Indian Copyright Act Archives - Blog | Trademarkmaldives

The Delhi High Court (HC) has recently directed the globally accessible freemium, cloud-based, cross-platform instant messaging service, Telegram, to go against its privacy policy and reveal the source and details of its channels. The Delhi HC wants the platform to disclose the details of channels and devices used to disseminate alleged copyright infringing content, along with the email ids, IP addresses, and mobile numbers of such users, in a sealed cover.

By dismissing Telegram’s argument, which said that it couldn’t reveal user information as the same would infringe upon its privacy policy and the laws and regulations of the jurisdiction where its physical servers are located, Justice Prathiba M. Singh stated that even under the provisions of the IT Act, including Section 79(3)(b), Telegram is responsible for expeditiously removing or disabling access to the unlawful material or content, without vitiating the evidence in any manner.

In this case, the Delhi HC was dealing with a lawsuit filed by plaintiffs Neetu Singh and K.D. Campus Pvt. Ltd, seeking a permanent injunction restraining Copyright Infringement, damages, and other relief concerning the unauthorized dissemination of the plaintiffs’ books, lectures, videos, etc.

In the 51-page long order given by the Delhi HC to Telegram, the Court said that Indian courts would be appropriately justified in ordering Telegram, which runs its significant and massive operations in India, to adhere to the Indian laws and regulations, and orders passed by them for disclosure of crucial information relating to infringers.

The order further mentioned that just because of Telegram’s argument stating it chooses to locate its server in Singapore, the same can’t result remediless against the actual infringers. It even asserted that if such arguments are accepted, specifically in the present era, where most dissemination takes place through online messaging platforms and services, then Intellectual Property (IP) violations and infringements would go entirely unchecked.

The order specified that the provisions of the IT Act and the Rules made therein have to be construed harmoniously with remedies and exclusive rights provided to the copyright owners and holders under the Indian Copyright Act. As per the order, the Indian courts are competent enough to decide issues concerning copyright infringement; the mere fact that Telegram runs a messaging service in India and chooses not to locate its servers in the nation can’t deprive the Indian courts of dealing well with copyright-related disputes or the copyright owners of availing their remedies in the Indian courts.

The order even mentioned that in the current era of cloud computing and declining national boundaries in data storage, the conventional concepts of territoriality couldn’t be applied strictly, which is why the dynamic evolution of law is crucial to ensure appropriate remedies in copyright infringement instances and violation of other IP laws. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com

Don’t forget to follow us on social media:

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/trademarkmaldives/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/trademarkmaldiv

Linkedin – https://www.linkedin.com/company/trademarkmaldives/

Pinterest – https://in.pinterest.com/trademarkmaldives/

Tumblr – https://trademarkmaldives.tumblr.com/

An FIR has recently been filed against the CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai, and five other employees of the tech giant at the MIDC police station following a court order. The FIR has been registered based on a complaint put forward by a Bollywood filmmaker, director, and producer, Suneel Darshan, alleging Copyright Infringement. In his complaint filed against Pichai and other Google employees, Darshan said that he didn’t sell the rights of his 2017 film ‘Ek Haseena Thi Ek Deewana Tha’ to anyone; however, the film is still running on YouTube (owned by Google) without his permission and with millions of views. He further claimed that many people made a lot of money by uploading his film (which falls under his Intellectual Property (IP)) on YouTube. He even mentioned that he made multiple complaints to YouTube for many years concerning the illegal uploading of his film, but didn’t receive any response, following which he had to approach the court.

According to the police officer involved, the case has been filed at the MIDC Police Station in suburban Andheri on the orders given by a magistrate’s court.

When reached out to Google for comments on the said matter, the search engine giant said that it has a well-defined set mechanism using which the copyright holders can safeguard their unique and creative content on video-sharing platforms like YouTube. The Google spokesperson said that YouTube has the right management tools, such as its Content ID System, that enables the copyright holders to identify, promote, block, and even make money in an automated way from the uploads of their content on the platform. He also mentioned that when a copyright holder notifies YouTube about a video that infringes upon his content, the platform removes the content quickly as per the law and terminates the accounts of the users with several copyright strikes (a policing practice used by YouTube to manage copyright infringement and comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act).

The alleged infringers covered in the complaint filed include YouTube LLC, Google India Ltd., Google LLC, Sundar Pichai, and many others. The offense has been filed under sections 51, 63, and 69 relating to Copyright Violation of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957.

The film ‘Ek Haseena Thi Ek Deewana Tha’ was written, produced, and directed by Suneel Darshan and starred Natasha Fernandez, Shiv Darshan, and Upen Patel.

Meanwhile, the Indian Government has selected Sundar Pichai (the CEO of Google), Satya Nadella (the CEO of Microsoft), and Natarajan Chandrasekaran (the Chairperson of Tata Group) for Padma Bhushan, which is the third-highest civilian award in the nation. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com