Madras High Court Directs Provisional Release Of Imported Equipment, Rejects Reliance On Later Amendment

The Madras High Court has directed Customs authorities to consider the provisional release of consignments of second-hand highly specialised equipment.Justice Hemant Chandangoudar held that a later amendment to the applicable exemption notification could not be relied upon to deny release of goods covered by Bills of Lading issued before the amendment came into force.The petitioner had imported second-hand highly specialised equipment, namely digital multifunction print and copying...

Airport Entry-Ticket Licensee Liable For Service Tax Only From June 1, 2007: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has ruled that an airport entry-ticket licensee was liable to pay service tax only from June 1, 2007, and not for the earlier period.The court observed that the law was amended from that date to specifically bring the renting of immovable property within the service tax net. For the period before June 1, 2007, it noted that the Delhi High Court had ruled that service tax did not apply to the rental/licence fee in question.“...the appellant is liable to pay service tax as an...

Karnataka High Court Upholds Adjustment Of Excess Excise Duty Payment Towards Dues Of Another Firm

The Karnataka High Court has upheld the adjustment of an excess excise duty payment made towards the dues of one firm against the outstanding liability of another firm under the State's Karasamadhana-IV Scheme.A Division Bench comprising Justice Lalitha Kanneganti and Justice K.S. Hemalekha dismissed the State's appeal against the order of the Single Judge directing the authorities to adjust the excess amount of ₹43.23 lakh paid towards the liability of Nagalingaswami Trading Company (NTC)...

Delhi High Court Revives Patent Bid For Improved Process To Make Drug Used To Reverse Muscle Relaxation

The Delhi High Court has set aside the Patent Office's decision refusing a patent application for an improved process to prepare sugammadex, a drug used to reverse the effects of certain muscle relaxants administered during surgery. The court found that the applicant was denied a mandatory opportunity of hearing before the refusal.Justice Jyoti Singh observed that hearings held during the pre-grant opposition proceedings could not replace the separate hearing required before the application was...

Delhi High Court Dismisses Review Of Suppression Findings In Trademark Suit, Says Advocate Cannot Shift Duty To Junior

The Delhi High Court has dismissed a review petition filed by the counsel on record for Celagenex Research (India) Pvt. Ltd. against its earlier findings that two material documents had been wilfully suppressed in the plaint filed in a trademark suit over the mark 'RewireX'. The counsel sought a review in his personal capacity, arguing that the documents had not been brought to his attention by the company.The court held that a filing counsel cannot avoid responsibility for ensuring full...

Delhi High Court Refuses Writ Against Gold Confiscation, Cites Disputed Facts And Revision Remedy

The Delhi High Court has refused to entertain a writ petition challenging the absolute confiscation by Customs authorities, holding that disputes concerning the alleged oral show-cause notice and waiver of personal hearing involve disputed questions of fact which should be examined by the statutory revisional authority.The Division Bench of Justices Anil Khetarpal and Shail Jain observed that although the existence of an alternative remedy does not completely bar the High Court's jurisdiction...

Delhi High Court Refuses To Cancel Fitship's 'FITFEAST' Mark, Says ASR Failed To Prove Standalone Use

The Delhi High Court on 31 August dismissed a rectification petition filed by ASR Market Ventures, the company behind FITPASS, against Fitship Private Limited's registered FITFEAST trademark for its protein snack range. Justice Jyoti Singh also refused ASR's plea for an interim injunction in its connected passing off suit against Fitship. She held that ASR could not establish goodwill in FITFEAST as a standalone mark. The Bench observed: “The documents demonstrate that ASR has been...

Copyright Disputes Can Be Resolved Through Arbitration Despite Remedy Under Copyright Act: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court has ruled that a copyright infringement dispute can be resolved through arbitration when the parties have agreed to that mode of dispute resolution, holding that the civil remedy available under the Copyright Act does not prevent arbitration.Justice K. Kumaresh Babu ruled,“It is true that Section 55 provides for a civil remedy in an infringement of a copyright. There can be no doubt that the civil remedy can also be by a process of arbitration, as arbitration is in the form...

Bombay High Court Orders Takedown of AI Deepfakes Misusing Actor Shruti Haasan's Personality Rights

The Bombay High Court has ordered the removal of online content identified in actor Shruti Haasan's suit and restrained the unauthorised use of her name, voice, image and likeness through artificial intelligence and other technology.Justice Madhav J. Jamdar granted the relief as an ad-interim measure after observing that the material placed before the court made out “a very strong prima facie case”. The relief will continue until further orders.Haasan approached the court after discovering a...

Bombay High Court Refuses Metro Brands Leave To Combine Trademark, Passing Off Claims Against Kerala Rival In Mumbai

The Bombay High Court has refused to allow footwear company Metro Brands Limited to combine its passing-off claim with its trademark infringement suit against Kerala-based Met Brands Private Limited in Mumbai. The court found that the balance of convenience favoured a trial in Kerala. The alleged passing off took place there, and Met Brands carries on business in the State.Justice Gauri Godse observed that Metro Brands had not pleaded that its principal place of business was only within Mumbai's...

Delhi High Court Appoints Amicus Curiae In Janhvi Kapoor's Personality Rights Suit

The Delhi High Court has appointed Advocate Gautam Bhatia as an amicus curiae to assist it in the personality rights suit filed by actor Janhvi Kapoor, alongside Advocate Rohan Alva, who was already assisting the court with actor Vivek Oberoi's personality rights.Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani made the appointment “considering the importance of the issues involved" in these matters and fixed a date in September.The appointment comes amidst concerns of overbroad prayers made in recent personality...

Gujarat High Court Quashes GST Demand Against Deceased Proprietor, Says Legal Heir Must Be Properly Heard

The Gujarat High Court has held that GST proceedings initiated against a deceased taxpayer cannot be sustained when the legal heir was neither made a noticee nor given a meaningful opportunity to respond, quashing proceedings initiated against a proprietor who had died several years earlier. A Division Bench comprising Justices A.S. Supehia and Vaibhavi D. Nanavati allowed a petition filed by Ushaben Kalpeshbhai Patni, the wife of the deceased proprietor, Kalpeshbhai Ramubhai Patni, and quashed...