This post was first published on 23rd April, 2014.
An idea may be defined as a thought, which cannot be seen, touched or heard. In other words, an idea is entirely intangible in nature. Ideas can be kept secret or commercially exploited, but to gain protection, they need to satisfy the threshold of originality and novelty. Even though ideas act as catalysts for various Intellectual Property protections, by themselves, they are not qualified to obtain protection. Since an idea, taken at face value, does not fulfill the requirements…
This post was first published on Jun 27, 2014
On June 25th, 2014, the prolonged legal battle between Aereo, Inc. (Defendant) and the American Broadcasting Companies Inc. (Plaintiffs) - ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, came to a screeching end. The US Supreme Court decided against the legitimacy of Aereo's service on the grounds of Copyright Infringement. This is a landmark judgment in the Copyrights world since, if decided otherwise, there could have been a drastic impact on the market…
Kabir Singh and Toy Story 4 Leaked on TamilRockers, Kerala HC Permits Screening of Patwardhan’s ‘Reason’ at Film Festival, Mumbai Doctor Writes to Maharashtra Health Minister Against ‘Kabir Singh’, Gigi Hadid Responds to Copyright Infringement Suit with Ownership Claim, Prenda Copyright Mastermind Sentenced to Prison, Artist's Widow Loses Copyright Suit Against Beer Company, Gibson Urges Guitarists to Become Whistleblowers, Apple Responds to Spotify’s Anti-Competitive Claims in EU, US Companies Resume Selling Products to Huawei, Disney to Re-Release ‘Avengers: Endgame’, ASOS…
The happiness of fans of English football club ,Manchester United knew no bounds when Jose Mourinho, the famous Portuguese football coach was selected as their manager for the next three seasons. However the official announcement regarding the same took some time . The reason for such delay is quite interesting. The trademark of JOSE MOURINHO in around seven categories (as per NICE classification) was held by Chelsea Football Club. Mourinho was the manager of Chelsea in two brief stints i.e…
This post was first published on August 6th, 2011.
Brief Facts:
The Plaintiff - Super Cassettes Industries, is involved in the business of music distribution and film producing. The plaintiff claims to be the owner of several sound recordings, cinematograph films, songs, etc, they also claim to possess 20,000 non-film Hindi songs and 50,000 songs in various regional languages. It is largely dependent on the exploitation of its copyright, as this exploitation benefits the plaintiff monetarily enabling it to carry on…
This post was first published on October 4th, 2011.
Star India Private Limited v. Leo Burnett (India) Private Limited
Facts:
Star India Pvt. Ltd. (plaintiff) is doing the business of acquiring copyrights in cinematograph films, television serials, programs, and also producing and commissioning the production of television programmes for various television channels. These programs enjoy tremendous popularity amongst viewers in India and abroad. Star India Pvt. Ltd. also had acquired the copyright of famous T.V. serial produced by Balaji Telefilms Pvt. Ltd., named,…
This post was first published on November 13th, 2011.
“Right of Publicity” is a common reference to "Personality rights". It is a right of an individual to control the commercial use of his or her name, image, likeness or identity. It is generally considered a property right as opposed to a personal right. In most of the countries, the Right of Publicity is recognized under statutes.
According to John Lock, “the economic value of identity should be allocated to the celebrity individual…
DIPP Invites Comments on E-Commerce Policy, Bollywood Rushes to Register Patriotic Movie Titles, Spotify’s India Launch Hit by Warner Suit, IFTDA Bans Navjot Singh Sidhu from Kapil Sharma Show, Tiktok Launches Video Series on Community Guidelines, Total Dhamaal Leaked Online Soon After Release, APC: Serena Williams’ Cartoon Not Racist, Nicki Minaj Denies Copyright Infringement in Tracy Chapman Lawsuit, US Copyright Office Denies Copyright for ‘Carlton Dance’ in Fortnite Suit, US Court Allows AT&T-Time Warner Merger, Facebook Held Liable for Retaining…
This post was first published on March 1st, 2012.
Some Indian Courts, such as Delhi High Court, have of late been very aggressive in enforcing various IP rights online and in digital media. However, considering the recent development of publicity rights law in India, there has not been an instance of its enforcement online or in computer games. We will, therefore, take a computer game hypothetical to review the applicability of publicity right law.
Let us assume that an…
This post was first published on February 28th, 2012.
The right of publicity refers to the right to prevent unauthorized commercial use of a person's persona. A person's persona includes his name, photograph, signature, voice or any other identity. Publicity rights vest only in a celebrity or public figure. In other words, a person must be recognized by the public in order to possess the right of publicity. The public must identify or associate an identity to a person.…