IT committee asks MIB to review laws in view of Ranveer Allahbadia controversy
The controversy surrounding content creator Ranveer Allahbadia has caught the attention of Parliament, with around eight MPs raising the issue during a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology and Communications on February 13.
Following the meeting, the committee dispatched a communication to Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) secretary Sanjay Jaju asking the ministry to provide a note by February 17 on necessary amendments to clamp down on controversial content.
Tamil Nadu notifies stricter rules for real-money gaming, effective immediately
Under these rules, real-money gaming platforms have to impose ‘blank hours’ between midnight and 5 am, disabling login during these restricted five hours.
The guidelines also prohibit minors from playing real-money games and mandate companies to offer players the ability to set daily, weekly and monthly monetary limits.
Additionally, platforms should display pop-up caution messages when a player has been playing for more than one hour, and continue to display them every 30 minutes to remind them of their playtime. Real-money gaming apps should also continuously display caution messages about the addictive nature of these games, with the wordings “ONLINE GAMING IS ADDICTIVE IN NATURE” on their respective login pages.
Whenever players deposit the money, RMG apps should also display the fixed monetary limit and the amount spent so far, in “reasonably bold letters”, the guidelines stated.
Other measures include mandatory Know Your Customer (KYC) verification at the time of account creation. The initial login authentication will require KYC verification through Aadhaar, authenticated by a second-layer verification through One Time Password (OTP) sent to the phone number linked to the Aadhaar number.
The Indian Music Industry (IMI), T-Series, and Saregama India Ltd. have filed an intervention in the ANI vs. OpenAI case before the Delhi High Court
IMI, T-Series and Saregama, have filed an intervention application seeking to join a copyright lawsuit against OpenAI in New Delhi, highlighting worries about improper use of recordings to train AI models, legal documents show.
The music labels want to join a lawsuit launched last year by Indian news agency ANI that accused OpenAI’s ChatGPT application of using its content without permission to train AI models.
The next hearing in the lawsuit, which is seen as shaping the future of how AI models use copyright content in India, is set for Feb. 21.
OpenAI chief Sam Altman visited India last week, meeting the infotech minister, and discussing the country’s plan to pursue low-cost AI.
HC calls for report on Haji Ali Juice Centre trademark infringement row
The Bombay high court recently noted there was prima facie evidence of Kerala-based Haji Ali Fresh Fruit Juices “wilfully disobeying” its orders over a trademark dispute with Mumbai’s iconic Haji Ali Juice Centre.
“The conduct of the respondent prima facie shows that they have been wilfully disobeying the ad-interim order of this court despite having been executed and the papers being served upon them,” the bench noted on February 4.
805 apps, 3,266 websites blocked due to national security reasons: Amit Shah
Union Home Minister Amit Shah informed a parliamentary committee on Monday (February 10, 2025) that 805 mobile applications and 3,266 website links have been blocked so far due to “national security” reasons.
Saket District Court Imposes Rs.20 Lakh Cost For Copyright Infringement Of Software
The Saket District Commercial Court with its Bench comprising Justice Lokesh Kumar Sharma has imposed a penalty on Invent Cast Pvt. Ltd for infringing the copyright of software developed by Seimen Industries Inc.
Sushant Singh Rajput’s father hopeful for ‘justice’ as Bombay High Court agrees to hear plea on actor’s death
The Bombay High Court is scheduled to hear a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on February 19, on the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
The PIL demands the arrest and interrogation of Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aditya Thackeray in connection with the two deaths under mysterious circumstances
Gaming Industry Will Shut Down If Companies Need To Pay Rs. 1.1 Lakh Crore In Past GST Demands
The GST Council had on October 1, 2023, imposed a 28% tax on the full face-value of player collections on online real-money gaming platforms instead of the previous 18% on the revenue of companies.
Jain, who had co-founded Dream11 in 2008 with Bhavit Sheth, says this demand is unviable and untenable.
He said that rather than seeking higher GST collections from companies, the GST council should look at lowering rates for the platforms with the tax being charged on gross gaming revenue (GGR) and not on the full value of collections from players.
