India Copyright Cases
152 decisions indexed
Page 3 of 6 · 152 total
Super Cassettes Industries Pvt Ltd v.Sbn Network
Super Cassettes Industries Pvt Ltd filed a suit seeking permanent injunction and damages against Sbn Network for infringing its copyrighted works. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant, a ground cable operator, was broadcasting T-Series' films and music without obtaining necessary licenses.
State (Nct Of Delhi) v.Rajesh Nandwani
The State filed a Revision Petition challenging the Trial Court's order that discharged the respondents in a case concerning copyright violation (FIR No. 69/2009 PS EOW). The core dispute revolved around whether the registered artistic label/packing of the product was still protected by copyright, given its long-term commercial use and industrial manufacturing process.
Super Cassettes Industries Private Limited v.Shekhawati Ab Tak Cable Network
The plaintiff, Super Cassettes Industries Private Limited (T-Series), filed a suit against Shekhawati Ab Tak Cable Network for infringing its copyrights in cinematographic films and sound recordings. The court found that the defendant was broadcasting the plaintiff's copyrighted works without obtaining necessary licenses.
Akashaditya Harishchandra Lama v.Ashutosh Gowarikar And 4 Ors
The plaintiff filed a Notice of Motion alleging that his creative work had been plagiarized. The court dismissed the motion, finding that the plaintiff failed to establish a sufficient prima facie case due to an ever-shifting stand on what was infringed. Furthermore, the court criticized the plaintiff's conduct for publicizing the litigation in the media.
Sartaj Singh Pannu v.Gurbani Media Pvt Ltd & Anr
Sartaj Singh Pannu filed a petition seeking orders to restrain Gurbani Media Pvt. Ltd. from releasing the film 'Nanak Shah Fakir' without giving him credit as the sole Director. The court examined the service agreement and concluded that, at the present stage without further evidence, it was not possible to conclusively hold that Pannu was the sole director or that he had been coerced into waiving his rights.
Jyoti Kapoor v.Kunal Kohli
The Plaintiffs, claiming to be the author and first owner of the copyright in the original screenplay 'R.S.V.P', filed suit alleging infringement of copyright and breach of confidence against the Defendants for producing a film titled 'Phir Se' using their script without consent. The court found that the Plaintiffs had a strong case and granted an ad-interim injunction to prevent the release of 'Phir Se'.
M/S. K.R.C.D. (I) Pvt. Ltd. v.Commnr. Of Central Excise, Mumbai
The dispute concerned whether the royalty paid for music embedded in master CDs should be included in the assessable value when M/S. K.R.C.D. (I) Pvt. Ltd. manufactured duplicate CDs on a job work basis. The appellant argued that since they only copied the content and did not exploit the intellectual property, no royalty could be charged. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the appellant.
Mr.Veeramani Kannan v.M/s Super Audio (Madras) Private Limited
The singer (plaintiff) sued the music company (defendant) alleging that the defendant commercially exploited and streamed songs from the album 'Shiva Murugan Paamalai' without permission or royalties, violating the performer's rights under Section 38A of the Copyright Act. The defendant argued that the plaintiff had assigned all his performance rights for a lump sum consideration in an agreement dated 15.04.2015.
M/s. Innovativ Dezines v.M/s. Wooltop Design Private Limited
M/s. Innovativ Dezines appealed a previous order and decree regarding a suit against M/s. Wooltop Design Private Limited. The appellant sought to set aside the earlier judgment. Ultimately, the senior counsel for the appellant agreed to withdraw the appeal with liberty to raise all pleas on merits in the written statement.
K.R.Ravi Rathinam v.The Director General of Police, and others (listed as R.1 to R.11)
The appellant claimed his story 'Mullai Vanam 999', which he uploaded to YouTube in 2013, was illegally used and infringed upon in the film 'Lingaa' by respondents 7, 8, 10, and 11. The court initially held that a writ petition was not the proper remedy for such private disputes. However, considering the circumstances, the court directed the seventh respondent to deposit Rs. 10 Crores and allowed the release of the film 'LINGAA' upon initial deposit.
