Delhi High Court Revokes 'Shahi Dinner' Copyright Registration Over Lack Of Notice To Interested Party

The Delhi High Court has revoked a copyright registration for the artistic work “Shahi Dinner," used on rice packaging, after noting that the applicant failed to serve a mandatory statutory notice to a rival claimant who had asserted an interest in the same subject matter.

Justice Jyoti Singh noted that providing notice to interested parties is a statutory mandate under Rule 70(9) of the Copyright Rules, 2013, and in the present case, non-compliance warranted setting aside the registration.

The court observed that since the procedural requirement had not been followed, the registration could not be sustained, and the matter required fresh consideration by the Registrar.

The claimant had filed the rectification petition under Section 50 of the Copyright Act seeking cancellation of the copyright registration for the artistic work “Shahi Dinner," used on rice packaging.

He contended that he had been using a similar artistic label since 2014 and that the respondent had obtained registration without serving the mandatory notice, despite his asserted interest in the work.

The claimant further submitted that he had applied for trademark registration for the label in 2019, which the respondent opposed by relying on the impugned copyright registration obtained in the same year. He argued that the registration was liable to be set aside due to non-compliance with the statutory notice requirement.

On instructions, the respondent candidly conceded before the Court that the mandatory notice under Rule 70(9) had not been served.

In view of this, the Court partially allowed the petition and revoked the copyright registration.

The bench directed that the original application be treated as revived and permitted the claimant to file objections within six weeks.

It further directed the Registrar of Copyrights to adjudicate the revived application in accordance with law within eight weeks from the date of response.

The court also recorded an assurance that a request would be made to the trial court to defer further proceedings until the Registrar renders a final decision.