HC grants relief to Jawed Habib in copyright infringement row
The Bombay High Court granted ad-interim relief to hair stylist Jawed Habib, restraining Rashid Molla from using his trademarks until the final hearing.
After reviewing the documents, Justice Manish Pitale observed a strong prima facie case against Molla for copyright infringement. “Unless the ad-interim reliefs, as prayed, are granted, the applicant will continue to suffer grave and irreparable loss, thereby showing that the balance of convenience is in favour of the applicant,” the court noted.
The court issued an injunction restraining Molla and his representatives from using the marks “The Jawed Habib,” “Jawed Habib Hair & Beauty,” and the “JH Logo” in connection with hair salon services. The next hearing is scheduled for March 25, 2025.
Kumar Sanu to get personality rights protected, warns ‘AI is dangerous’
In India, renowned actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, and Jackie Shroff have already taken legal measures to safeguard their personality rights against potential misuse of this technology. Now, legendary singer Kumar Sanu is preparing to follow suit. Known for his distinctive baritone, Sanu’s voice has been widely mimicked. Concerned about the potential misuse of his voice, he is determined to take action.
Saket Court Imposes INR 20 Lakh Penalty on Invent Cast for Copyright Infringement of Siemens Software
The Saket District Commercial Court, presided over by Justice Lokesh Kumar Sharma, imposed a penalty of INR 20 lakh on Invent Cast Pvt. Ltd. for using Siemens’ NX software (formerly Unigraphics) without a valid license and issued a permanent injunction prohibiting further unauthorized use. Siemens Industry Software Inc., a US-based company specializing in Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software, discovered that Invent Cast had an expired license while Precise Technocast had none, with unlicensed software installed on multiple systems in their Gujarat unit. The defendants argued that Siemens India lacked the authority to file the suit due to alleged defects in the power of attorney and copyright assignment, but the court rejected these objections, affirming Siemens’ exclusive rights. While Precise Technocast was not held liable due to insufficient evidence, the court denied Siemens’ claim for INR 16.59 crore in additional damages for lack of proof of ongoing infringement. The defendants were ordered to pay INR 20 lakh in damages with 8% annual interest from the suit filing date until realization, along with the suit costs.
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AI Firm Cohere Sued By Publishers Over Copyright Infringement
A group of news publishers has sued artificial intelligence (AI) firm Cohere for copyright infringement.
The federal lawsuit, filed Thursday (Feb. 13) in New York, accuses Cohere of improperly using at least 4,000 copyrighted works to train its AI large language model, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Thursday.
In addition, the suit also accuses Cohere of displaying large portions of articles — if not articles in their entirety — while bypassing visits to the publishers’ websites. And in some cases, the suit said, Cohere has infringed on publishers’ trademarks by producing “hallucinated” material — with information that was never actually published by the news outlet — under a publisher’s name.
China’s Supreme Court Orders ByteDance to Pay USD11 Million to Meishe for Code Plagiarism
Chinese tech giant ByteDance was ruled to pay CNY82.7 million (USD11.3 million) compensation to Chinese audio-visual solutions provider Meishe Network Technology for software code copyright infringement.
ByteDance found that an engineer who worked at Meishe and joined the company two and a half years later was responsible for the code copyright infringement, Vice President Li Liang said in a statement yesterday. The engineer was fired.
According to the ruling, the codes involved in the case account for a very small proportion of the two firms’ software, equal to no more than 4 percent of Meishe’s and 0.8 percent of Douyin’s code, Li noted.
China’s Tencent wins video copyright infringement case in US district court
A U.S. district court has awarded Tencent nearly $85 million in compensation after finding that Taiwan-based TV box firm Unblock Tech and other distributors violated copyrights of video content developed by the Chinese tech giant.
The case, brought by units Tencent Penguin Film, Tencent Computer System and Tencent Technology accused the defendants of improperly copying, distributing and importing more than 1,500 of its shows including family drama “Little Days” and sci-fi blockbuster “Three Body Problem”.
