IPR
Delhi High Court Restrains Nine Rogue Websites From Streaming Ajay Devgn-Starrer 'Drishyam: The Conclusion'
The Delhi High Court has recently granted an ad interim ex parte injunction to Digital18 Media Private Limited, which holds exclusive rights in the Ajay Devgn-starrer Drishyam: The Conclusion. The Court restrained nine websites from hosting, streaming or making the film available online without authorisation.Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav also directed domain registrars and the government to block the sites and to act against fresh piracy of the film.Digital18 Media, which holds rights in the...
Karnataka High Court Upholds Injunction Against ACC Steel's Use Of 'ACC' Trademark
The Karnataka High Court has dismissed ACC Steel Pvt. Ltd.'s appeal against a commercial court decree restraining it from using “ACC” as a trademark or as part of its company name in the cement company's plea. A Division Bench of Justice D.K. Singh and Justice H. Shanthi Bhushan held that ACC Steel could not reduce the dispute to the fact that its steel products fall under the trademark classification for metals and metal goods, while ACC Limited's cement products are classified separately,...
Trademark Registry Cannot Refuse Renewal While Mark Remains On Register: Madras High Court
The Madras High Court has directed the Trade Marks Registry to accept a renewal application for the "THOTHA" safety matches trademark, holding that the Registrar cannot turn away the registered owner of a mark that has not been removed from the register.Justice A.D. Maria Clete observed, "So long as the mark stands on the register in the petitioner's name, the Registrar cannot refuse her renewal fee. The message on the portal is not an order under the Act."R. Booma Rani runs Ayyanar Match Works...
Delhi High Court Refuses Japan Tobacco's Plea To Remove 'CAMEL COLLECTION' Copyright Registration
The Delhi High Court has dismissed a petition by Japan Tobacco Inc. seeking removal of a 1997 copyright registration for the “CAMEL” and “CAMEL COLLECTION” artistic work held by garment company The Central Wearhouse. Justice Tushar Rao Gedela held that Japan Tobacco had failed to establish that it was the “First Owner” of the original artistic work under Section 17 of the Copyright Act, 1957. The court observed that trademark registrations or claims of prior use, by themselves, could not...
LiveLawBiz IPR Quarterly Digest: July- September 2026
JULY, 2026SUPREME COURTSupreme Court Appoints Amicus Curiae In Patent Case Over Human-AI Integration TechnologyCase Title: Caleb Suresh Motupalli v. Controller Of PatentsCase Number: SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (CIVIL) Diary No(s). 20319/2026The Supreme Court has appointed Senior Advocate Swathi Sukumar as Amicus Curiae in a patent dispute concerning an invention that claims to enhance human capabilities by integrating them with artificial intelligence. The inventor describes the technology as...
Wholesale Reproduction Of ANI Videos On YouTube Not Fair Dealing: Delhi High Court Restraints RSY News
The Delhi High Court has held that the wholesale reproduction of ten news videos of multimedia news agency ANI on YouTube cannot be regarded as fair dealing for reporting current events when the copied material operates as a substitute for the original works. The court directed Patna-based RSY News to take down the infringing content from all platforms, including its four YouTube channels. Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, in a judgment dated September 29, 2026, permanently restrained RSY...
Delhi High Court Declares “DS Group” And Logo Well-Known Trademarks
The Delhi High Court has declared the DS Group trademark and its corresponding logo as well-known trademarks. It also permanently restrained five people and entities sued over a website that allegedly offered fake distributorships of Rajnigandha, the group's popular mouth-freshener brand.Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav passed the judgment on September 25 in a suit brought by DS Intellectual Properties LLP and Dharampal Satyapal Limited, the companies that hold rights in the DS Group and...
Trade Mark Agent Authorisation Must Be Stamped Like Power Of Attorney: Kerala High Court
The Kerala High Court has recently ruled that an authorisation allowing a trade mark agent to represent an applicant before the Trade Marks Registry must be stamped under the applicable Stamp Act, holding that the document has “all the trappings of a power of attorney”.Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas held that the authorisation creates a right for the agent to represent another person."The authorisation prescribed under section 145 of the Act read with rule 19 of the Rules, is certainly an...
Bombay High Court Restrains Unauthorised Use Of Actor Samantha Prabhu's Persona, Orders Takedowns
The Bombay High Court has recently granted actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu ad-interim protection against AI-generated deepfakes, morphed and pornographic content, chatbots impersonating her and unauthorised merchandise using her name and likeness.Justice Madhav J. Jamdar passed the order on October 1, finding a “very strong prima facie case” for restraining the unauthorised use of Prabhu's persona and directing the removal or disabling of access to the infringing content.Prabhu and her team...
Patent Revocation Can Be Sought Independently Or By Counter Claim, Cannot Be Curtailed: Madras High Court
The Madras High court has ruled that a party facing a patent infringement suit can seek revocation of the patent either through a separate revocation petition or by filing a counterclaim in the infringement suit. It cannot be forced to pursue only the counter claim.“This statutory right cannot be whittled down by forcing the litigant to choose a remedy by only filing a counter claim,” Justice K. Kumaresh Babu observed. “Such statutory rights available to the litigant cannot be curtailed to the...
Madras High Court Refuses To Restrain Worldwide Release Of Hindi 'Drishyam 3,' Finds Remake Rights Disputed
The Madras High Court has recently refused to restrain the worldwide release and exploitation of the Hindi remake of Malayalam film Drishyam 3, starring Ajay Devgn. It held that Rajkumar Theatres had not clearly established that it continued to hold an exclusive or joint copyright in the Hindi remake rights.Justice K. Govindarajan Thilakavadi dismissed Rajkumar Theatres' application on October 1, 2026. The company had sought interim protection against the film's release pending...
Delhi High Court Directs Toplad To Change Name, Finds 'TOPLAD' Too Nearly Resembles 'TOPLAND'
The Delhi High court has directed Toplad Private Limited to change its name, holding that “TOPLAD” too nearly resembles the registered “TOPLAND” trademark of Topland Engines Private Limited. “Except for the letter 'N', both the words completely resemble each other and to the mind of a person with average intelligence, the mere negation of the letter 'N' would not make the names visually or phonetically dissimilar,” Justice Amit Mahajan observed. The court set aside the May 15, 2023 order of...