Delhi High Court awards 7 lakhs costs in favour of CNN News Channel
In a trade mark infringement action filed by Cable News Network (CNN) against a Lucknow based news website, the Delhi High Court has permanently restrained the Defendant from using the marks “CNN CITY NEWS NETWORK” or “CNN.”
The Court further directed the Defendant to remove and delete all links on the internet, including across all online platforms bearing the mark CNN. Additionally, the Court has also directed the Defendant to pay a cost of INR 7 lakhs to the Plaintiff, within four weeks from the date of the Judgement.
The Judgement dated December 04, 2023 can be accessed here.
Delhi High Court: Invalidity of trade mark registration not a defense to infringement
The Delhi High Court recently opined that in an action for infringement, invalidity of trade mark registration will not be a defense, however, the plea of invalidity may be relevant in deciding the question of relied.
The aforesaid observation comes in the light of a trade mark infringement case filed by Bhargava Phytolab for their mark TUMORIN against the Defendant’s deceptively similar mark TUMOTIN. The Court passed an order of interim injunction in favour of the Plaintiff.
Vistara undertakes to not claim any trade mark rights in “FLY HIGHER”
In order to resolve the trade mark dispute between Frankfinn Aviation Services Pvt. Ltd. and TATA Sia Airlines, Vistara Airlines proposed an offer to Frankfinn that they will not claim any trade mark rights in the the term FLY HIGHER, provided Frankfinn agrees that Vistara’s use of the term in advertising campaigns would not constitute infringement. Frankfinn has agreed to the said offer.
The dispute arose when Frankfinn filed a case for trade mark infringement against Vistara Airlines for using the slogan FLY HIGHER which was in violation of Frankfinn’s FLY HIGH. In February 2022, the High Court had restrained Vistara from using the said slogan, however, the order was vacated in November 2022.
The order dated December 04, 2023 can be accessed here.
Telangana High Court refuses to quash proceedings against film director and screenwriter in ‘Srimanthudu’ copyright infringement case
The Telangana High Court rejected the plea to quash proceedings against Kortala Siva, film director and scriptwriter in relation to the “Srimanthudu” copyright infringement case. The reason for refusing is that a prima facie examination of the complaint revealed similarities in concept as well as storyline of the novel. The Court observed that minor alterations of the story does not absolve from copyright infringement.
The complaint has been filed Sarath Chandra, claiming that Kortala along with the producer, Yerneni Naveen, and Mahesh Babu Entertainment Private Limited, intended to make ‘Srimanthudu’ in Hindi. The complaint has been filed under Section 63 of the Copyright Act along with Sections 420, 468 and 471 of Indian Penal Code.
Burger King declared as well-known mark by the Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court has declared BURGER KING as a well-known mark in India. The Court acknowledged the extensive use of the said mark in the realm of fast food, especially burgers. The observation comes in a trade mark infringement suit filed by Burger King Company LLC against an entity operating as BURGER KING FAMILY RESTAURANT.
Delhi High Court orders blocking of websites infringing FABINDIA trade mark
In a John Doe action brought by FabIndia Ltd., the Delhi High Court has ordered blocking of websites from using the mark FABINDIA in any form whatsoever. The Court directed the Defendants to call upon the various internet services providers registered under them to block access to the websites identified by the Plaintiff in their plaint. The injunction order extends to any other website/domain name using the mark FABINDIA.
The order dated December 04, 2023 can be accessed here.
IPRS inks MOU with KOMCA
The Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS) and KOMCA (Korea Music Copyright Association) have signed an MOU, whereby KOMCA and IPRS join hands to organize events that aim to enhance awareness, knowledge, and collaboration in the field of copyright (e.g. seminar on the latest copyright issues for the music industry), music creation (e.g. song-writing camp), and collective management (e.g. sharing experiences on best practices) for music creators. Fostering cross-border music between India and Korea.
Online gaming industry signs voluntary code of ethics
Online gaming industry leaders including the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS), the E-Gaming Federation (EGF), and the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) have signed the “Code of Ethics for Online Gaming Industries” during the Indian Gaming Convention (IGC) hosted by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) on December 5.
As part of it, the industry leaders will be working towards safeguarding the online gaming experience and building a trusted and accountable digital gaming industry for everyone.
Getty Images and Stability AI suit proceeds to trial
The action pending before the UK Court, filed by Getty Images against the artificial intelligence company, Stability AI, moves to trial. The suit has been filed alleging copyright infringement b Stability AI, claiming that they scrapped millions of its images online to train its image generation tool, Stable Diffusion.
AI art generators receive copyright lawsuits
Stable Diffusion, Midjourney and DeviantArt’s DremaUp received copyright lawsuit filed by three artists, namely, Sarah Andersen, Kelly McKernan, and Karla Ortiz. The complainants claim that the art generators use the collage tool called Stable Diffusion, which remixes existing images for training data. The database used by the AI generators contains unauthorized copies of millions of copyrighted images.
SUISA Files Copyright Lawsuit Against Twitter/X in German Court
Zurich-based SUISA announced the action, levied specifically by SUISA Digital Licensing in the Munich I District Court. As described by the plaintiff entity’s century-old parent, the suit has arrived on the heels of “repeated attempts to license X for more than half a year.” In June, the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) filed a $250 million copyright infringement lawsuit against Twitter/X. Now, SUISA has submitted a copyright complaint of its own against the social media platform. Read more here.
Marvel and Spider-Man artist’s estate settle superhero copyright clash
Disney’s Marvel has settled its legal fight with the estate of artist Steve Ditko over rights to the iconic superheroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, according to a filing in Manhattan federal court. Marvel and Ditko’s estate said in the joint filing that they have “amicably resolved” their copyright dispute but did not provide settlement terms.
Microsoft Added to OpenAI Copyright Lawsuit From Authors Guild
The Authors Guild has broadened its legal action, implicating Microsoft in the contentious lawsuit that centres on intellectual property rights.The lawsuit, initially directed at OpenAI, emerged from claims made by the Authors Guild, representing authors who allege that their copyrighted works were improperly used by OpenAI.
