Union Ministry of Information and broadcasting invites comments on the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has proposed a draft Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023. The draft Bill provides for a consolidated framework to regulate the broadcasting services in the country and seeks to replace the existing Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 and other Policy Guidelines currently governing the broadcasting sector in the country.
The Bill streamlines regulatory processes, extends its purview to cover the Over-the-Top(OTT) content and digital news, and introduces contemporary definitions and provisions for emerging technologies. It seeks to provide for Content Evaluation Committees and a Broadcast Advisory Council for self-regulation, different program and advertisement code for different Broadcasting Network Operators, Accessibility measures for persons with disabilities, and statutory penalties, etc.
Proposed Bill can be accessed here.
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issues order for banning of 22 betting apps
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MeitY) has issued an order for blocking of 22 illegal betting apps and websites. The order comes ahead to the investigations conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against the illegal betting syndicate. The order has also banned apps like Mahadev and Reddyannaprestopro.
Delhi High Court Division Bench: All IPR suits cannot be valued over 3 lakhs
The Division Bench of the Delhi High Court has overruled the Judgement passed by the Single Judge in Vishal Pipes Ltd. vs. Bhavya Pipe Industries (2022). While dealing with an appeal wherein the appellant argued that the commercial court decided to assess the specified value and suit value on the basis of Vishal Pipes, ignoring that the suit was already valued at 10 lakhs, thus exceeding the 3 lakhs threshold.
The Bench set aside the impugned order stating that the mistake on the part of the appellant to submit particulars to justify the specified value was curable and did not merit vacation of the injunction. In doing so, the court expressed its reservation on some of the findings of the Vishal Pipes judgement and went on to assess the directions passed in it.
The Division Bench further observed that Vishal Pipes paint a general picture and cannot be applied to all cases. The Bench further passed a direction to revert the matters that may have been transferred owing to the Vishal Pipes judgement.
The Order passed by the Court can be accessed here.
Delhi High Court passes an injunction against the hospital chain from using the mark Maxi Cure
In a suit brought by Max Healthcare, the Delhi High Court passed an order of injunction against the Telangana based hospital chain “MAXI CURE”. The entity has been restrained from using the mark/name MAXI CURE HOSPITALS, MAXI CURE PHARMACY and the domain name www.maxicurehospitals.com.
Madras High Court restrains Sunfeast from selling cookies in blue colour wrapper
The Division Bench of the Madras High Court refused to set aside the order passed by the Single Judge injuncting ITC Limited from selling ‘Sunfeast Mom’s Magic Butter Cookies’ in a blue wrapper that was similar to Britannia Good day biscuits. While continuing the injunction, the Bench allowed ITC to exhaust its existing stock.
Minister for Commerce and Industry advocates for single window royalty payments
The Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, laid emphasis on the significance of equitable representation of copyright societies and an inclusive approach for women and smaller artists. The Minister also observed that there should be a single window for royalty payment for artists.
OpenAI to fund users found guilty of copyright infringement
OpenAI has announced that they will cover the legal costs for its business-tier, ChatGPT’s, users who have found guilty of copyright infringement. The cover is solely for the users ChatGPT enterprise and developer program and not the free users.
Walmart and Vans settle the trademark dispute
Walmart and Vans have settled the trademark dispute wherein Vans had claimed that the retail giant had copied the the design of one of the best selling shoes of Vans. As part of the settlement, Walmart agreed for a permanent injunction from selling the alleged knockoffs.
