Apple has been granted a new patent for a technology that will block the phone’s camera feature. Apple had sought for a patent for this technology in 2011.The technology allows phone cameras to be disabled through infrared sensors. An infrared emitter can be located in areas where capturing of pictures and videos are prohibited. The technology for which the patent has been granted involves infrared single detection technique. An electronic device can receive the infrared signals, decode the data and…
Krishika Lulla & Ors. vs Shyam Vithalrao Devkatta & Anr.
[Criminal Appeal No. 258 & 259 of 2013 SC (Decided on 15.10.2015)]
Facts
Shyam Vithalrao Devkatta (Respondent), had authored a story named ‘Desi Boys’ and had registered the same with the Film Writers Association on 25.11.2008. Mr. Devkatta forwarded the synopsis of the story to his friend Mr. Ramesh Bhatnagar who further forwarded it one Mr. Ahsaan Sagar on 15.10.2009. Subsequently, Mr. Devkatta saw the promos of a…
This post discusses the latest development relating to the movie ‘Sultan’. The movie was released today, i.e.on 6.07.2016. Ahead of the release of the much awaited movie ‘Sultan’, Yash Raj Films approached the Bombay High Court ,seeking for an interim injunction to fight piracy. Yash Raj Films filed an application after they came across websites hosting several links to download the yet to be released movie ‘Sultan’. These links although dormant at the time of making the application are bound…
Kriti, a short film by Shirish Kunder, has been taken down by YouTube amidst a copyright controversy initiated by a filmmaker from Nepal, Aneel Neupane. The short film, Kriti, was uploaded on YouTube on June 22, 2016. The short film had bagged over two million views within 2 days. However, on June 24, Kriti found itself in controversy as Neupane updated a facebook status, openly accusing Kriti to be a copy of his short film, Bob. Neupane claimed that he…
Jury clears Led Zeppelin’s "Stairway to Heaven" from copyright infringement claim
A lawsuit alleging copyright infringement was brought against Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin group by Michael Skidmore. He alleged that there were similarities between the opening chords for 1971 song Stairway To Heaven and a composition called Taurus which was released four years earlier by a band called Spirit.
The US District Judge Gary Klausner had ruled in April that “Stairway to Heaven” bore “substantial” similarities with…
Well I am guessing the title of this post may have piqued your interest. ‘Sipping on IP’ is an initiative taken by BananaIP Counsels, where everyone gathers over coffee and lets ideas, discussions and conversations about intellectual property brew. There are no ground rules and the conversation can be about varied topics from more current pressing issues to any IP related concept. It is a great way to connect, take a break and learn from your peers.
Let’s see what we sipped…
This article relates to an interesting summary judgment passed by the District Court of California in a suit brought for copyright infringement. The Plaintiffs, ABS Entertainment Inc., Barnaby Records, Inc., Brunswick Record Corporation, and Malaco Inc. (collectively addressed as “Plaintiffs”) brought a copyright infringement suit against CBS Corporation and CBS Radio Inc. (collectively addressed as “CBS” or “Defendants”) for publicly performing, through radio broadcasts or digital internet streams, the Plaintiffs’ pre-1972 sound recordings.
It is necessary to state the…
A conflict for the protection of intellectual property right arose recently in China when a Chinese based Infrastructure Company, Wanda Company diversified its business and entered in to a theme based park. It is interesting to note how the conflict arose in this case. The facts are as follows: on the inauguration of the theme park of Wanda Group on 28th May 2016, few people who were alleged to be workers of the park, were seen clad in Captain America,…
The District Court of the Northern District of California held last week that Google's use of 37 Java APIs of Oracle does not give rise to copyright infringement liability because it is fair use. On remand from the Federal Circuit, in a Jury trial, Google's use of Java APIs and around eleven thousand lines of code was held to be fair use as it is meant to promote inter-operability and compatibility between programs. You may read our earlier post for…
In 2010, Oracle sued Google for copying 37 Java packages, 8 specialized Java security packages, and a routine called “rangeCheck" in its Android operating system. Oracle claimed in the suit that Google is liable for infringing two of its patents in the software and that Google is also liable for copyright infringement for literally copying the code. The suit was filed in a California District Court. Oracle claimed damages to the tune of nine billion dollars in the suit. …