K.R. Ravi Rathinam v.The Director General Of Police and others
The petitioner, K.R. Ravi Rathinam, filed a Writ Petition seeking a detailed inquiry by police authorities into the alleged theft and unauthorized use of his story ('Mullai Vanam 999') in another film ('Linga'). The court dismissed the petition, holding that the dispute was private and that the appropriate remedy for intellectual property claims is through a Civil Suit or Criminal Law proceedings, not under Article 226.
Holland Company Lp & Anr v.S.P. Industries
The plaintiffs filed a suit seeking permanent injunction against the defendant, alleging infringement of their copyright over the industrial drawings and designs of 'Automatic Twist Locks' used by Indian Railways. The defendant contested the claim, arguing that engineering drawings are not artistic works under the Copyright Act and that applying for design registration invalidates any existing copyright.
Tekla Corporation v.Survo Ghosh
The plaintiffs, Tekla Corporation, sued the defendants for unauthorized installation and use of their copyrighted software, Tekla Structures. The defendants raised a defense of 'copyright misuse,' arguing that the plaintiffs' licensing terms were restrictive and anti-competitive. The court rejected this defense, holding that Indian law does not recognize copyright misuse as a valid statutory or equitable defence.
Saregama India Ltd. v.Alkesh Gupta & Ors.
The petitioners filed for interim relief seeking orders to restrain websites from streaming their copyrighted sound recordings. The respondents argued that personal use is permitted and ISPs should not act as watchdogs. The Court found infringement occurred through commercial exploitation via streaming and directed an injunction against the specified websites.
Asha Audio Company And Anr. v.Om Prakash Sonik & Ors.
Asha Audio Company filed a suit seeking royalties from a copyright society (Respondent No. 4), arguing that Section 19(9) and 19(10) entitle authors to equal shares of royalties, even outside cinematographic films. The dispute centered on the re-registration process of the society, where a show cause notice was issued regarding non-payment of royalties, leading the petitioner to seek an interim injunction against disbursement.
Ravi Visvesvaraya Prasad v.Rajneesh Kapur
The plaintiff filed a suit alleging plagiarism and violation of his copyright after publishing an original article on computer software. The defendants argued that since the cause of action accrued in November 1992, the subsequent legal proceedings were barred by limitation under the Limitation Act, 1963.
Ramesh Sippy v.Shaan Ranjeet Uttamsingh and others (Defendant Nos. 1 to 9)
Ramesh Sippy filed a suit claiming to be the author and first owner of the copyright and Author's Special Rights in the film 'Sholay' and related films. He sought a temporary injunction against defendants who were dealing with or disposing of rights related to 'Sholay', including its 3D version. The court ultimately denied the ad-interim relief, finding that the Plaintiff failed to make out a prima facie case.
R.K.Productions Pvt. Ltd. v.M/s.N.K.Theatres Pvt. Ltd.
R.K.Productions Pvt. Ltd. (Plaintiff/Appellant) sued M/s.N.K.Theatres Pvt. Ltd. (Defendant No. 1) for copyright infringement related to the Telugu dubbing and remake rights of its movie '3', after the Defendant failed to pay the final installment amount due under the assignment agreement. The Defendant filed an application seeking arbitration, arguing that all disputes should be referred to arbitration. The High Court allowed the appeal, holding that since the suit involves complex issues mixing payment dispute with copyright infringement against multiple parties, it cannot be bifurcated for arbitration.
Vodafone India Limited v.M/S. R.K. Productions Pvt Ltd
The suits were filed regarding the unauthorized copying, recording, reproduction, and distribution of cinematograph films '3' and 'Dhammu'. The court upheld the maintainability of the John Doe suits and clarified that the interim injunction was limited to blocking specific infringing URLs rather than entire websites. All applications seeking to vacate the existing interim orders were dismissed.
Bea Systems Inc. v.Deputy Director of Income-tax (International Taxation), Circle 1(1), Bangalore
The dispute concerned whether payments received by M/s. BEA Systems Inc., from its Indian subsidiary for the distribution of 'shrink-wrapped software' constituted royalty, leading to tax deduction at source requirements. The Tribunal upheld the lower authorities' view that the payment was indeed royalty.
Indian Performing Right Society Ltd. v.Aditya Pandey & Ors.
