here.
- Delhi High Court issues summons to filmmaker Leena Manimekalai over the Goddess Kaali’s smoking poster
Delhi High Court has issued summons and notice of injunction against filmmaker Leena Manimekalai in a suit seeking restrain from her depicting Hindu Goddess Kaali smoking a cigarette. The suit has been filed against Manimekalai for portraying the Hindu Goddess in an uncalled for manner and for hurting religious sentiments.
The order of the court dated July 08, 2022 can be accessed here.
- Delhi High Court upholds that copyright owners have the right to dub cinema
A single judge bench of Justice Jyoti Singh has vacated its earlier ex-parte injunction order against M/s Sithara Entertainment which barred it from releasing the Hindi-dubbed version of its Telegu remake of the Malayalam movie, “Ayyappanum Koshiyum”. The court further held that the owners of the copyright in a cinematographic work have the right to sub-title and dub their work.
In this suit, the Plaintiffs had sought permanent injunction restraining the Defendants from dubbing the Telegu film “Bheemla Nayak” as the rights for Hindi remake were with the Plaintiff.
The decision of the court dated July 11, 2022 can be accessed here.
- Delhi High Court observes the need for a mechanism for trademark owners to seek cancellation/transfer of objectionable domain names
Justice Pratibha Singh of Delhi High Court has observed that the Domain Name Registrars must create a mechanism which allows trademark owners who have an objection to the registration granted to any domain name, can approach the Registrars and seek cancellation or transfer of the same.
The court further observed that this mechanism ought to be fairly considered and ought to be independent and impartial, for ex., through an Ombudsman. The observation comes in the light of the suit filed by Snapchat Private Limited seeking permanent injunction restraining the infringement of trademarks, passing off, unfair trade practices, damages and other reliefs.
The decision of the court dated July 13, 2022 can be accessed here.
- Meta ordered to Pay Rs. 25 thousand by Maharashtra Consumer Commission
Maharashtra’s Gondia District Consumer Disputes Resolution Commission recently directed the Facebook India Online Services Pvt. Ltd. and Meta Platforms, Inc. to pay Rs. 25,000/- as compensation to a Facebook User. The user purchased a pair of shoes for Rs. 599/- on Facebook but never received them.
- Ministry of Information & Broadcasting proposes bill to regulate digital media outlets
The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has decided to propose the Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2022 to regulate digital media outlets, making them liable for violations that apply to print media. The ministry has decided to list the bill for the upcoming monsoon session.
Currently, the digital media is not regulated by the I&B Ministry but are allowed to voluntarily register with the ministry as per the IT Rules, 2021. The proposed bill will replace the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867.
- US Trademark and Copyright Offices to study IP impact of NFTs
The US Patent and Trademark Office and the US Copyright Office are set to launch a study on the impact of the nonfungible tokens on the intellectual property rights. The two departments have agreed to conduct the joint study in correspondence with the US Senators, Patrick Leahy and Thom Tillis. The study has been launched after how the NFTs have acquired mainstream popularity.