The dispute centered on whether the act of communicating or broadcasting a sound recording constitutes an infringement of the copyrights in the underlying literary (lyrics) and musical works. The court examined the interplay between rights holders of the sound recording versus those holding the copyright in the original composition.
Super Cassetts Industries Ltd. v.Music Broadcast Pvt. Ltd.
Super Cassetts Industries Ltd. appealed against the Delhi High Court's order which held that the Copyright Board could grant an interim compulsory licence under Section 31 of the Copyright Act, 1957. The Supreme Court examined whether such an interim power could be implied by law or if it required express statutory authorization.
Microsoft Regional Sales Corporation v.Deputy Director of IT, C/o S.R. Batliboi & Co
The petitioner, Microsoft Regional Sales Corporation, challenged additions made by the Assessing Officer regarding its revenue receipts from licensing Microsoft products. The core issue was whether these payments constituted taxable royalty income in the hands of the assessee. The Tribunal followed a previous ITAT decision and held that although the amount constitutes royalty, it is not assessable in the petitioner's hands.
Ms. Sakshi Mathur v.Dr. Nand Kumar & Ministry Of Health And Family Welfare (AIIMS)
Ms. Sakshi Mathur filed an appeal seeking certified copies of question booklets, OMR answer sheets, answer keys, and marks/rank from the AIIMS-MBBS Entrance Examination, 2011. The respondents claimed these materials were intellectual property exempt under Section 8(1)(d) and that a fiduciary relationship existed under Section 9 of the RTI Act. The Commission rejected these claims, ruling that the information was not exempted and directing the PIO to provide the requested copies.
Miss.Kajal Aggarwal v.The Managing Director, M/s.V.V.D. & Sons P.Ltd.
The actress, Miss. Kajal Aggarwal (Appellant), filed an appeal against the refusal to grant interim injunction, alleging that the Respondent used her image and profile for promoting their hair oil and coconut oil products after the one-year endorsement agreement expired. The court ruled in favor of the appellant, holding that the right to use the actress's profile is limited by the contract duration, thus granting the injunction.
M/s.Ajuba Solutions (India) Private Limited v.Mastech Corporation And 2 Others
M/s.Ajuba Solutions (India) Private Limited filed several applications seeking temporary injunctions against Mastech Corporation and others for alleged infringement of copyright, business interference, defamation, and inducement of clients and employees. The court dismissed all the applications, finding that the plaintiff failed to establish a prima facie case or irreparable loss, noting that damages were already claimed.
Federation Of Industries Of India v.Mr. G. Kesavalu Naidu @ Kesavan
The plaintiffs, representing manufacturers of steel pipes, filed a suit against the defendants who had obtained copyright registrations for drawings of these pipes. The plaintiffs alleged that the defendants were using these registrations to threaten and extract money from them. The court ultimately ruled that no valid copyright subsisted in the mere concept or idea of the pipe drawing.
Super Cassettes Industries Limited v.Mr Chintamani Rao & Ors.
Super Cassettes Industries Limited and Yashraj Films Private Limited filed suits alleging that India TV (represented by Mr Chintamani Rao & Ors.) had unauthorizedly broadcasted and exploited their copyrighted cinematographic films and sound recordings. The plaintiffs sought permanent injunctions to restrain the defendants from further infringement.
Pine Labs Pvt. Ltd. v.Gemalto Terminals India Pvt. Ltd.
Pine Labs, a software development company, developed an IOCL fleet card system for Gemalto Terminals India Pvt. Ltd. The dispute arose when Gemalto sub-contracted the project to a third party (QCI Technologies), leading Pine Labs to claim ownership and protection of its source code under the Copyright Act. The court set aside the lower court's order, reinstating the injunction in favor of Pine Labs during the pendency of the suit.
The Indian Performing Right Society Ltd. v.Mr. Aditya Pandey And Anr.
IPRS filed suits alleging copyright infringement by defendants, including Synergy Media and CRI Events. The dispute centered on the scope of rights held by IPRS regarding public performing rights for literary and musical works versus the rights held by phonographic societies concerning sound recordings. The court issued interim directions clarifying that both IPRS and PPRS licenses are necessary if a performance involves both types of copyrighted material.
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